USAC recap – April 24

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, which can be accessed with a ucla.edu account.

Special Presentations

• Nicole Green, the executive director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said CAPS has spent the funds from the #UCLAWellness Initiative Referendum to support programs, such as by purchasing services from the International Student Support Program for language-specific telehealth counseling, creating resilience toolkits and funding a full-time position to connect CAPS to other community providers.

Agenda

• The council approved a bylaw change to include the quarterly oral health fair under the Student Wellness Commission’s responsibilities.

• The council approved a bylaw change to allow SWC to appoint two representatives to serve annual terms on the CAPS Student Advisory Board.

• The council approved a bylaw change to institutionalize the BruiNeccessities committee within SWC to advocate for health access, particularly on the Hill.

• The council reinstated General Representative 3 Justin Jackson, who was temporarily ineligible to serve on the council last week due to a pending ruling from the USAC Judicial Board on his candidacy in spring elections.

• The council allocated a total of $15,987 to USAC and non-USAC groups from the Contingency Programming Fund. The council also allocated a total of $2,205 to non-USAC groups from the Student Wellness Programming Fund.

• Facilities Commissioner Zahra Hajee said she and Julia Ho-Gonzalez, a candidate running in this year’s USAC election, were physically intimidated by a group of students who circled around them at a party Saturday. She made a Facebook post detailing the account, identifying the perpetrators as members of a campaign team running against Ho-Gonzalez and demanding a public apology from them.

• Kyle Norris and Luis Santos, who attended the council meeting, denied that they intended to intimidate anyone and said they think Hajee’s Facebook post was slandering their names. However, after a discussion with the council, they apologized for the impact of their actions.

Reports

• A proxy for USAC President Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh said the office travelled to Sacramento this week and met with California State Assembly members to lobby for increased UC funding. She also said the office hosted an entrepreneurship networking night Thursday. She added the office is continuing their events for Declare Your Feminism week, including a femme fair on Wednesday and a feminine hygiene product drive Thursday.

• Hajee said her office has begun a water audit to determine how to improve water conservation efforts on campus. She also said Get Out the Vote efforts began this week for the Westwood Forward vote, which will take place May 22.

• A proxy for External Vice President Chloe Pan said Senate Bill 3153 passed, which means Cal Grant funding will be available to students taking summer sessions and throughout the academic year.

• Student Wellness Commissioner Christina Lee said her office is hosting Bruin Health Week, which is a week of events to promote students’ mental and physical well-being. She also said her office is hosting the annual Bruin Run/Walk on Sunday to raise money for UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. She added her office will host a dental fair next week. She also added students can currently apply for BruinCare waivers, which waives the $60-per-quarter fee to access basic health services on campus.

• General Representative 2 Kayla He said her office began accepting nominations for its True Bruins Raise program, which will offer prizes to those who have demonstrated True Bruin values. She also said her office is hosting the Dinner for Globalization event Thursday in Kerckhoff Grand Salon.

• Transfer Student Representative Sayron Stokes said her office held its Transfer Networking Night on Thursday and announced its scholarship winners. She also said her office is co-hosting a Student Transfer Outreach and Mentor Program event Friday.

• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Malik Flournoy-Hooker said his office is hosting The Word on Wednesday, which will include a poetry workshop and open mic night, in the Kerckhoff Art Gallery this week. He also said his office is hosting SoulfulofNoise, a live outdoor concert, in Fowler Amphitheater on Thursday.

• General Representative 3 Justin Jackson said his office is creating a video series that will document UCLA’s history throughout the years.