USAC recap – Sept. 19

This post was updated Oct. 2 at 10:26 a.m.

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

Agenda

• Internal Vice President Vivy Li proposed updating the guidelines for USAC Live!, the YouTube channel that livestreams council meetings, to no longer make video archives of council meetings publicly available. Li said she thinks the change is necessary to protect the privacy of individuals attending USAC meetings.
• Under Li’s proposal, students who want to view an archived council meeting video would have to email the IVP office and view the video in the presence of a council member. The council tabled the proposal after several council members said they thought the proposal would make it difficult for students to access USAC Live! videos.
• The council approved amending the bylaws to prohibit allocations from the Student Government Operational Fund to six USAC offices that have their own operational budgets.
• General Representative 3 Justin Jackson said he thinks the council should consider how it will follow Robert’s Rules of Order during its meetings this upcoming year. Robert’s Rules of Order is the parliamentary procedure the council follows to conduct its meetings. Facilities Commissioner Zahra Hajee said she thinks Robert’s Rules of Orders can sometimes prevent students from actively engaging with the council during public comment.
• The council unanimously appointed Savannah Gardner, a rising fourth-year environmental science and political science student, to the Student Risk Education Committee, which helps students groups minimize liability risks when holding events and activities.
• The council unanimously reappointed Emily Kohlheim, a rising fourth-year political science student, as the chair of the Community Service Mini Fund Committee, and appointed Ashley Ramos and Roberto Vasquez, rising fourth-year psychobiology students, to the committee. The CS Mini Fund Committee provides funding for community service programs.
• The council unanimously appointed Cameron Keller, a rising second-year political science student, as a student representative on the Westwood Community Council, an organization that discusses issues relevant to the Westwood Village business and residential community.
• The council allocated $3,633 to non-USAC offices from the Contingency Programming fund.

Officer reports

• USAC President Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh said she participated in UCLA Alumni Association’s board meeting last weekend and she recommended alumni hold lunches with students in order to learn more about their experiences.
• Li said the Enormous Activities Fair, an event where student groups showcase or recruit for their organizations, will be happening Sep. 26. She added she will be providing council members with brochures to hand out during the fair.
• External Vice President Chloe Pan said the University of California Board of Regents held a meeting last week, where they raised chancellor salaries and discussed potentially raising tuition when the UC presents its upcoming budget during the regent’s next meeting in November.
• Pan added she, along with other council members and graduate student leaders, attended a Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting last week. Pan said she was disappointed with the council’s land use and planning committee for voting against supporting University Extension UCLA dorms, which would hold up to 1,350 students and be constructed on Le Conte Avenue.
• Pan said her office will be hosting the next UC Students Association meeting from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14. UCSA lobbies on behalf of UC students on issues such as college affordability.
• Community Service Commissioner Adriana Hardwicke said the Volunteer Center will require students interested in attending Volunteer Day to register for the event. She added Bruin Shelter, which provides housing for homeless students at UCLA and Santa Monica College, will be accepting applications for individuals that need housing.