USAC hopes to film meetings for student convenience

Members of the Undergraduate Student Association Council hope to start filming their meetings so students can watch from the comfort of their own homes.

General Representative Addison Huddy said he hopes the project, which he has been working on since fall quarter, will encourage students to get involved and be more aware of the information presented at the meetings.

USAC was scheduled to pilot the new feature at this week’s meeting, but plans to do so were cancelled at the last minute because of unforeseen privacy issues. Thus far, his office has put $800 in funding toward the project, he said in a text.

However, until the question of student privacy is resolved, Huddy said he will summarize meetings on YouTube, beginning this week.

The meetings were scheduled to be filmed by two students in Huddy’s office who will receive monthly stipends for their work, but Huddy said he is unsure as to how much the cameramen will be receiving. He is planning to rent cameras from the Film and Photography Society.

Huddy said he did not expect student privacy rights to be a problem, but said he is meeting with “the top of the top lawyers,” including Amy Blum, senior campus counsel, and Elizabeth Kemper, director of student legal services, to resolve the issue.

He added that the problem is ambiguous, and potential situations like students who may not want to be filmed at the meeting need to be addressed.

Huddy said he was planning to cut the video into five-minute segments and make them available for students on the USAC Web site a few days after the meeting, focusing on sections of the agenda like special presentations, officer reports and funding allocations.

USAC President Cinthia Flores said the council is looking into waivers for special presenters and students and was planning on posting signs outside the meeting room to notify attendants that the meeting will be filmed.

Compiled by Sarah Ravani and Samantha Schaefer, Bruin senior staff.