The Undergraduate Students Association Council held its second meeting of the month Aug. 20.

USAC is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings are open to all students and usually take place in person at the Bruin Viewpoint Room and on Zoom every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Students can find the links for the meetings on the agenda posted on the USAC website or watch a livestream on the USAC Live! channel on YouTube.

Special presentations:

• Executive Director of UCLA Recreation Erinn McMahan and UCLA Recreation FITWELL Program Director Amber Brown gave a presentation discussing the 2024-2025 John Wooden Center construction project. McMahan said the Wooden Center will be prioritized over other buildings on campus for seismic improvement and renovations. In addition to seismic improvements, the project includes programmatic improvements and new surfaces and fixtures, he said. The construction will be done in sequences, so students will still be able to access certain areas when they are not being worked on, McMahan said. UCLA Recreation has implemented ways to lessen the impact of the closure, including by installing outdoor weight stations at Drake Stadium and using the Pardee Gym for basketball courts, McMahan said, adding that the project is expected to be completed in winter 2027.
• Hispanic-serving Institution student liaison Kimberly Barrueta gave a presentation on summer HSI updates. Barrueta said UCLA is considered an emerging HSI with an enrollment of 23.2% Latino students, and that the HSI student team would expand in the upcoming year, including with the creation of a Student Advisory Board. Barrueta also shared information about a new scholarship program that will benefit 97 students with high financial need. The students who were awarded the scholarship did not need to submit an application and were notified based on their financial information. Barrueta also shared details of student engagement programs and updates regarding the Latinx Success Center, including its new startup location in De Neve.
• President Adam Tfayli gave a presentation about the financial future of USAC. According to projections based on current spending, USAC spending is expected to exceed income as early as 2025, he said. Tfayli added that there are several ways in which USAC could increase its income without raising student fees, such as doing brand deals. He said he intends to create guidelines for brand collaborations, including what kinds of companies the council may partner with and what percentages of revenue will go to which areas of USAC.
• Tfayli and External Vice President Javier Nuñez-Verdugo shared a presentation summarizing their experiences at the UC Office of the President Student Leadership Summit on Aug. 15 and 16. Tfayli and Nuñez-Verdugo said they learned about many aspects of the UC system, including updates to student financial support, housing and student mental health.

Appointments:

• The council rejected the appointment of Bella Benavides, a rising third-year international development studies and political science student, to the Campus Programs Committee.
• The council appointed Dante Ray, a rising second-year economics and political science student, as a representative to the Academic Senate Committee on Faculty Welfare.

Officer reports:

• Tfayli said he met with two potential sponsors for USAC funding. He added that he and Nuñez-Verdugo met with interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt and other administrators, who agreed to meet with Tfayli and Nuñez-Verdugo on a monthly basis, as opposed to the previous quarterly frequency. Tfayli said he also met with ASUCLA student government support manager Jonathan Wisner to discuss potential brand deals and with members of the Muslim Student Association to discuss creating a prayer room. Tfayli also said he started research on creating a restorative justice program at UCLA and that he had a meeting with UC President Michael Drake to discuss campus climate and new policy changes.
• Internal Vice President Josh Garland said he met with Campus Safety Alliance members to approve their guidelines for the year and is working to include a grocery store gift card program to support undocumented and international students.
• Nuñez-Verdugo said they met with the Black Student Affairs team to set an agenda for the upcoming year and discuss the pillars of Black student advocacy. They added that they are working to develop an officewide code of conduct to better support staffers in their office. Nuñez-Verdugo said they participated in the August meeting of the UC Board of Regents Health Services Committee to advocate for culturally conscious mental health options for students. They also said they are working with the Disabled Student Union on a community safety resolution in response to Drake’s letter regarding encampments.

[Related: UC President Michael Drake bans encampments on all campuses]

• General Representative Diego Emilio Bollo said he met with members of Bruin Dine to discuss expanding food recovery sites and attended an HSI conference.
• General Representative Tommy Contreras said in a written report that he attended a meeting of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council to question representatives from California Highway Patrol about its response to attacks on and sweep of the first Palestine solidarity encampment.
• General Representative Chris Ramsey said he met with members from International Student Representative Syed Tamim Ahmad’s office to work on his plan for the Bruin Buddies program, which pairs international and domestic students to participate in bonding activities for the upcoming school year.
• Academic Affairs Commissioner Cristopher Espino said in a written report that he met with textbook affordability advisors to discuss Open Educational Resources.
• Campus Events Commissioner Robert Hall said he is preparing for Bruin Bash and the Enormous Activities Fair.
• Community Service Commissioner Carolyn Wang said she is searching for sites for her office’s Volunteer Day and brainstorming ways for transfers to be involved in the event.
• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo did not update their office report for the meeting.
• Facilities Commissioner Alexandra Paul said in a written report that she is planning move-in events and has meetings scheduled regarding safe parking and airport shuttle buses for fall quarter.
• Financial Supports Commissioner Nico Morrone said he met with the BruinCard office to discuss discounted replacements for BruinCards.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Chiara Frank said she attended the Healthy Campus Initiative meeting, where she discussed goals for student mental health at UCLA. She also met with the implementation group for the UCLA Narcan Distribution Project to discuss increasing the availability of fentanyl test strips and Narcan on campus.
• Transfer Student Representative Mona Tavassoli said in a written report that she met with all groups involved in the upcoming Transfer Transitions event and met with Wang’s office to discuss involving more transfer students in Volunteer Day.
• Ahmad said he had a meeting with T-Mobile to discuss brand deals, has been working with the Academic Advancement Program to provide more resources to undocumented and international students, and met with the Alumni Center to discuss collaboration opportunities to promote student involvement and cultural immersion.

Agenda items:

• The council approved a change to its bylaws that included the hiring of a new student staffer to oversee office space allocations.
• The council approved a change to its bylaws that adds two new USAC appointments to the Data Governance Committee and Academic Technology Committee.
• The council approved a change to its bylaws replacing the International Student Leadership Committee with a new International Student Wellness Committee.