The Undergraduate Students Association Council held its second meeting of November on Tuesday.

USAC is the official student government that represents the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every Tuesday at 7 p.m., and they are open to all students. Meetings typically take place in person at the Bruin Viewpoint Room and online on Zoom. Students can watch the livestream on the USAC Live! YouTube channel and find the links on the agenda posted on the USAC website.

Public comment:

• Andrew Choi, the executive director for the Con Brio String Orchestra, said the organization did not receive its approved funding of $292.94 from the Cultural Affairs Commission via the Arts Restoring Community Fund in spring. Choi said the organization submitted three requisition forms on time but claimed CAC never signed or submitted these forms. CAC also approved $1,080 in a recharge order request, but Choi said the organization never received such funds and received no responses in return to their multiple inquiries. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo – who canceled their office’s spring events following the attack on and police sweep of the Palestine solidarity encampment – said they will speak to an advisor about the matter.

[Related: Cultural Affairs Commission cancels events through end of academic year]

Funding:

• The council allocated $9,568.67 from the Capital Contingency Fund to 34 non-USAC entities and three USAC entities.

• The council allocated $5,420 from the Supplemental Fund for Service to four non-USAC entities and one USAC entity.

• The council allocated $134.55 from the Academic Success Referendum Fund to one non-USAC entity.

• The council allocated $800 from the Academic Affairs Commission Travel Grant Mini Fund to two non-USAC entities.

• The council allocated $386.22 from The Green Initiative Fund to one non-USAC entity.

Special presentations:

• Tiffany Crosby, the senior director at Off Campus Partners – a company that aims to simplify the process of finding off-campus housing for students – and Jolissa Yonker, the Strategic University Partnerships Manager at Off Campus Partners, introduced the company’s off-campus housing initiative, which they said simplifies off-campus housing and roommate searches for students. Crosby said the initiative had been passed by USAC in a previous year but was ultimately denied by UCLA Housing, which said it was not a necessity for students. Yonker gave a demonstration of Off Campus Partners’ website and implored USAC to help the company try again to partner with UCLA Housing.

• Heeya Firdaus – the chairperson of the ASUCLA Board of Directors, as well as Ayesha Mirza and Evan Sang – two undergraduate members of the board – gave a presentation about the board’s programming, including plans for a CalFresh fair to promote student enrollment in the program and updates about ASUCLA programming. They also shared information on how to bring issues to the board, which includes contacting committee chairs, who review the issue and then can recommend adding the issue to the board’s agenda for their monthly meetings.
• Verdugo shared a presentation about the Mother Organizations coalition. The Mother Organizations coalition is a group that aims to empower groups that have traditionally been affected by prejudice, marginalization and discrimination, she said. The coalition is made up of organizations including the Muslim Student Association, Queer Alliance, Afrikan Student Union, Vietnamese Student Union and American Indian Student Association. Verdugo said the coalition also focuses on projects that aim to increase access to resources and opportunities for these groups, as well as retention projects that provide students with resources to support them until graduation. Verdugo said one example of the coalition’s advocacy is its 2022 sit-in at Murphy Hall, during which the coalition demanded that UCLA administration offer hybrid learning options.

Appointments:

• The council appointed Nalin Jayaswal, a third-year economics and cognitive science student, to the Campus Programs Committee.

• The council appointed Hannah Truong, a third-year computer science student, to the Campus Programs Committee.

• The council appointed Renesh Gudipati, a third-year computational and systems biology student, to the Drug Free Schools Committee.

Officer reports:

• President Adam Tfayli said he was in San Francisco to lobby at the UC Board of Regents meeting.

• Internal Vice President Josh Garland said he met with the Student Fees Advisory Committee chair and vice chair to discuss his office and the council’s priorities.

• External Vice President Javier Nuñez-Verdugo did not update their officer report for the week and did not attend the meeting.

• General Representative Diego Emilio Bollo said in a written report that his office held a Latino Caucus event, adding that he is planning a resource fair for undocumented students.

• General Representative Tommy Contreras said his office is hosting a financial literacy night Wednesday, as well as an event in solidarity with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 on Tuesday, the night before the union is set to strike.

• General Representative Chris Ramsey said in his written report that he is working to create a new student summer storage program for students and is going to meet with Swipe Out Hunger to collaborate on advocacy projects.

• Academic Affairs Commissioner Cristopher Espino did not update his officer report for the week and did not attend the meeting.

• Campus Events Commissioner Robbie Hall said his office is hosting advanced screenings of “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” in the coming weeks.

• Community Service Commissioner Carolyn Wang said applications for her office’s Alternative Breaks program are available. The program allows students to volunteer to help marginalized communities.

[Related: Alternative Breaks offers first-hand experience with underserved communities]

• Verdugo said their office collaborated with the American Indian Student Association and Pacific Islands Students Association to host an Indigenous Expressions Event.

• Facilities Commissioner Alexandra Paul said in a written report that her office hosted Operation Firefly, which featured the distribution of free helmets and lights to students that ride bikes or scooters Tuesday.

• Financial Supports Commissioner Nico Morrone said in his written report that he is working with UCLA Government and Community Relations to create more opportunities for student discounts in Westwood.

• Student Wellness Commissioner Chiara Frank said in her written report that she met with Bruin Dine to discuss their goals for the year and also met with Environmental Awareness, Recycling and Terrestrial Health, a division of the Student Wellness Commission, and UCLA Sustainability to talk about plastic removal across campus. She added that she is working on fentanyl test strip and naloxone training for staff.

• Transfer Student Representative Mona Tavassoli said her office is planning a commuter mixer event.

• International Student Representative Syed Tamim Ahmad said his office is hosting its Bruins Around the World event Tuesday, as well as an International Alumni Networking Panel event Monday.

Agenda items:

• The council approved a letter in support of the expansion of Bruin Dine food distribution and recovery locations.

• The council approved the Office Space Allocation Committee allocations for the 2024-2026 cycle.

• The council proposed a bylaw change that removes some role requirements for student appointments to the Student Activities Center Board of Governors. Appointments so far have been one student from the Campus Retention Committee, one from the Student Initiated Outreach Community and one from the Community Programs Office Association. The proposed change is that one appointment must come from either the CRC or SIOC, and the other three appointments being at-large.