UCSA campaign UConsent to address sexual violence on campuses
By Jeong Park
Aug. 18, 2014 4:36 a.m.
The University of California Student Association voted Sunday to launch a campaign to address sexual violence on UC campuses this school year.
The association, which advocates for UC students, selects the organization’s campaigns during its annual congress every August. The campaign, called UConsent, will include strategies to both educate the community about sexual violence and to advocate for policies that better address sexual assault.
Students will focus on lobbying and working with state legislators on sexual assault bills already proposed in the Legislature, said Conrad Contreras, Undergraduate Students Association Council external vice president and member of the UCSA Board of Directors.
UCSA will work on the campaign in addition to two others it launched last summer – one calling for more funding for educational institutions rather than prisons, and another calling for reforms to California’s property tax system.
Sexual violence on college campuses has drawn the attention of students and officials across the nation over the last year. The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating UCLA and UC Berkeley for possible federal violations in their handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints, and a state audit conducted over the last school year found that UCLA fails to sufficiently train its employees in handling sexual violence.
The United States Student Association, a national student-led organization, also voted Aug. 10 to launch a national campaign to address college sexual violence.
During this weekend’s conference, UCSA’s board also chose UC Merced student Jefferson Kuoch-Seng as its new president for the 2014-2015 year. Kuoch-Seng has served as the external vice president for the Associated Students of UC Merced since May 2013.
The board also voted to hold its annual Student of Color Conference at UC Merced. The conference, typically held in fall, is meant to bring students together to help develop advocacy strategies for addressing cultural and societal inequalities. Representatives from UC Merced talked about making their campus cultural organizations more prominent through the conference, Contreras said.
On Friday, UCSA also held an action near the UC Office of the President in Oakland, near the site of the congress. Students called for the UC to freeze its tuition.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.
