Board positions open to students

Applications for undergraduate student government presidential appointments for the upcoming academic year are now available, and officers said all students, whether affiliated with a slate or not, are encouraged to apply.

To ensure the presence of a student voice in issues such as student fees, health care and programming, the Undergraduate Students Association Council appoints about 70 students on committees to work with administrators and graduate students.

Committees include the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors, Community Activities Committee and Student Judicial Board.

Selecting the committee members will be newly inducted President Homaira Hosseini’s first major task in office.

“Shared government is one of UCLA’s greatest accomplishments,” Hosseini said, referring to the fact that committees consisted of undergraduate students, graduate students and administrators.

Hosseini said affiliation with any particular slate was not necessary to apply.

“What I’m looking for most is merit,” Hosseini said. “If I know the (applicant) has background and experience relating to a committee, that’s the biggest priority.”

Hosseini said that, as president, she will personally consider applications for committees, select several applicants she believes are qualified and recommend them to the Appointments Review Committee.

But Hosseini said the committee still reserves the discretion to review applications from the entire pool and discuss other candidates with her.

Next, the selected candidates will be interviewed by the council, Hosseini said.

Hosseini said she will use her own experience with Student Fee Advisory Committee to help her select the best qualified applicants.

“You have to really want this position,” Hosseini said.

“I want (applicants) to bring something to the table. I want to give them a chance to develop themselves.”

She said certain committee members receive paid stipends for their work and are committed for one or two years.

Former President Gabe Rose said one of the reasons the appointments process has been difficult in the past was due to the large number of applicants.

He also said a large number of unaffiliated students were appointed when he was in office, a precedent he hopes the new council follows.

“I hope this council continues this new tradition of nonpartisan appointments,” Rose said.

Rose said experience was not essential but was still a factor.

“It’s important that students have leadership and came with good ideas for the committee,” he said.

Besides the committees under the USAC president’s jurisdiction, students can apply for committees in the Academic Affairs office.

Jeremiah Garcia, the Academic Affairs commissioner, emphasized the need for a diverse student voice.

Garcia said students who serve in the Academic Affairs office work alongside faculty.

However, they are unable to vote on issues; instead, they act as a voice for the student population.

“I want that voice to be as diverse as possible,” Garcia said.

He adding that he did not want a “cookie-cutter” office but “a sampling of UCLA students and opinions based on different backgrounds and different ideas.”

Garcia said students act as a resource for the administration to make educated decisions about academic policies and encouraged applicants to look into the Academic Affairs office.

“I want people to know that the office is very open. The office is not going to turn someone away because they have a particular ideology or opinion,” he said.

Jesse Melgar, external vice president, recently appointed two representatives for UCLA to the University of California Students Association: the legislative liaison and the campus organizing director.

Melgar said both representatives had “a firm grasp of the internal structure of UCLA.”

Like Hosseini, Melgar said he saw the committee positions as leadership opportunities.

“We definitely want to focus on leadership development,” Melgar said.

For Hosseini, the appointments process has only begun.

Since applications will be received ninth week, reviewing the applications may last into the summer.

“It’s a real difficult process, and I wish Homaira the best of luck,” Rose said.

Applications can be found on the USAC Web site at http://students.asucla.ucla.edu.

Presidential appointments committee applications are due May 30 at 5 p.m.

Academic Affairs appointments committee applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The majority of decisions will be made on June 1.