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UC students have another reason to yell with emotion, “Not My President.”

University of California’s recent audits uncovered the disaster of a UC system that has chosen to exploit the state and UC students with a rise in tuition, spike in top executives’ salaries and now a $175 million hidden lost treasure.

Former Arizona governor, former head of the Department of Homeland Security for Obama’s administration, now President of the UC system, Janet Napolitano dismissed amassing money from UC’s because she didn’t want to become a Netflix episode on the show Hoarders. However, she states that there is a $38 million in reserve for “rainy days.

Reserved for what? Surely former UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks reserved $700,000 for a fence around his home and $9,000 for an escape hatch in his office. Certainly, CSUF‘s 41 administrators and CSUF President Mildred Garcia were also reserving their money.

A hysterical yet ridiculous tour de farce.

Napolitano claimed UC used the money transparently. Maybe the money was in Dirk’s escape hatch, who knows. Aside from Napolitano’s lousy lie, L.A. Times editors chose to defend the allegations towards the UC president. Nevertheless, L.A. times suggested UC legislatures had different plans. That the legislation supposedly “have their own vision of UC’s mission and their own political agendas.”

They have tried to make this a political issue, but they ought to consider that eight audits have been brought about in recent years. Shouldn’t that have raised eyebrows sooner?

Another L.A. Times article said, “officials at University of California campuses changed their responses and dropped criticism of the UC Office of the President after it contacted them, instead offering more positive reviews of its effectiveness…”

In addition, Napolitano and her minions toyed with the UC Board of Regents. Surveys that auditor Elaine Howle gave to the UC Office had been sabotaged in order to hide Napolitano’s money scheme.

“When we sought independent perspective from campuses about the quality and cost of the services and programs the Office of the President provides to them, the Office of the President intentionally interfered with our audit process. Auditing standards require that we disclose this interference and prohibit us from drawing valid conclusions from this portion of our work,” stated in the California audit. 

Foremost, the audit’s specified $83 million in the fiscal year of 2015-2016 were in restricted reserve, $92 million were under discretionary reserve. Ever since Napolitano joined UC in 2013 she’s risen the cost of tuition and has constantly asked to boost the budget.

Janet Napolitano on the rise of tuition and plans on cost in 2014 [Wall Street Journal]

As the video shows, she has been toying with the UC Board of Regents for years. Napolitano claims that the state cut school funding but I beg to differ. It is a shame that she has expertise in state government and she claimed she knows how the system works. Is it possible that she’s trifling the system? Most likely.

This kind of exploitation affects those UC students who have potential to thrive after graduating. It affects student-workers, and it affects families.

By now UC’s budget should have been back to normal or at least back on track. Tuition would have most likely decreased, too.

Consequently, it won’t be happening any time soon for the reason being of the misconception Napolitano has surfaced. Apologizing, will do little to no effect. Promising implementations to how finances are managed is highly skeptical, coming from a politician.

I suggest “Ms. President” ask Dirks if she could use his escape hatch for the mean time.

Bryan Hernandez
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