The Undergraduate Students Association Council held its first meeting of November 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:

• Emily Martin, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at UCLA said the club lost nearly $8,500 in funding from the Undergraduate Students Association/Board of Directors Programming Fund because of a miscommunication between the Student Organizations Leadership & Engagement Office and the ASUCLA BOD. Financial Supports Commissioner Nico Morrone told Martin to email him about the matter.

Funding:

• The council allocated $16,874.67 from the Capital Contingency Fund to 40 non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $1,000 from the Supplemental Fund for Service to one non-USAC entity.
• The council allocated $500 from the Student Wellness Commission Programming Fund to one USAC entity.
• The council allocated $1,806 from the Academic Success Referendum Fund to seven non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $515.16 from the Academic Affairs Commission Travel Grant Mini Fund to two non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $11,633.48 from The Green Initiative Fund to seven non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $5,168 from the Community Service Transportation Fund to two non-USAC entities and one USAC entity.
• The council allocated $32,171.40 from the Community Service Mini Fund to 19 non-USAC entities and one USAC entity.

Appointments:

• The council appointed Lucy Yin, a fourth-year computational and systems biology student and the former USAC Finance Committee chair, as a member of the committee for the 2024-2025 academic year.
• The council appointed Brett Berndt, a third-year political science student, as a representative to the Academic Senate Undergraduate Council.
• The council appointed Youssef Boukhet, a third-year economics student, to the Student Health Advisory Committee.
• The council appointed Harvind Grewal, a third-year political science student, as an undergraduate representative to the UCLA Academic Senate.
• The council appointed Allston Liu, a third-year psychobiology student, to the Student Fee Advisory Committee.

Officer reports:

• President Adam Tfayli said in his written report that he met with representatives from Lyft to discuss a potential partnership. The council had previously voted to approve a Lyft partnership in March 2023, but it was vetoed by then-USAC President Carl King Jr. Tfayli also said he talked with Academic Senate leadership about student concerns and about working together with USAC in the future.
• Internal Vice President Josh Garland said he started meeting regularly with the leadership of the Disabled Student Union and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Development & Health Suzanne Seplow to discuss the ongoing external review of the Center for Accessible Education and to discuss other issues related to CAE and other accessibility concerns on campus.

[Related: ‘It’s just a fact’: Understaffed CAE office fails to meet students’ needs]

• External Vice President Javier Nuñez-Verdugo said the UC Student Association is looking for people to run in its election for two of its campaign vice chair roles. They also said in their written report that they attended a mixer with members of the UCLA administration and Academic Senate leadership with other members of the council about supporting student well-being in the classroom, addressing campus climate issues and beginning talks of reviving anti-ableism faculty training.
• General Representative Diego Emilio Bollo said in his written report that he coordinated his office’s Latine caucus and is continuing preparations for the Undocumented Student Health Fair.
• General Representative Tommy Contreras said in his written report that he attended a meeting with Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck and continued planning his office’s Financial Literacy Night.
• General Representative Chris Ramsey said in his written report that he met with Director of ASUCLA Student Union Services Pamela Lewis to discuss his plan to buy summer storage units in bulk at a discount for students and attended the mixer with administration.
• Academic Affairs Commissioner Cristopher Espino said in his written report that his office held its first general meeting.
• Campus Events Commissioner Robbie Hall said in his written report that he posted a Bruin Bash recap on Instagram.
• Community Service Commissioner Carolyn Wang said in her written report that she was chosen as the vice chair of the Student Risk Education Committee and met with Mick Deluca, the associate vice chancellor for campus life, about the Basic Needs Redistribution Center. After receiving an eviction notice, the center attempted to relocate to a space hosted by the Graduate Student Association, but the GSA pulled out of the deal.
• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo said their office will be hosting a gallery with the American Indian Student Association and Pacific Islands Student Association for Indigenous Heritage Month and will be hosting its Indigenous Expressions event.
• Facilities Commissioner Alexandra Paul said in her written report that she discussed project plans and started outreach for the Office Space Allocation Committee, which is looking to identify new storage sites for campus organizations. The UCLA Ceramics Club previously complained about a lack of safe storage sites after being the victim of a suspected theft. Paul added that she attended a Campus Bicycle Advocacy Committee meeting and hosted an OSAC meeting.
• Morrone said in his written report that he reached out to UCLA Dining to schedule meetings about meal swipe value and UCLA Government and Community Relations to schedule meetings to discuss attaining discounts for students at vendors in Westwood. Morrone said he also attended the mixer with administration.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Chiara Frank said in her written report that she met with the Disabled Student Union to discuss how to better support it. She added that she attended the mixer with UCLA administration and a Student Health Advisory Committee meeting.
• Transfer Student Representative Mona Tavassoli said in her written report that she was starting to prepare for her office’s Transfer Advocacy Open House and was collaborating with UCLA Commuter Support & Programs to host a social event.
• International Student Representative Syed Tamim Ahmad said in his written report that he had a meeting with UCLA Residential Life to finalize publicity efforts and event logistics for the Bruins Around the World event and confirmed a trip to the Hammer Museum as part of the Bruin Buddies program.