The United States Student Association determines its agenda for the upcoming year at an… The United States Student Association determines its agenda for the upcoming year at an annual conference of student members. Many years, Pitt students attend the conference to represent the University.

This year, however, students’ attendance at the conference has raised controversy – and led some members of Student Government Board to question SGB’s involvement with USSA. SGB passed a resolution to spend $4,680 to send four Pitt students to the national conference at the University of California-Riverside. Only two students attended the conference.

Those members opposed to the SGB’s involvement would like Pitt’s student body to resolve the issue by vote, but many students might be unfamiliar with USSA, its history and its many positions.

In 1946, the International Union of Students met in Europe to bring representatives together on issues that affect students everywhere.

When American representatives returned from the conference, they decided to have a meeting of their own.

The following summer, the National Student Association, NSA, was formed to represent students in national issues – particularly those concerning students. Although some members argued from the beginning against taking political stands, others believed the organization should address any political issues that might affect students.

Through its history, NSA, which merged with the more radical National Student Lobby to become the United States Student Association in 1978, has condemned McCarthyism, the Vietnam War and South African apartheid – but only as it pertained to higher education, according to the Web site.

USSA currently sponsors projects including the Grassroots Organizing Weekends; the Student of Color Campus Diversity Project; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Empowerment Project; and the Student-Labor Action Project.

The organization concentrates its efforts in three areas, according to the USSA website. The first, and perhaps the most relevant to the majority of students, encourages welfare and federal funding for programs that increase educational access, such as the Pell grant, high school outreach and support for students with disabilities. The second focus seeks to eliminate racial profiling, both on campuses and in communities. Largely inspired by the 2000 presidential elections, USSA’s third concentration seeks electoral reform.

Through lobbying last year, the group raised the value of Pell grants for Pitt students by $700,000, according to USSA regional chair Jen Stephan. She described the group as “the only organization that works solely on student issues in D.C.”

USSA’s mission statement describes the organization’s efforts as working to “reveal the links between access to higher education and the socioeconomic inequalities of our society.” The statement also says the group is “committed to altering the relations of power and creating long-lasting social change.”

For more information about USSA, its history and its mission, students can visit the group’s website at www.usstudents.org.