The Undergraduate Students Association Council discussed efforts to secure permanent funding for the Latinx Success Center and host upcoming forums on campus safety at its Oct. 20 meeting.

USAC is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings are open to the public and usually take place in the Bruin Viewpoint Room and on Zoom every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Students can find meeting agendas on the USAC website and watch a livestream on the USAC Live! channel on YouTube.

Public comment

• No attendees spoke during the public comment period.

Funding

• The council allocated $16,325.36 from the Contingency Programming Fund to 46 non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $165.52 from the Student Wellness Commission Programming Fund to two non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $465.59 from the Academic Success Referendum Fund to two non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $2,766.28 from the Academic Affairs Commission Travel Grant Mini Fund to seven non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $1,388.22 from The Green Initiative Fund to three non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $13,919.28 from the Community Service Transportation Fund to six USAC entities and 11 non-USAC entities.
• The council allocated $50,212.71 from the USA/BOD Programming Fund to 45 non-USAC entities in a 14-0 vote.
• The council voted 14-0 to amend its Oct. 13 meeting minutes to reflect a corrected Supplemental Fund for Service allocation of $20,508.93. Community Service Commissioner Maya Gheewala said the previously reported total mistakenly counted double the allocations for two organizations.

Appointments

• The council appointed Simona Gaime, a second-year political science student, to the Student Conduct Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• The council appointed Elijah Mei, a first-year business economics student, to the Finance Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• The council appointed Thomas Umu, a third-year neuroscience student, to the Campus Retention Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.

Officer reports

• President Jayha Buhs Jackson said her office is organizing a hate crime reporting event Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. with Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Safety Steve Lurie, UCPD Chief of Police Craig Valenzuela and members of the Civil Rights Office. She added that her office is partnering with Internal Vice President Gabrielle Trujillo for a Nov. 18 forum about UCLA’s Time, Place and Manner policies, with a location to be determined.
• Trujillo said she will lead discussions with administrators about permanent funding for the Latinx Success Center on Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. in Murphy Hall, adding that her office will hold a Latine leadership town hall Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. ahead of those discussions. Trujillo also announced two Friday events: a climate justice demonstration from noon to 2 p.m. in Bruin Plaza and a town hall with the Mother Organizations Coalition – a group of student organizations that advocates for historically marginalized communities at UCLA – at the Straus Clubhouse in the Los Angeles Tennis Center from 6 to 8 p.m., according to her report. She added that her office is helping to organize a Día de los Muertos community altar event Oct. 29 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Latinx Success Center and a town hall about ending sexual violence at UCLA on Nov. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Bruin Viewpoint Room.
• External Vice President Cecilia Choy said her office plans to hold a Nov. 10 town hall with organizations from the Mother Organizations Coalition to advocate against implementing standardized testing requirements for UC admissions ahead of the UC Board of Regents’ November meeting. She said her office aims to collect at least 400 written public comments and bring at least one representative from each organization in the coalition to the meeting.
• General Representative Evan Salazar said his office is coordinating with UCLA Housing and campus support services on implementing student safety initiatives. He added that his office is researching sanctuary campus initiatives – initiatives that would support and protect undocumented students on campus – and helping organize the Oct. 29 Día de los Muertos event at the Latinx Success Center.
• General Representative Pranaya Vijay said her office is partnering with the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center to offer weekly self-defense classes from 7 to 8 p.m., with classes planned to be held on Mondays, starting next week. She said her office is consulting Campus Advocacy Resources and Education – a campus program that provides confidential support and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence – to make the classes trauma-informed. Vijay added that she plans to speak with the Bruin Consent Coalition and students in a UCLA nursing class about consent and survivor support.
• General Representative Susie Turner said in her written report that her office plans to table at an event with AfroLA – a nonprofit news outlet covering Los Angeles for the city’s Black community, according to its website – Sunday and will participate in the Friday town hall with the the Mother Organizations Coalition. She also said her office is nearing completion of hiring.
• Academic Affairs Commissioner Angela Ledesma-Grattarola said she plans to meet with the Academic Senate Executive Board on Oct. 22. She added that her office is preparing training for student representatives serving on Academic Senate bodies, including how to add agenda items. Ledesma-Grattarola also said she is developing a partnership with ASUCLA but did not provide details.
• Campus Events Commissioner Salem Walsh said the commission will host a “Pitch Perfect Riff Off and Screening: A Night of Treble” event with ASUCLA on Friday. Walsh added that Funk’d Up – a recurring concert series hosted by the Campus Events Commission – has been rescheduled to Nov. 13 and that her commission is planning a Nov. 18 speaker event and a potential Halloween film screening.
• Gheewala said the Community Service Commission will host a basic needs fair with campus resources and free meals Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bruin Plaza. She added that the commission will hold its Falling into Wellness event Nov. 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. in Wilson Plaza. Gheewala also said she and Buhs Jackson plan to meet with the On-Campus Housing Council – the student government representing residents on the Hill – on Friday.
• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Divine Trewick said applications for the Arts Restoring Community Fund are due Oct. 30. Trewick added that her office is preparing a Nov. 5 Día de los Muertos art gallery, followed by an Indigenous Expressions Gallery two weeks later, and is continuing to seek sponsorships and plan programming for the JazzReggae Festival.
• Facilities Commissioner Paige Zwerner said her office is collaborating with the Disabled Student Union on securing a permanent disability center, improving BruinAccess and expanding accessible bathrooms. She added that she plans to meet with the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center about creating more gender-neutral bathrooms and is organizing FAC Fest to connect students with the commission’s committees, funding and campus resources.
• Financial Supports Commissioner Corea Kim said free sustainable laundry products are expected to return to the Hill next week. She also announced a Nov. 12 financial wellness event with the University Credit Union and ASUCLA.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Daniela Castro said the commission will host Healthcoming – its annual fall health festival – Oct. 22 from 3 to 6 p.m., with activities such as a petting zoo. She said applications remain open for the Student Health Network – a program connecting campus health and wellness organizations with commission funding and resources. Castro added that the Student Wellness Commission plans to distribute supplies such as sleep masks and earplugs on the Hill during midterms. Her finance team has also developed an Airtable spending tracker – an online platform used for databases documenting expenditures and receipts – which the commission plans to publish on its website, she said.
• Transfer Student Representative Ashley Ma said her office is working with the Transfer Student Center on club recruitment and transfer orientation. She added that her office has begun contacting community colleges to arrange in-person visits.
• International Student Representative Charbel Chehade said he is arranging a meeting with the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars to learn more about Curricular Practical Training rules and potential policy changes. UCLA paused new CPT authorizations over the summer.