USAC recap – Nov. 7

This post was updated Nov. 8 at 8:27 p.m.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every 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.

Special Presentations

• UCPD Lt. Kevin Kilgore said there is now a rotating student position open on the Police Chief’s Advisory Council to increase students’ input. PCAC consists of students, faculty and staff that advise UCPD on public safety issues that impact UCLA.

• Lauren Uba, a representative from CycleHop, a bike share organization, asked students to participate in the Bruin Bike Share program, which makes bikes available for public use on a short-term basis. She added she is working to create a regional network connecting UCLA’s transit system to that of nearby cities.

Agenda

• The council made 26 appointments notes to various UCLA Academic Senate committees, including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, which advocates for faculty diversity.
• USAC President Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh said she thinks the council rejected applicants for the Office of the President appointments because of their campus affiliations and hopes the council applies the same standards for all appointments.
• The council appointed four students to the Undergraduate Council, which makes education policy for undergraduate students.
• The council appointed Austin Steinhart, a third-year political science and economics student, to the Faculty Executive Committee, which advises the Council of Faculty Chairs.
• The council approved Aidan Arasasingham, a first-year global studies and economics student, to the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, which advises and oversees undergraduate admissions policy.
• The council approved allocating $2,200 from the Contingency Programming Fund to student groups for Oct. 31 and $7,334 for Tuesday.
• The council approved the allocation of $2,333 from the Bruin Defenders grant, which funds student and organization political advocacy, to student groups.
• The council approved the allocation of $5,996.76 to the Community Service Mini Fund, which funds student community service programs, to student groups.
• The council voted to update the Oct. 3 minutes by a 9-1-2 vote. Mokhtarzadeh said the minutes should reflect that an election code amendment the council approved Oct. 3 does not stand because it did not pass with a two-thirds vote.
• The council passed a resolution calling on the university to provide more practice spaces to dance groups on campus and to solicit feedback from them.

Officer reports

• Mokhtarzadeh said she plans to work on a resolution calling on the Bruin Bike Share program to include more bike stations and add additional stations in university apartment areas.
• Internal Vice President Vivy Li said she worked to improve the livestream quality for viewers and is working on limiting USAC Live! viewership to students with UCLA email accounts.
• External Vice President Chloe Pan said she attended a housing summit last week and wants the university to improve upon low-income housing options for undergraduate students.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Christina Lee said she is planning workshops to reach out to international and first-generation college students.
• Financial Support Commissioner Aaron Boudaie said he is planning educational campaigns on financial aid and said his commission’s Parking Advocacy Task Force is working with the administration to distribute transportation scholarships to low-income students.
• Transfer Student Representative Sayron Stokes said she is working with the UCLA Alumni Association to plan a transfer student communal dinner.
• General Representative 1 Nicole Corona Diaz asked council members to share the SPARK #UndocuBruins campaign, a fundraising campaign to support undocumented students, on social media platforms.