Committee to present proposed bylaws for USAC transfer seat
By Samantha Tomilowitz
June 9, 2014 3:46 p.m.
Undergraduate student government officers and transfer student advocates finished outlining the responsibilities for a newly created transfer representative council position Thursday night.
Under the proposed bylaws change, the transfer student representative would work with student groups and the vice chancellor of student affairs to improve student retention. The representative would also address issues related to transfer student housing and maintain ongoing communications with the On-Campus Housing Council, students living in off-campus housing and students who commute, among others.
The new representative may also head a standing committee that would serve as a task force to address transfer student issues.
In the Undergraduate Students Association Council election in May, students voted to create a new transfer representative position that would specifically address the interests and needs of UCLA transfer students. The representative will be elected in the fall, earn the same $672 per month stipend as other councilmembers and head his or her own office and staff.
Through a series of ad hoc meetings held this quarter, several USAC officers and other students drafted the language of the bylaws to determine the specific role and duties for the new position.
USAC President Devin Murphy said he thinks a standing committee would be a resource the new representative could utilize to expand the type of advocacy work he or she does for transfer students on campus. The idea of a standing committee will be proposed for discussion at the council meeting on Tuesday.
If USAC approves of the standing committee idea, the students who helped draft the bylaws will reconvene during the fall quarter to discuss the parameters of the task force, Murphy said.
Murphy said he thinks the new language for the transfer representative bylaws is specific enough for the student elected to the position to have an equal voice on the council but general enough that future representatives can expand the role according to their offices’ goals.
“This transfer representative is something that affects all of us and it’s important that students help review and discuss the language with (USAC) so the language can best develop the position,” Murphy said.
He added that he would like to see the representative collaborate with transfer groups and advocate for the efforts of USAC in the transfer community.
The council will not vote on the proposed bylaws until the new language is approved by the Constitutional Review Committee. Murphy said the timeline for the council to approve the position’s bylaws over summer is still unclear.
Members of the ad hoc committee will present the bylaws during the last council meeting of the school year in Kerckhoff 417 on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Compiled by Samantha Tomilowitz, Bruin senior staff.
