Gene Block, vice chancellors discuss COVID-19 vaccines, UCPD, CAPS and more

Chancellor Gene Block meets with the Daily Bruin Editorial Board every quarter to discuss issues affecting campus and to explain administrative policies. At the Feb. 25 meeting, Block was joined by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Monroe Gorden Jr., Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Anna Spain Bradley and Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications Mary Osako. Senior Advisor to the Chancellor and Chief of Staff Yolanda Gorman and Chief of Operations for the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center John Bollard spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic, UCLA’s vaccination plans, free speech, campus culture and diversity, reforms to campus policing, student resources and student employees.

COVID-19 Response

UCLA plans to offer in-person classes fall quarter, but will continue remote instruction through summer sessions. LA County’s decreasing transmission rates are close to meeting the requirements for fewer restrictions, according to the LA County Department of Public Health.

UCLA announced on Feb. 24 that the university plans to reopen some on-campus activities, including libraries and some performing arts studios, after the LACDPH loosened restrictions on Feb. 22.

• Beck said UCLA has been advocating for LA County to allow some level of social or physical activities on campus that are allowed in other areas of the county.
• UCLA followed LA County guidelines and has not delayed any reopenings, Block said.
• Beck said UCLA requires any faculty, staff or students on campus to fill out symptom monitoring surveys and receive COVID-19 testing weekly.
• UCLA developed its own contact tracing system independent of LA County, Beck said. He added that the university continued contact tracing when LA County’s public health system was overwhelmed and unable to do so. Beck said UCLA is expanding its contact tracing program in anticipation of more students returning to campus in the fall.
• Bollard said the Ashe Center will continue to expand its COVID-19 testing program on campus as more students return to Westwood.

Vaccines

UCLA announced plans in January to offer COVID-19 vaccines to students for free. However, administrators have said they do not know when students can receive vaccines because the vaccination timeline depends on state regulations and the number of available vaccines.

• Bollard said he does not know when UCLA will be able to vaccinate most students. Anyone more than 16 years old with an underlying health condition will be eligible for vaccines beginning March 15, Bollard said.
• UCLA Health is vaccinating eligible faculty, staff and other university employees, Bollard said.
• UCLA’s vaccination plans depend on the number of vaccines UCLA receives from the state, Bollard said. However, he said UCLA is prepared to vaccinate the student body when it receives doses from California.
• Block said UCLA is considering how to offer remote instruction for domestic and international students who may not be able to attend fall 2021 classes in person.

Free Speech and Campus Culture

The board discussed two incidents of hate speech involving UCLA students.

Christian Secor, a UCLA undergraduate student, was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 16 under suspicion of participating in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. The FBI charged Secor with five crimes, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds and obstructing an official proceeding.

UCLA Athletics dismissed former cross country and track student-athlete Chris Weiland on Feb. 22 after video and text messages emerged of the fourth-year using racist, homophobic and sexist language. The UCLA Black Student-Athlete Alliance released a statement on its Instagram on the night of Feb. 22 condemning UCLA Athletics’ inaction around the incidents. The post was reposted by the Afrikan Student Union at UCLA and other campus organizations.

• The university wants to protect first amendment rights while fostering an environment in which Bruin values are upheld, Block said. He added that these two goals can be in conflict with each other, and that education is important in creating an environment where everyone is tolerant of different viewpoints and respectful of one another.
• Bradley said student and faculty codes of conduct require the UCLA community to advance equity, diversity and inclusion. University codes of conduct prevent harassment and discrimination and hold people accountable for inappropriate conduct, Bradley said.
• Bradley said the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is creating a new reporting system for discrimination or harassment that is more user-friendly and provides students with appropriate contact information.
• Bradley said her office worked with former UCLA Academic Senate Chair Shane White to issue a joint statement about fostering an inclusive learning environment that upholds Bruin values.
• Students who violate the code of conduct may have to take a training course, meet with the dean’s office or face suspension and expulsion, Gorden said.

UCPD and Policing

Faculty and students have called on the university to divert police budgets to alternative means of campus safety such as mental health resources and resources for food and housing insecure students.

UCLA is reviewing a proposed program that would send trained mental health professionals to mental-health-related incidents to support or in place of UCPD personnel. The program would create a trained mental health crisis response unit led by responders from campus departments, including UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services.

• Block said the university is listening to a broad set of voices to determine how UCLA can create campus safety protocols that make everyone feel protected and respected.
• The university will host listening sessions where people can voice concerns about campus safety and will establish guidelines for campus safety, Gorman said.
• Beck said his office is working with CAPS to create a new response plan for students undergoing a mental health episode.
• Trained clinicians will be the primary point of contact for students experiencing a mental health crisis, Beck said. He said only plainclothes officers in plain, unmarked vehicles may participate in responding to mental health episodes along with trained clinicians. Beck added the officer would help de-escalate the situation.
• Gorden said mental health professionals who have received advanced training in equity, diversity and inclusion will assist students in crisis. The university values the program to dispatch trained mental health professionals because it would help decriminalize mental health, Gorden said.

The University of California planned to introduce body cameras at all campus police departments by 2016. UCPD finished issuing body cameras to all active personnel as of Jan. 1.

• Cameras will be automatically turned on and officers who violate body camera policies will be disciplined, Beck said. He said UCPD will periodically audit camera footage, but did not say what the audit will consist of. UCPD internal investigations will review the footage if someone files a complaint against an officer, Beck said. UCPD may issue discipline if footage shows an officer violating UCPD policy or the law, Beck said.

The board asked the administrators to explain why UCPD delayed Daily Bruin’s California Public Records Act requests for recent UCPD stop and arrest data for nine months.

• Osako said strategic communications will meet with the UCPD records office March 1 to better understand why UCPD delayed the release of these records. Osako said strategic communications is happy to facilitate communication and understanding between UCPD and the Daily Bruin.

Black Resource Center

UCLA announced it would create a Black Resource Center in June after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial discrimination. Black students, led by the Afrikan Student Union and the Black Graduate Students Association, have pushed the university to fund the creation of the BRC since 2015.

• Block said the Black Resource Center is offering programs online, but the pandemic has slowed the opening of the center’s physical space.
• The BRC will be located in Kerckhoff Hall and UCLA expects to finish renovating the space by the beginning of fall quarter 2021, Gorden said. He added that students off campus will be able to access the resource center in a hybrid environment.
• Gorden said the BRC is holding virtual events for students, staff and faculty. He added that these programs will continue throughout spring and summer.

BruinHub

UCLA rejected a proposal supported by the Undergraduate Students Association Council to create safe parking spaces for housing-insecure students in October. Instead, the university announced in November that it would open a BruinHub at the John Wooden Center to provide students with basic needs resources.

• Gorden said the pandemic has postponed BruinHub’s renovations. He said the University plans to open BruinHub at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. Gorden said UCLA also provides funding for students who need assistance in paying for living expenses. He added that the University currently provides students with emergency housing.
• The University aims to eliminate housing insecurity for students, Block said. He said UCLA is making an effort to identify ways it can ensure students do not have to worry about having a place to sleep.

Fall 2021 Admission Diversity

UCLA received a record number of applications for fall 2021 admission. Nearly 168,000 students applied to UCLA for fall 2021 admission, a 24.6% increase compared to 2020. The number of applications from historically underrepresented communities also increased.

• UCLA’s decision to not consider standardized exams in admissions could have contributed to the increase in applications, Block said. He said he thinks many capable students did not apply to UCLA in the past because they did not think they were qualified. Block added he expects the strong pool of applicants from all backgrounds to yield diversity in the incoming class.
• Gorden said a number of student groups worked to recruit prospective students from their communities. He said the partnerships between university administrators and students are essential to increasing diversity throughout the student body.
• The University needs to encourage admitted students to enroll, Block said. He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated these efforts.
• Block said an important part of diversifying the campus is creating an environment in which prospective students from all backgrounds can see themselves thriving. UCLA is working to increase scholarships and provide students with financial support, Block said.

CAPS

CAPS paused students’ session limits starting in spring quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year to accommodate an increase in demand for mental health care. CAPS will adjust students’ session limits to meet demand, reduce wait times and provide quality short-term care.

• Gorden said students will still have access to an unlimited number of CAPS appointments through the fall. UCLA will need to limit the number of CAPS appointments students can make per quarter once most students are back on campus, he added.

Student Workers

Student workers at UCLA Housing Safety said Housing Safety put them in dangerous work situations, ignored complaints and delayed paychecks.

• Beck said UCLA Housing Safety complaints resulted from a supervisor issue. He said that he is confident the concerns have been resolved and will not happen again.

• UCLA has provided resident assistants and the university’s professional staff with additional training regarding COVID-19 protocols and diversity, equity and inclusion, Gorden said. He said he expects students to feel more equipped to handle situations after the training.

• Gorden said RA training normally happens during the summer, but the university will hold training sessions throughout the year. UCLA is working to improve communication so students who want additional training or information can report their concerns and the university can address those concerns, he added.

Amazon Gift Cards

UCLA used Amazon gift cards to compensate students who received a tax withholding error for the 2019 fiscal year. However, some students said they were frustrated with UCLA’s use of gift cards because they cannot use them to pay for more pressing financial needs such as utilities and rent.

• Beck said reissuing a check for a previous tax period would be difficult for the University and for student employees. UCLA gave students the option to request gift cards for another business they shop at more frequently, Beck said.
• Students would have to refile amended taxes if the university issued checks, Block said.
• Block said the error resulted from the university switching payroll systems. He added that he does not foresee UCLA paying students with Amazon gift cards in the future.
• Block and Beck said the University expected the gift cards to be more popular than they were with student employees.
• UCLA thought the $10 Amazon gift cards had a greater value than the money UCLA owed student workers, Beck said.