Candidate Goals

Clarification: Daniel Soto’s portion of the article is unclear. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kinnery Shah was successful is continuing Hip Hop Appreciation Month, however, Daniel Soto was not actively involved in the execution of the program, despite initially aiming to collaborate on that event.

The Daily Bruin evaluated whether or not candidates met their goals.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

PRESIDENT
Emily Resnick
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 4
Major: Psychobiology; minor: Environmental systems and society
54.92 percent of the vote in last year’s election

USAC code of ethics:
Goal was accomplished
Resnick presented a draft of the USAC code of ethics to the council during winter quarter. The draft is being revised after several council members suggested changes. Resnick said she hopes it will be approved before the installation of next year’s council.

Interactive online four-year degree planner:
Progress was made
Resnick’s office provided feedback to the UCLA Registrar’s Office about an interactive online degree planner. The planner was already in place as a pilot program for fall 2011 admits in the School of Arts and Architecture and will expand to all incoming undergraduates this fall.

Reduce UCLA’s carbon footprint:
Progress was made
Goal not easy to quantify
Resnick’s office made it a goal to make all USAC offices more sustainable. Resnick’s office co-sponsored a Sustainability Week, is working to certify UCLA as a Fair Trade university, put on an all-USAC beach cleanup, and has interns working to make each USAC office “green” certified.

Bring back UCLA homecoming traditions:
Goal was accomplished
Resnick’s office brought back UCLA Homecoming this year and established a registered student organization to continue putting on the event. The student organization has chosen two new executive directors and will put on a homecoming carnival again next fall.

Increase USAC visibility and outreach:
Progress was made
Resnick tried to reach out to the student population and highlight the work the undergraduate student government does. Resnick’s office put on a Student Leader’s Networking Night with the IVP office, put on a Dinner with USAC event at De Neve dining hall during winter quarter and created an “Ask Us!” button on the USAC website for students to ask questions.

Continue UCLA’s farmers market:
Goal was accomplished
Resnick completed her goal of putting on two farmers markets per year. Her office held a farmers market in the fall and will put on the second market of the year Wednesday at Bruin Plaza.

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INTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT
Kristina Sidrak
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 4
Major: History; minors: Labor and workplace studies, Civic engagement
56.7 percent of the vote in last year’s election

UCLA Gmail accounts for all undergraduates:
Goal was accomplished
Sidrak’s office pushed for a shift from Bruin OnLine email to Gmail for all undergraduates, with Sidrak serving as a student contributor on an outsourcing taskforce made of students and alumni, and also as a student advocate for the implementation and provision of the undergraduate population. The move, which had been previously discussed, was approved by the UCLA Information Technology Planning Board late 2011, with next year’s incoming class provisioned to Gmail in March, and with the rest of the undergraduate population to be transferred this fall.

Student group discounts:
Goal was accomplished
Sidrak’s office wanted to make students more aware of student group discounts at UCLA. Sidrak’s office worked with ASUCLA and the Finance Committee to streamline the Student Organizations Operational Fund application process last fall. This helped make student groups more aware of the 20 percent discount on supplies from ASUCLA stores. SOOF made the discount more available by making an Excel document which lists average prices for items from the UCLA store.

Online common funding application:
Progress was made
Sidrak initially hoped her office could work to consolidate all types of student funding sources on an online application, but ultimately had to revise her plan because of logistical reasons. Her office is now working to consolidate all USAC funding sources on one common application on OrgSync, a campus engagement network, with a deadline set for this fall.

UCLA Mobile Expansion:
Progress was made
Sidrak’s office worked to make the UCLA mobile application available on more platforms. Her office added dining hall menus to the application and made it available on Android phones. She is also working on making it available for Blackberry. Her office is pushing to make UCLA mobile available in the App Store and to include a Clicker component to cut down student textbook costs, which is tentatively scheduled to be implemented by this fall, after consultation with professors and the ironing out of logistical issues.

Campus activities network:
Goal was accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Sidrak’s office established student leader networking nights to foster collaboration between different clubs and programs on campus. Event facilitators emailed minutes of the networking night to participants and alerted club leaders of possible areas of collaboration with other attendees, and collaboration was tracked among attendees.

Strathmore Safe Rides continuation:
Progress was made
Sidrak’s office continued Strathmore Safe Rides throughout fall and winter quarter. Because of lack of funding needed to support the program through programming funds, Safe Rides did not continue this quarter.

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EXTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT
Joelle Gamble
Slate: Students First!
Year: 4
Major: International development studies
50.2 percent of the vote in last year’s election

Workshops on advocacy and post-grad skills:
Goal was accomplished
Gamble’s office put on advocacy and lobbying workshops through the Bruin Lobby Corps and the Grassroots Organizing Weekend in the fall. In addition, Gamble’s office sent students to various conferences through the UC Student Association and the United States Student Association that also featured advocacy workshops.

Fight for concrete policies that lower student costs:
Goal was accomplished
Gamble’s office advocated for the California Dream Act and the Middle Class Scholarship Act, as well as Governor Brown’s tax initiative which would help reduce cuts to education, Gamble said. In the summer, Gamble’s office also pressured the UC to table an additional 5.6% trigger increase that was on the agenda. The trigger increase was never instituted.

Make voter registration more convenient:
Goal was accomplished
Gamble’s office registered voters with CALPIRG, provided incentives for voter registration, and registered voters through Volunteer Day and two Rock the Vote concerts. Gamble said her office registered 967 students as of last Thursday, just shy of its goal of 1000 students. Gamble’s office also advocated for California Senate Bill 397, which calls for online voter registration.

Host debates on issues students care about:
Progress was made
Gamble’s office held one debate on the death penalty recently. She had planned to host three debates this year. A debate on affordability, which transformed into a discussion forum on the Middle Class Scholarship Act, was held last Friday. A debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fell through because of disagreements among the groups involved.

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COMMISSIONERS

STUDENT WELFARE COMMISSIONER
Tamir Sholklapper
Slate: Independent
Year: 4
Major: Neuroscience
Uncontested

Help erase the stigma surrounding mental health issues:
Progress was made
Goal not easy to quantify
Sholklapper’s office hosted the “Send Silence Packing” event at the beginning of the school year, in line with his goal to increase awareness of mental health-related issues and erase the stigma surrounding it. Sholklapper said he personally enrolled in classes at the UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services to further understand the stigma behind mental health-related issues and has had his office work with CAPS to redo previous mental health presentations, though there is still work to be done.

Increase awareness of proper practices to reduce spread of disease:*
Goal was accomplished
Sholklapper’s office worked to educate students on ways to reduce the spread of disease, establishing a Cold Clinic on campus, and working with the Ashe Center to distribute packs containing masks, sanitizer and tissues to more than 500 students. His office has also worked with the center to administer flu shots on campus, and with ORL and Ashe to bring a safe-sex cart to students on the Hill.

Offer additional and more effective programming related to physical safety:
Goal was accomplished
The SWC collaborated with other USAC offices and programs on campus for two Campus Safety Week events this year, focusing on personal safety and well-being, and offering programs for self defense and safety on campus. Sholklapper’s office sought to streamline its programs by revisiting existing programs and cutting others, such as global health programs, which were already being put on by other organizations on campus.

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CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER
Kinnery Shah
Slate: Students First!
Year: 4
Major: International development studies; minor: Public policy and education
50.2 percent of the vote inlast year’s election

CAC Rewards Program:
Progress was made
Shah worked to establish a program where students can swipe their BruinCard at Cultural Affairs Commission events and receive points to try and earn a reward of a $100 voucher to a concert of their choice, among other prizes. The program is meant to provide incentive for students to attend the CAC’s more culturally relevant events. Shah set up the rewards program which will be ready for the upcoming academic year.

Provide fitness and cultural cooking classes:
Goal was accomplished
Shah’s office provided dancing classes and Bruin in the Kitchen cooking classes through WorldFest. Shah’s office also provided dancing workshops during National Coming Out Week.

Institutionalized National Coming Out Week:
Goal was accomplished
Shah’s office worked with the Queer Alliance to increase attendance to the week’s events and recognition of the Week by the administration and the university. Her office also helped with the programming for the week.

Evaluate and subsidize cost of programming on campus:
Goal was accomplished
Shah tailored her office’s mini-fund to target the biggest costs faced by student groups, facilities and honorarium. The mini-fund subsidized the activities of more than 30 student organizations.

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CAMPUS EVENTS COMMISSIONER
Daniel Soto
Slate: Independent
Year: 4
Major: Geography/ environmental studies
Uncontested

Conduct outreach to gauge student concerns and preferences:
Goal was accomplished
Soto’s office has implemented a number of surveys distributed during events to garner student feedback and gauge potential interest in future screenings, speakers and performers. It is in the process of establishing a comment box on the CEC website for further student input, and began mandating office hours for executive staff to increase student-staff interaction.

Co-program on events based on advocacy and topical issues:
Goal was not accomplished
Soto’s office hoped to collaborate with other USAC offices on events such as a Middle East Panel and a Hip Hop Appreciation Month event, but those programs fell through because of planning and budgetary concerns.

Increase outreach to transfer students:
Progress was made
Soto’s office participated in last fall’s Transfer Student Resource Fair to let incoming transfer students know about CEC. His office is looking into ways to reach out to incoming transfer students during orientation by using surveys to find out what programs transfer students are interested in.

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ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER
Raquel Saxe
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 3
Major: Political science; minor: Labor and workplace studies
57.1 percent of the vote in last year’s election

Alumni-student mentorship network:
Progress was made
Saxe hoped to allow more students to participate in the student-alumni mentorship program, which was originally limited to alumni scholarships recipients and students in the Student Alumni Association. Saxe wanted to open up the program to all students, but was limited to opening it up to students within USAC offices because of the Alumni Association’s limited resources. Saxe’s efforts yielded 80 new additional alumni mentors and 71 students within USAC offices to the mentorship program.

Academic well-being:
Goal was accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Saxe’s office aimed to help students maintain a balanced mental health in order to succeed in academic life. Her office held stress-free days during midterms and finals to inform students of counseling and academic resources on campus, and held numerous other health-related events with motivational speakers.

Empower student voice:
Progress was made
Goal not easy to quantify
Saxe’s office sought to allow students to voice their complaints and concerns to the administrators. As the Academic Affairs Commissioner, Saxe helped to expand the number of student academic appointments to the Writing Success Program. She also assisted students in voicing their concerns about technological needs. Her office contributed to the creation of a number to text for weak Wi-fi locations on campus and also helped to secure the funding for LearnIT.ucla.edu, a website where UCLA students can learn how to code and use various technological programs, for another year.

Global Leadership Connection:
Goal was accomplished
Saxe’s office brought Global Leadership Connection, a nonprofit organization that recognizes leadership and academic achievement in high school juniors, to UCLA in order to allow students from different backgrounds to gain access to the university.

Syllabus preview during enrollment:
Progress was made
The program, which would allow students to preview the syllabus for a class before enrolling in it, received endorsement from the Faculty Executive Committee and Judith Smith, vice-provost for undergraduate education and was adopted by a number of individual professors during the winter and spring quarters. A pilot program in either the humanities or social science department will launch in fall quarter.

Social entrepreneurship minor:
Progress was made
Saxe was unsuccessful in establishing a social entrepreneurship minor. Instead, she helped establish a for-credit, two-quarter social entrepreneurship course, which some administrators saw as potential step to a minor.

Save Covel Peer Learning Labs:
Goal was not accomplished
Saxe’s office was not able to save the Covel Peer Learning Labs when funding was cut by the administration last June. Since funding for Covel was lost last year, Saxe’s office has worked to make the resources that were at Covel available elsewhere on campus by publicizing the new Undergraduate Writing Center, piloting peer-facilitated tutoring for introductory Chemistry and Life Sciences classes, and established a pilot tutoring program for Math 32A that will begin next fall.

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FINANCIAL SUPPORTS COMMISSIONER
Andrea Hester
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 3
Major: Global studies; minor: Chinese
57.1 percent of the vote in last year’s election

ASUCLA rewards program:
Goal was not accomplished
Hester hoped to revamp the Benefits U program currently in place but was unsuccessful.

More parking options:
Goal was not accomplished
Hester has met with UCLA Transportation to create another parking option for students who need to park overnight but do not want to wake up at 7 a.m. to move their car. No new options have been created.

Student-customized meal plan:
Goal was not accomplished
Although Hester worked with administrators on the Hill, she was unsuccessful in implementing a meal plan that was more flexible for students who go home or off campus on the weekends.

Part-time, on-campus jobs fair:
Goal was accomplished
Hester’s office put on an on-campus, part-time job fair at the beginning of the school year.

Streamlined database of financial resources:
Progress was made
Hester’s office compiled financial aid information and launched a website with basic financial aid tools for students. The website is now available for use.

Parking scholarship:
Goal was not accomplished
Hester did not create a parking scholarship for students. She said this was because of the less-than-expected surplus funds this year.

Strengthen USAC and ORL relationship:
Progress was made
Goal not easy to quantify
Hester’s office is finalizing an informational brochure about ORL. Hester said she plans to email it out to student groups by the end of the week.

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COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMISSIONER
Jamie Yao
Slate: Independent
Year: 4
Major: Microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics
Uncontested

Service-learning seminar with Center for Community Learning:
Goal was accomplished
Yao’s office was successful in creating a for-credit pass/no pass seminar, Civic Engagement 102, run through the Center for Community Learning for students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break program to reflect on their experiences.

Enable service groups to acquire university sponsorship:
Goal was not accomplished
Yao’s office received one application for university sponsorship compared to zero last year. The student group has not yet received sponsorship.

Raise awareness via Alternative Spring Break and Issues Awareness Week:
Goal was accomplished
Yao’s office expanded the Alternative Spring Break program to add two out-of-state programs in Utah and Louisiana. She was also able lower the price of the program and to increase the number of participants by about 60 students. Yao’s office will be putting on Issues Awareness Week during seventh week of spring quarter.

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FACILITIES COMMISSIONER
Michael Starr
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 3
Major: Spanish and linguistics
59.3 percent of the vote in last year’s election

Improving campus Wi-fi:
Goal was not accomplished
Although USAC offices contributed to the implementation of a texting system to recognize and improve areas of campus Wi-fi, Starr’s office did not contribute much to this platform. Starr’s chief of staff was appointed to the Information Technology Planning Board, but other USAC offices had already tackled this issue and did not leave much to be done on the goal, Starr said.

Campus laptop and charging stations:
Goal was accomplished
Starr’s office has worked to bring charging stations for laptops and cellphones to campus to address the lack of enough power outlets around campus. Starr said he has placed the order for the stations to be placed in Ackerman Union, and they are set to arrive seventh week this quarter.

Self-sustainable gym:
Goal was not accomplished
Your workout powers the Wooden Center:
Starr’s office has not brought spin bike attachments that conduct the energy created from pedalling the spin bikes to the power grid of the John Wooden Center, said Erin Campbell, FITWELL Coordinator of Strength and Conditioning Zones in the Wooden Center. Without these attachments, the energy cannot be redirected to the Wooden Center. Starr said he has received funding for the project but is still in the process of discussing the price of the attachments.

Light up UCLA:
Goal was not accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Starr’s office hoped to improve general safety on campus by increasing the amount of lighting at UCLA but was unable to do so as they ran into many problems with construction. His office chose instead to put on a Safety Awareness Day in fall, Campus Safety Week in winter and is working on a resolution for better lighting in North Village after a student was robbed at gunpoint.

Slow down through town:
Goal was not accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Starr’s office hoped to slow down the traffic on Gayley Avenue by the top of Landfair Avenue to improve safety of pedestrians crossing the road. His office was able to have a temporary speed radar outside Holly Ridge but was unable to keep it there as it was required elsewhere for construction reasons.

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GENERAL REPRESENTATIVES

David Bocarsly
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 3
Major: Economics

Den season bus pass:
Goal was accomplished
Bocarsly’s office worked with the UCLA Central Ticket Office to create a season bus pass for students. He said he expects it to continue next year.

Make Happenings”¦ happening:
Progress was made
Bocarsly’s office is working to create a student events calendar through MyUCLA as a supplement to UCLA Happenings. The calendar is expected to be put into place this fall.

Revitalize Westwood:
Goal was accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Bocarsly forged a new relationship between his office and the Westwood Community Council. Bocarsly’s office collaborated with the Westwood Community Council to put on a successful Westwood LIVE in the fall and Bruins Night Out in winter quarter. His office will put on another at the end of spring quarter with the Westwood Community Council.

Movie expo showcase:
Goal was accomplished
Bocarsly’s office put on a contest for student groups to make videos describing their groups. His office will circulate the videos with the most views in the Gen Rep 1 newsletter, Facebook page and website.

What’s “Bruin” at UCLA:
Goal was accomplished
Bocarsly’s office compiled a UCLA bucket list in pamphlet form and will distribute it online and at beginning-of-the-year events.

Bruin pride events:
Goal was accomplished
Bocarsly’s office planned the game-day portion of UCLA Homecoming and organized the flash mob at the Rose Bowl. His office also put on “The Kick Off,” an event to boost morale during winter quarter.

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Dan Chikanov
Slate: Bruins United
Year: 3
Major: Psychobiology

Career Center accessibility: increase accessibility for students:
Goal was not accomplished
Chikanov’s office did not put on any significant programs to increase Career Center accessibility.

UCLA-Westwood bike paths:
Goal was not accomplished
Chikanov’s office initially wrote a resolution for a UCLA-Westwood bike path but it fell through because of a lack of communication.

South campus student group expo and career fair:
Goal was accomplished
Chikanov’s office put on a South Campus resource fair last quarter to promote research opportunities and a nonprofit career fair in conjunction with the Career Center.

Mental health and wellness awareness:
Goal was accomplished
Goal not easy to quantify
Chikanov’s office held stress-free days in conjunction with other USAC offices. They also put on mental health week winter quarter, Yoga under the Stars, several run-walks and a nutritional fair with complementary and alternative medicine to promote healthy food options.

TEDx at UCLA:
Goal was not accomplished
Chikanov was unsuccessful in bringing TEDx to UCLA. TED events were held at UCLA, but they were put on in coordination with the Anderson School of Management.

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Jason Smith
Slate: Students First!
Year: 4
Major: World arts and culture

Support students who are transitioning:
Progress was made
Goal not easy to quantify
Smith worked to support students transitioning to a new situation. Smith’s office held a Transfer Student Awareness Day in the fall to educate transfer students who were transitioning to a new school about campus resources. The office also put on an art exhibit about transgender men and a speaker event about transgender women who were transitioning into their sexuality.

Provide alternative career options for students:
Goal was not accomplished
Smith’s office helped publicize the Career Week put on by the UCLA Career Center but did not put on any programs to provide alternative career options for students.

Educate Bruins on the harmfulness of non-inclusive language:
Goal was not accomplished
Smith planned to fulfill this goal by establishing Bruin Talk, a program that would use media such as blogs to teach students about the harmfulness of non-inclusive language. The website never went live and Smith said Bruin Talk is still in the proposal stage.

Create a marketplace for students to exchange goods:
Progress was made
Smith’s office held a Bruin Swap Meet winter quarter that had a low student turnout. This was the only step taken by his office toward reaching the creation of a marketplace for students.

Graphic reporting by Jillian Beck and Kassy Cho, Bruin senior staff, and Kristen Taketa and Melissa Truong, Bruin contributors.

Graphic by Lauren Wong, Bruin contributor.