USAC’s reintroduction of faculty representative seat will help foster communication

New Undergraduate Students Association Council officers are setting a promising tone for the coming year’s student-faculty relations as they prepare to reintroduce a faculty representative to the council.

While the position is already outlined in USAC bylaws, it has been left unfilled for a number of years.

Though old, the seat is neither archaic nor outdated ““­ its reintroduction will move the council forward by providing a previously absent voice during USAC meetings. Professors and students interact on a daily basis, and this needs to translate to the legislative process.

As of now, there are two administrative representatives and one alumni representative who sit on the council with no vote, but provide advice and counsel to the board.

The elected students make their own decisions, said Debra Geller, an administrative representative on the council. The faculty representative would serve to expose USAC officers to the faculty’s wealth of knowledge, she added.

While USAC officers must have the interests of the undergraduates at heart, they cannot ignore the fact that students are part of a much larger community that is the entirety of UCLA. Introducing a faculty representative is central to USAC’s understanding of this balance.

Andrea Hester, the new internal vice president, has become a chief advocate for this new position and has been working with the administrators to make this phantom position a reality. Hester said it would be beneficial to have the insight of the faculty when passing budget issues or resolutions affecting the wider UCLA community.

But steps have already been taken to increase communication between USAC members and faculty. On May 22, USAC officers voted to allow faculty members to attend meetings.

Hester said the meetings are already open to anyone who wishes to come, but the vote acted as a symbolic gesture toward faculty in particular.

But Berky Nelson, an administrative representative on the council and former Dartmouth history professor, said faculty members are often disinclined to engage in student-specific activities outside the classroom.

This may be, but students’ interests outside a professor’s sphere are not necessarily mutually exclusive from those inside ““ there are cases where these interests converge.

On Friday, College of Letters and Science faculty members voted down a proposal to introduce a new diversity-related General Education requirement by a 224-175 plurality.

David Bocarsly, the USAC president, said he felt the failure of the requirement could demonstrate a disconnect between the student body and the faculty.

The give-and-take of information resulting from the new position will help faculty become invested in undergraduate issues and organizations.

A faculty member in meetings will open USAC’s eyes to issues that may not be readily apparent to undergraduates.

Faculty members who become concerned about an issue, or wish to speak up on any legislation will have a direct liaison with USAC.

Perhaps faculty members will be more inclined to participate in the political process if they are able to more easily communicate with the student government and have a tangible presence in USAC meetings.

Shrinking the communication gap has to start somewhere, and USAC’s decision to start the search for a faculty representative is a long overdue step in the right direction, but there needs to be an effort from both sides if a real relationship is to be fostered in the meeting room.

The student-faculty relationship is what drives this educational institution. It is imperative that we keep this in mind throughout the legislative process, and introducing a faculty representative will ease the communication within the UCLA community.

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