The Undergraduate Students Association Council held its third meeting of October on Tuesday.

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.

Public comment:

• Leila Salam, an intern at the California Public Interest Research Group, said students at UCLA and across the state are organizing events this week to protect old-growth forests. She added that CALPIRG plans to meet with the staff of Rep. Ted Lieu – who represents the congressional district that includes Westwood – and encouraged USAC to work with it to pass a resolution in support of the campaign.
• Ryan Khiev, the education coordinator of the Vietnamese Student Union, said he has been unable to access funding for an annual event aimed at encouraging high school students to pursue higher education. President Adam Tfayli asked Khiev to email him about the matter.

Funding:

• The council allocated $15,052.35 from the Capital Contingency Fund to 41 non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $4,554.11 from the Supplemental Fund for Service to six non-USAC entities.

Special presentation:

• External Vice President Javier Nuñez-Verdugo gave a presentation on the importance of advocating for disability justice. They said challenging institutionalized ableism is necessary to achieve collective liberation – an approach that considers all systems of oppression to be intersectional. Nuñez-Verdugo added that the lack of access to accommodations leads to the exclusion of individuals with disabilities in everyday spaces. They also explained the fundamentals of web accessibility, including considerations related to color contrast, spacing and fonts; using built-in features like alt text; and providing image descriptions.

Appointments:

• The council appointed Sage Tollefson, a third-year sociology transfer student, to the Campus Programs Committee.
• The council appointed Kinnedy Morgan, a third-year biology student, to the Campus Programs Committee.
• The council appointed Michelle Liou, a second-year business economics student, to the Finance Committee.
• The council rejected the appointment of Reiko Uchiumi, a second-year global studies student, as an international student representative to the Academic Senate Legislative Assembly.

Officer reports:

• Tfayli said in his written report that he attended a bonfire and vigil hosted by the Lebanese Student Association. He also said he attended the Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council sexual violence prevention presentation and met with Pamela Lewis – the ASUCLA student union services director – to discuss garnering support for USAC. Tfayli added that the Unhoused Task Force is currently in the process of crafting a final report.
• Internal Vice President Josh Garland said the Campus Safety Alliance is hosting a town hall Friday at 4 p.m. and encouraged council members to attend. He added in his written report that he talked about plans for Learn to Ride – where volunteers will guide UCLA students on a trip to teach them how to use public transportation in Los Angeles – at a meeting and will be releasing a sign-up form for interested leaders.
• Nuñez-Verdugo said officers should reach out if they want to participate in the EVP office’s Party to the Polls on Election Day. They did not respond to a request for their written officer report to be shared.
• General Representative Diego Emilio Bollo said in his written report that his basic needs director attended a Swipe Out Hunger meeting, where they discussed the possibility of instituting a program similar to CalFresh for undocumented students.
• General Representative Tommy Contreras said in his written report that he attended the meeting with Swipe Out Hunger and picketed with members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.

[Related: AFSCME Local 3299, nurses picket to demand higher wages, better working conditions]

• General Representative Chris Ramsey was not in attendance. He said in his written report that although he hopes to eventually bring more mentors into the Bruin Buddies program, with each mentor in his and International Student Representative Syed Tamim Ahmad’s offices’ initiative paired with two mentees as of now.
• Academic Affairs Commissioner Cristopher Espino said to find details in his officer report but did not update it.
• Campus Events Commissioner Robbie Hall was not in attendance. According to his written report, Hall met with William Morris Endeavor – a talent and media agency based in Beverly Hills – to talk about organizing an entertainment networking night.
• Community Service Commissioner Carolyn Wang was not in attendance. According to her written report, she arranged the first youth empowerment meeting and plans to continue holding them monthly to discuss liability and safety problems, develop shared curriculum resources and collaborate on events.
• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo was not in attendance. According to their written report, they arranged a “Word on Wednesday” event intended to center the voices of the Latinx and Pilipinx communities and hosted an art gallery to showcase the work of Latinx and Pilipinx individuals.
• Facilities Commissioner Alexandra Paul said in her written report that she plans to post a recap of the Sustainable Move-In event on Instagram Reels.
• Financial Supports Commissioner Nico Morrone said in his written report that his office is increasing financial transparency by enabling public access to view data of funding bodies on the USAC website.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Chiara Frank was not in attendance. According to her written report, she went to a meeting of the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Steering Committee to speak about communicating with students to ensure well-being on campus. She added that she is working to respond to the eviction of Good Clothes Good People from the Student Activities Center.

[Related: Student leaders seek new home for Basic Needs Redistribution Center after eviction notice]

• Transfer Student Representative Mona Tavassoli said in her written report that the Transfer Transitions committee is arranging an event for potential transfers, and she hopes to coordinate with more community colleges in Southern California.
• Ahmad said in his written report that he will be holding two panels – one for those in STEM and another for those in humanities – to provide international students with post-graduation career guidance. Ahmad said he is also working on the logistics of a postponed event where students can learn about expression through journaling.

Agenda items:

• The council approved a bylaw change to allow the IVP to appoint to the Congressional Advisory Board.
• Garland and Holly Hebden – the president of UCLA’s Good Clothes Good People – updated the council on the status of a space to house the Basic Needs Redistribution Center following a unanimously passed Sept. 17 USAC resolution criticizing the eviction. Hebden said despite working with university administration, there has been little progress in finding a feasible space to house the organization. She added that the Graduate Student Association offered to share a space with it in Kerckhoff Hall, although the Daily Bruin reported Thursday that GSA has since withdrawn from the deal.