USAC recap – May 20

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government of UCLA’s undergraduate students. Council meetings are Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students. Watch a live stream of the meeting on the USAC Live! YouTube channel.

Agenda

• The council approved contingency programming allocations with a 12-0-0 vote.

Special presentations

• USAC Student Wellness Commissioner Savannah Badalich presented a PowerPoint of her office’s work from the 2013-2014 school year.

• USAC Financial Committee chair Cynthia Jasso and vice chair Cynthia Wang presented a PowerPoint about how the committee operates.

Officer Reports

• USAC President Devin Murphy said he talked to student government services manager Patty Zimmerman about ways to further develop USAC committees, including the Appointments Review Committee and Budget Review Committee. Murphy also said he and External Vice President Conrad Contreras attended a UC Regents meeting last week and lobbied for increased affordability for and access to higher education, among other topics. He said they also advocated for the Invest in Graduations, Not Incarceration, Transform Education campaign, commonly referred to as IGNITE, which aims to promote diversity in higher education and ensure that underrepresented communities are not disproportionately represented in state prisons.

• Internal Vice President Avinoam Baral said he will be contacting all the USAC officers for their chiefs’ of staff information and will be working with his to create a chief of staff orientation to be scheduled during ninth week.

• External Vice President Conrad Contreras said his office is planning to select this year’s delegations for national and statewide undergraduate student association conferences, where they will discuss issues the council hopes to address next year. He also said that the United States Student Association Congress will be held in August and will be followed by University of California Student Association Congress.

• Academic Affairs Commissioner Allyson Bach said applications for Academic Affairs Commission staff and academic appointment have been released and will be due online next Wednesday by 11:59 p.m.

• Students Wellness Commissioner Savannah Badalich said her office will be working with the University of California Office of the President to improve sexual assault policies and procedures. She added that she hopes to work on installing condom dispensers near the dorms.

• Facilities Commissioner Carlos Quintanilla said the John Wooden Center Board of Governors will be voting on resolutions that aim to improve the sustainability of facilities at the center and create more inclusive and safe recreation spaces.

Compiled by Hee Jae Choi, Bruin reporter.