USAC recap – April 14

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every week on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students. Watch a live stream of the meeting on the USAC Live! YouTube channel.

Agenda

• USAC unanimously approved contingency programming allocations.

• The council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the creation of a transfer student resource center at UCLA.

• The council unanimously passed a resolution calling for UCLA to establish a nondenominational prayer and meditation space on campus.

• USAC voted 10-0-2 to approve the ballot order for the upcoming election in week five.

Special Presentations

• Students gave informational presentations on previous advocacy for a transfer student resource center at UCLA and on nondenominational prayer spaces at other University of California campuses. Students discussed possible locations for both spaces.

• A student representative for a new app called Stand4 encouraged councilmembers to download and promote it. The app allows users to play games, post pictures and answer poll questions for companies, which then donate money, school supplies and animal care to various charities.

• Financial Support Commissioner Heather Rosen spoke with the council about her office’s work this year, including updates to its website, which features a financial wellness program, resource guide, financial aid and scholarship resources. Her office is in the process of creating an interactive map where users can see the street cleaning schedule surrounding campus. The site also consolidates a list of student discounts offered in Westwood for students with Bruin Cards.

Officer Reports

President Avinoam Baral said architects are brainstorming potential Café Powell construction plans.

He also said he is trying to organize lobbying visits to local legislatures in the next couple of weeks.

Internal Vice President Heather Hourdequin said events for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Transgender and Queer awareness week are now taking place on campus.

External Vice President Conrad Contreras said he met with UCLA student and UC Student Regent-Designate Avi Oved to work on a social media campaign. He will also be attending a student lobby conference this weekend. The office of the External Vice President is partnering with the Liberty In North Korea, or LINK, student group to advocate for North Korean human rights.

General Representative 1 Manjot Singh encouraged members to participate in his office’s Roots: A Campaign to Unite program, which he said is designed to promote interfaith dialogue. The campaign will include a visit to a Sikh temple during week six.

Academic Affairs Commissioner Allyson Bach said the UCLA faculty passed a diversity requirement proposal last week, and that she does not want classes that would satisfy the requirement to be concentrated on North Campus subjects. She said she will be attending an Academic Senate meeting Thursday where they may speak about the next steps for the requirement proposal.

Student Wellness Commissioner Savannah Badalich said the Clothesline Project public art display is taking place until Thursday in Dickson Plaza. The project features colored T-shirts painted with personal stories about sexual violence to educate students about sexual assault. She added that May is mental health month.

Transfer Student Representative Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed asked Via Champ, a UCLA alumna, to speak for the creation of a UCLA transfer center and share her own experiences as a transfer student.

Compiled by Jillian Frankel, Bruin contributor.