USAC recap – Feb. 15

During the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting on Feb. 15, Academic Affairs Commissioner Angelina Quint said her office’s Campus of Care committee is reaching out to professors and departments as part of its initiative to make syllabi accessible to students prior to enrollment. Quint added that her office is planning to host a healing space event in collaboration with student organizations and UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services.

Public Comment:

• Radha Patel, a fourth-year sociology student and chapter chair of the California Public Interest Research Group at UCLA, said CALPIRG ran a successful pledge drive this year. She added that it was able to meet its goal of signing up 1,005 new members who are focusing on textbook affordability, clean Los Angeles transportation and preparing for the spring midterm elections.

Allocations:

• The council allocated $750 to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at UCLA for a winter retreat.

• The council allocated $315.79 to the UCLA Student Stroke Force, a volunteer organization, for a karaoke night and $500 for a winter volunteer appreciation banquet.

• The council allocated $2,210 to the Vietnamese Community Health Project at UCLA for a winter patient care package drive.

• The council allocated $650 to the Student Wellness Commission’s Total Wellness division for a winter training and retreat.

• The council allocated $750 to the UCLA Singaporean Students Association for a winter retreat.

• The council allocated $500 to Nursing Students at UCLA for its official club gear.

• The council allocated $1,966.67 to the InterVarsity Bruin Christian Fellowship for its Yule Ball and $500 for a senior retreat.

• The council allocated $750 to Kappa Alpha Pi, a pre-law co-ed fraternity, for a winter retreat.

• The council allocated $1,742.92 to the Asian Pacific Coalition for its third annual Southeast Asian Students for Organizing Conference.

• The council allocated $650 to Asian Pacific American Health Collaboration, Access, Resource and Education for an Alhambra Lunar New Year festival health fair.

• The council allocated $600 to FAST at UCLA for a guide designed to help students navigate the downtown LA fashion district.

• The council allocated $270 to China Care Bruins, an organization that strives to build relationships between transracial and transcultural international and domestic adoptees and their families with UCLA students, for a retreat cancellation fee.

• The council allocated $466.67 to Foundations Choreography, a UCLA dance group that teaches hip-hop to beginner and intermediate dancers, for its winter showcase, Aflame.

• The council allocated $92 to BiochemASE, a biochemistry student association, for a student meeting.

• The council allocated $384 to SLAM at UCLA, a music mentorship student organization, for a quarterly retreat and new member training.

• The council allocated $151 to Confections for a Cause, a social baking club that fundraises for charity, for baking workshops.

• The council allocated $106.33 to the Alumni Scholars Club for a winter tutoring program and $266.67 for its Cookies and Cramming Grab-n-Go program.

• The council allocated $750 to the Catholic Student Association for Ash Wednesday.

• The council allocated $250 to DataRes at UCLA, a platform that fosters collaboration among data scientists, for a winter celebration.

• The council allocated $42.33 to the Pinky Swear PACK, an organization that helps provide emotional and financial support for kids with cancer and their families, for an end-of-year picnic.

• The council allocated $186 to the Vietnamese Student Union for a 2022 VSU alumni dinner.

Reports:

• President Breeze Velazquez said the sit-in at Murphy Hall is the longest sit-in in UCLA history, adding that many of the organizers’ demands regarding increased accessibility and education equity are being met. She said that although some of the Disabled Student Union’s demands have not yet been met, she is pleased with the outcome of the sit-in. Velazquez said student leaders met with Monroe Gorden Jr., the vice chancellor of student affairs, on Saturday for five hours to talk through the demands of the organizations coordinating the sit-in. She added that she met with the Academic Senate to discuss how student input is received.

• Internal Vice President Cassandra Gatica said in a written report that the Strengthen Student Wellbeing committee is working on updating the collaborative mental health resource guide. She added that the Mobilize the Masses committee is planning a KN95 mask distribution on the Hill in collaboration with the Student Wellness Commission. She also said her office is continuing to meet with Campus Assault Resources and Education to work on the Sexual Violence Sexual Harassment toolkit, despite being delayed by Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement. She added that the Student Housing Relief Award initiative is finalizing which department to collaborate with for award disbursements.

• External Vice President Sarah Wang said her office held a Q&A with Rep. Adam Schiff. She added that Schiff pledged support for its noninstructional election day, which her office is working on with the Academic Senate and across the University of California. She also said her office released a UCLA voter guide in advance of upcoming elections. Wang said her office worked on California Senate Bill 16, which allows police records to be subject to disclosure in situations relating to oversight and unreasonable force. She also said her office worked on California Assembly Bill 267, which mandates that all public schools – including UCLA – have free menstrual products in all women’s and all-gender restrooms. Wang added that California passed AB 245, which requires UCLA to not use dead names for students and update student names upon request. She also said that her office worked to help pass AB 1184, which allows students to have privacy with the UC Student Health Insurance Plan, even if their parents are paying for their medical costs.

• Academic Affairs Commissioner Angelina Quint said the transfer student representative’s office presented at the Center for Organizational Readiness and Education meeting in the Academic Senate. She added that the admissions office expressed interest in learning more about under-resourced community colleges to bring more accessibility to higher education. She also said her office saw an overall decrease in transfer applications from the past application cycle. Quint added that she had a meeting with the Undergraduate Student Initiated Education program to discuss getting USIE courses on the course planner for students to enroll in. She also said she’s asking students to provide testimony on course accessibility and why remote options are important as part of her office’s project with the Disabled Student Union. Quint added that her office is planning to host a healing space event in collaboration with the offices of general representative 1, CAPS, the student wellness commissioner, the internal vice president and other student organizations. She said that her office met with Jasmine Rush, interim dean of students, about adding the student advocate board to the list of resources for the office of student conduct, as well as expanding it to financial aid and Title IX issues. She also said that her office’s Campus of Care committee is reaching out to professors and departments as part of their initiative to get open access syllabi so students can access course syllabi prior to enrollment.

• Transfer Student Representative Herman Luis Chavez said in a written report that his office met with Rush to discuss transfer orientation, Transfer Student Center funding and allyship trainings for staff and administration. They added that the transfer student representative’s office presented to the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools about transfer admissions to inform it of transfer history and experiences in the admissions process as well as to express further collaborations around a transfer seat on the committee and its associated bylaw change.

• Jenny Wang, a chair of the USAC Finance Committee, said the committee updated outdated links and shipping costs. She also said that contingency has been allocating funding for shipping costs the whole quarter, but many students had questions about it. She said the allocation of shipping costs is limited to $200 per event per organization for virtual events only.