USAC Meeting Roundup – Dec. 4

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government of UCLA’s undergraduate students. Council meetings are Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students.

Agenda

• Four students were unanimously appointed to this year’s Election Board. Eena Singh, fourth-year anthropology student and last year’s Election Board chair, was appointed as vice chair. Farhan Mithani, a second-year physiological science student, was appointed as head of the publicity subcommittee. Taylor Evanko, a second-year civil engineering student, was appointed as head of the investigations subcommittee. Andy Tran, a second-year communication studies student, was appointed as head of the external relations subcommittee.
• Councilmembers voted 7-2-2 to allocate $50,000 from USAC surplus – funds leftover from last year’s council – to the JazzReggae Festival. Sahil Seth, financial supports commissioner, and Michael Starr, general representative, voted no. Taylor Mason, cultural affairs commissioner, and Carly Yoshida, general representative, abstained.
• The council voted unanimously to use $200 from the USAC discretionary fund for a Freedom Riders plaque to be placed in Kerckhoff Hall.
• The council voted 10-1-0 to suspend USAC bylaws to vote on contingency allocations on Dec. 21.
• Councilmembers discussed setting aside funds from either surplus, the discretionary fund or administrative overhead for students to vote on how to spend through a poll. The council discussed potential ideas including allowing students to choose to allocate the money to scholarships, student-taught courses or back to student programming funds. Councilmembers said they plan to vote on the amount to set aside, the source of the funds to set aside and the options to give students in early winter quarter.
• Councilmembers discussed details of using $100,000 of the surplus to create an endowment for future councils. Councilmembers said they will continue discussion of the endowment in winter quarter.
• The council unanimously approved weekly contingency allocations.

Officer Reports

• President David Bocarsly said he spoke with Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management, who told him that UCLA received 99,506 admission applications for the 2013-14 year. Bocarsly added that he met with UCLA Student Affairs and the USAC Financial Supports Commission about creating a leadership development fund.
• Lana Habib El-Farra, external vice president, said her office held a student forum last week where students discussed student loan debt and campaign finance reform. El-Farra added that she attended the United States Student Association board meeting last weekend.
• Kim Davis, academic affairs commissioner, said her office’s student voice empowerment forum on holistic admissions, which was planned for today, was canceled because of time conflicts for some of the panelists. Davis said she plans to reschedule it for early next quarter.
• Andrea Hester, internal vice president, said in an email statement that her office is planning to hold an international comedy show on Jan. 18 in De Neve Auditorium and an off-campus living fair on Jan. 22.

Appointments

• Third-year English student Lilit Ter-Astvatsatryan was unanimously appointed to the Student Conduct Committee.
• Second-year international development studies student Cyrus Sinai was unanimously appointed to the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Affairs.

Special Presentations

• Representatives from the ASUCLA Board of Directors said a Wolfgang Puck restaurant is being constructed next to Rubio’s in Ackerman Union. They added that the chancellor approved the sale of wine and beer at the new restaurant.

Public Comments

• Lawrence Turner Jr., a fourth-year African American studies student and chair of the Afrikan Student Union, and John Joanino, a third-year sociology student and member of the Student Fee Advisory Committee, said they were concerned about USAC creating an endowment using funds that come from student fees.
• Representatives from the John Wooden Center Board of Governors, Community Activities Committee, Student Conduct Committee, Communications Board and the Student Health Advisory Committee gave updates to council.

Compiled by Kristen Taketa, Bruin reporter.