By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Reporter Midway through the academic year, The
Bruin asked members of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council to assess their roles as student representatives. They
candidly shared the ups and downs of their tenure and their hopes
for the remainder of the year.
 Fannie Huang
Community Service Commissioner The community
service commissioner coordinates student-organized and
student-initiated activities, such as Project Champs and the Joint
Tutorial Project, among many others. The commission is working on a
networking social, but since Fannie Huang assumed office, CSC has
not seen any new programs. Huang, a fourth-year applied mathematics
student, has been involved with the council since her first year,
and anticipated difficulties in getting student groups to work
together. “The dynamics of a group may change,” she
said. “It’s just a matter of getting them
together.” CSC’s involvement with other USAC
commissions has been limited due to the individualized purpose of
each commission, according to Huang. Even as an officer, she finds
herself focused more on the commission than USAC as an
organization. “I do my part in USAC activities, but a lot of
my time is dedicated to the commission,” she said. “I
like to keep neutral on a lot of things and not get into the
politics.”
Cynthia Rabuy Financial Supports
Commissioner
When Cynthia Rabuy campaigned for financial supports
commissioner last spring, she said she would work to decrease the
cost of parking and on-campus housing at the beginning of the year,
but little progress has been made. Currently, FSC is working on a
booklending program to loan textbooks to low-income students with
financial aid, according to FSC Chief of Staff Kimberley Cross.
“The last booklending program ran in 1997,” Cross said.
“Because booklending falls under financial concern of
students … we hope to make the booklending program our major
focus so that it may continue long after Cynthia is out of
office.” Future goals for FSC include establishing a local
carpool board for students who commute from Palms, Culver City,
Hollywood and Santa Monica. By virtue of her office, Rabuy, a
third-year American literature and culture student, sits on the
Budget Review Committee, which is designed to structure and control
the means by which student groups are funded. “The method by
which we funded student groups was done in a content-neutral
fashion,” she said. But this year, USAC’s system for
funding student groups was called into question after a federal
judge ruled that the University of Wisconsin could only use
compulsory student fees to fund these groups if the money was
allocated on a content-neutral basis. “This year we were able
to increase the funding for every student group in comparison to
last year,” Rabuy said. “We have to understand that the
money is coming from a very limited source. Funds are already being
distributed evenly.”
Julie Ryu
Student Welfare Commissioner The
commission-centralized approach to conducting business has been
reflected by the Student Welfare Commission. “The way it is
now, I think we’re doing well,” said Julie Ryu, student
welfare commissioner. “We’re specializing on our
own.” SWC works with the Arthur Ashe Student Health and
Wellness Center to provide CPR classes, HIV testing, and a cold
clinic for students. During the Jan. 16 USAC meeting, Ryu, a
fifth-year psychobiology student, said in her officer’s
report that relations with the Ashe Center were not good. Both
sides declined to comment. SWC has promoted campus safety by
offering a $500 scholarship to community service officers, which
raised the number of CSO applicants, according to Ryu. Future goals
include a pepper spray demonstration and donation of personal
safety alarms. “We’re kind of reaching a max limit for
the year,” said Chief of Staff Henry Lam. “We’re
picking and choosing projects and fine tuning ““ reaching
higher quality from last year.” The biggest success,
according to Ryu, has been Roll-AIDS, an indoor rollerblading event
which promotes AIDS awareness. The number of volunteers and
participants in this event have been rising. The main problems in
organizing these events have come from bringing groups together.
Time conflicts and USAC and commission meetings often keep Ryu in
the office and have made the experience tiring at times, she said.
“I’m very glad to stick around and make sure these
projects continue on,” she said. “It takes a lot of
time but I enjoy knowing what I do helps a lot of students and
affects their decisions.”
Roseanne Gutierrez Academic Affairs
Commissioner Academic Affairs Commissioner Roseanne
Gutierrez did not respond to The Bruin’s request for an
interview after repeated attempts to contact her via phone, e-mail
and walk-ins to her office. The commissioner sits on Academic
Senate executive board committees and is the student voice
regarding educational policy and academic affairs.