USAC commissioners’ progress reexamined

Undergraduate Students Association Council members have been working on fulfilling their campaign promises since May and now are up for reexamination.

Many of the initiatives from the various USAC commissioners and representatives dealt with the digitalization of their programs and tasks, including funding and advertising.

One of Campus Events Commissioner Colin Iberti’s original goals was to make all advertising interactions digital. Now, he said that total digitalization was unrealistic. He has, however, increased advertising for events online and done away with hand-drawn posters that typified last year’s ad campaigns.

“In the USAC office or in the commission we’re steeped in tradition,” Iberti said. “It’s really hard to change things very quickly. But I think we’re making really great progress. We were so entrenched in paper advertising.”

Advertising aside, USAC is also scheduled to have their funding allocation process accessible online, said Christina Colosimo, USAC General Representative.

“I think my most important accomplishment thus far was digitalizing the entire organization-funding accounting process,” Colosimo said. “We hired someone to digitalize all of the application forms for any student organization to apply for money.”

Though the advertising and allocation processes have seen successful moving to the World Wide Web, getting material like textbooks and course readers there has been more difficult.

“We put some work into it, and that’s looking less like a possibility at this point,” said Clinton Jang, USAC Financial Supports Commissioner, about his commission’s efforts to put textbooks online. “That project is basically put on hold. I think students actually do prefer reading from a book rather than on a computer screen. I did some preliminary research … and it looks like a lot of textbook stores don’t really offer (online options).”

Posting course reader articles online was also put on the back-burner after issues with article ownership stood in the way.

The Academics Affairs Commission met with the university library, and if feasible, the library may get someone on the payroll to compile all of the articles that UCLA has rights to, said Addar Weintraub, the head of the USAC Academic Affairs Commission. However, an issue stands with how many of these articles UCLA owns and how many it needs to acquire.

USAC has not only worked with digitalizing. Workshops and information on student finance, health and charity have had their share of support.

“We’ve collaborated a lot more with different organizations both on and off campus, which is really great,” said Stephanie Chang , USAC Community Service Commissioner. “We just did our staff evaluation and got the highest rating we’ve had in the past four years, so I’m really very happy and satisfied with the direction and system that we’ve set up for that community.”

Jang said he has had less success with his commission’s financial management workshops.

“It’s difficult to get students to manage their finances,” Jang said. “We’ll still continue to have (workshops), but I think we’ll focus on more professional programs ““ putting students in touch with professionals, making sure they know how to write and format their resumes.”

Campus Welfare Commissioner Jonathan Pham has opted out of the workshop model and has instead gone with a week-long event.

“We’re making good progress on Student Health Advocacy program,” Pham said. “The main thrust is Bruin Health Week. It’s going to educate students about issues and give them the skills needed not only for their college experience, but for the rest of their lives. Each day will have a different theme. … There will be speeches and support from the health organizations on campus.”

Other committees hosting events include Cultural Affairs Commissioner Bernice Shaw’s Arts Advocacy Coalition, which is made up of jazz, World Arts and Cultures students and DesMA students.

The coalition has already hosted a bluegrass band, “an incredibly underrepresented genre,” Shaw said.

Though the coalition has not started meeting regularly, they have initiated an image campaign for the annual Jazz/Reggae festival.

Another goal of Shaw’s was to increase the sustainability of the festival itself. This included getting rid of styrofoam and exchanging environmentally harmful products for sustainable and biodegradable items.

Shaw said she believes progress has been exceptional. The commission is working with the environmental student group E3 to make it entirely sustainable.

“This isn’t just like having more recycling bins and other little things,” Shaw said.

A company has shown interest in doing a solar-powered stage.

Shaw said she plans to require vendors to use environmentally friendly products, despite the cost.

“It’s obviously a more expensive expenditure for us going all green,” Shaw said.

Ticket sales will recoup the costs, she said.

Stepping back from on-campus events and into the greater Westwood area, Facilities Commissioner Sherlyn Mossahebfar is working toward rerouting campus shuttles to include fraternities, apartments and Ralph’s.

“With the opening of the new hospital, we’ve decided to add a route on Charles E. Young Dr. and Gayley Ave.,” Mossahebfar said.

The route may begin operating this quarter.

In Kerckhoff Hall, USAC Tuesday night meetings have extended into the early morning, debating and reworking the Facilities Commission’s new Office Space Allocation Committee guidelines,

“It’s not easy (to open up more space),” Mossahebfar said. “There’s been a lot of back and forth. … A lot of work went into the guidelines, a lot of thought.”

Mossahebfar’s other objective, to improve wireless coverage in campus and the dorms, has been put off until this quarter.

“We’re looking at viable options, … maybe looking at other servers such as Google,” Mossahebfar said,

Another USAC-sponsored program still to come is an alternate spring break, spearheaded by General Representative Michelle Lyon .

Students will have the opportunity to travel and provide disaster relief or other aid in a secular program, Lyon said.

Her office is also creating a proposal for a Hurricane Katrina relief trip in 2009 with the help of Robert Naples, assistant vice chancellor and dean of students, and the National Relief Network, she said.

Other initiatives on her plate include improving undergraduate research opportunities and a Never Forget speaker film series.

“Professors are not easily drawn to the idea (of undergraduate research) because of students’ flakiness,” Lyon said.

This program and the Fiat Lux class are still in the planning and recruitment stages, she said.