USAC recap – Oct. 18

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government that represents the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students. Watch a livestream of the meetings on the USAC Live! YouTube channel.

Agenda items

• USAC President Danny Siegel appointed second-year Haley Gamboa and third-year Isabelle Bock to the Committee on Disability.
• The council approved about $4,730 to the Contingency Programming Fund.
• External vice president Rafi Sands said the Bruin Defenders fund has received a $500 allocation request from Responsible Endowment Coalition for members to attend a conference.

Officer reports

• Siegel said he sat down with Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, to talk about ways they can make Westwood better serve students. He said they spoke about making stores more student friendly and having more events and community service opportunities in the village.

• He added council members attended the Undocumented CommUNITY event Thursday night, to show support and make sure undocumented students felt safe on campus.

• Siegel said he had a conversation Friday with an ad hoc committee about ensuring fees from referenda passed in May’s election will be allocated to organizations as quickly as possible. He added he will discuss gun violence at a panel with Los Angeles city attorney offices on Nov. 3.

• Siegel said the Community Programs Office held a banquet at the James West Alumni Center.

• Internal vice president Sabrina Zeigler said her office is planning to have a finals study hall on Friday of Week 10 for students. Zeigler added she is planning to invite UCPD to an event in Bruin Plaza during Week 8, which would foster dialogue between police and students, especially students of color.

• Sands said the voter registration deadline is in 6 days. He added BruinsVote registered 500 people today at the last Turnout Tuesday event and online.

• Academic Affairs commissioner Ashly Mohankumar said she has arranged a ‘Stress Free Day’ on Oct. 25th in Bruin Plaza, which will allow students to pet puppies and receive free blue books and scantrons. She added she is planning to invite speakers and recruiters from tech firms to speak about networking tips and professional skills on Nov. 15th in Ackerman Grand Salon.

• Student Wellness commissioner Christina Lee mentioned the possibility of introducing free menstrual products on the Hill. She added the Student Wellness Commission’s Sexperts Committee will hold a panel called “My Sexual Debut” on Thursday.

• Facilities commissioner Sandra Rhee discussed a new UCOP ballot propositions policy that states each line item has to be a separate proposition. She added the changes will apply to the next USAC election.

• Rhee said her office plans to hold a meeting next week to discuss restructuring the Community Service Officer van service. The office is still working on collecting data and gathering student testimonies.

• General representative 2 Ruchit Majmudar said he met with University Religious Conference board members to establish a permanent spiritual space on campus. He said the board is looking to create a permanent position around interfaith activities.