Students press regents for more basic-needs funding, centralized care and $10 million for undocumented student opportunities

March 20 — Multiple students and student leaders told the University of California Board of Regents that campus basic-needs centers and mental-health services are under strain and urged systemwide steps, including new funding allocations and a working group to update long-term basic-needs strategy.

“It's concerning to know that our basic-needs center had over 50,000 student interactions last year,” said Louis Avelos, a fourth-year student at UC San Diego, noting systemwide pressure on food and housing services and urging regents to consult directly with basic-needs centers as they discuss related agenda items.

Why it matters: Speakers described growing demand for food, housing and care services and asked the regents to adopt sustainable, centralized funding strategies so campus programs remain operational as enrollment and need change.

Student leaders asked the board for a new, consensus-designed work group that would include student representatives, campus leads, the Center for Economic Justice and Action, Office of the President staff and regents, to update systemwide goals and an action plan for basic-needs work through 2032. Aditi Hariharan, president of the University of California Student Association, also asked that basic needs become a fundraising priority with an annual target at least equal to state funding allocations for those services.

Undocumented-student funding: Several speakers urged adoption of a $10 million proposal to expand paid learning opportunities for undocumented students, with oversight by a systemwide body of students, faculty and staff and a centralized mechanism for distributing funds. Kimberly Medina Vargas, a third-year UCLA undergraduate, spoke specifically in favor of the $10 million proposal and asked that 55 percent be directed to undergraduate programs and 45 percent to graduate programs, citing problems with the rollout and access to a prior $5 million allocation.

Care and counseling services: Julianne (last name not specified), a UCLA senior who spoke about care funding, said many campus care offices started with seed money and now face inconsistent, localized budgets. She described cuts at UC Berkeley that forced outsourcing of care to community clinics, layoffs and suspension of some healing programs and asked the regents to meet with student groups to explore funding paths.

Disability access and mental health: A UCLA graduate student who identified as disabled described limited campus accommodation capacity for graduate researchers and teaching assistants, and a separate speaker said Bruin Access — the campus shuttle service used for accessibility — operates only two buses and is self-funded, causing long waits that affect class attendance. Jennifer Miyake, a graduate student, urged increased funding for mental-health services for neurodivergent students and cited figures on therapy-session caps reported for some campus counseling services: she said some programs limit sessions to as few as four to six visits for some students and eight to 12 for others, and argued that neurodivergent students often need longer-term, more specialized care.

Board response and next steps: Student leaders said they look forward to the day’s planned annual report on basic needs and requested follow-up conversations with regents and staff. The regents did not take action during the public-comment period; staff noted the board will consider comments in future deliberations.