With Graduate Students Association elections less than a week
away, John Pipan and Victoria Irigoyen, the two candidates running
for the position of internal vice president, hinted at having
different focuses if elected.
While Pipan said his focus as GSA internal vice president would
be to ensure that councils operating under GSA follow the GSA
constitution, Irigoyen said her major goal would be to bring a
childcare center to campus.
Pipan, a doctoral student in computer science, said he decided
to run because he was unhappy with the way his council ““ the
engineering council ““ represented him in past years.
The councils, which operate under GSA, play an important role in
deciding what happens to student fees paid in their departments.
GSA councils, including the engineering council, Pipan said, have
not done a good job of encouraging student participation in
decision-making and general representation.
“I’ve been working with my council to make
recommendations concerning the structure of my council, but I have
been largely ignored,” Pipan said.
Pipan added that as internal vice president, he would ensure
that all bodies of GSA, including the councils, operated according
to the rules of the GSA constitution.
“I’m not condemning current administration, but they
haven’t impressed me with their dedication to follow codes
… for student government to work it has to follow the rules it
sets for itself.”
Citing a lack of structure during forum meetings as a barrier to
student participation in GSA, Pipan said he would ensure that
meetings were run with an agenda and a strict time limit.
Irigoyen, a film student, focused less on the actual structure
of GSA, saying she wanted to improve upon the services available to
graduate students on campus.
Suggesting a “co-op system” ““ one in which
students would have a choice between donating money or time ““
Irigoyen said her focus as internal vice president would be in
bringing an hourly childcare center to campus.
“One of the major problems as a parent (at UCLA) is that
there is no convenient childcare for a parent who may have to take
a class for just three hours a week,” Irigoyen said.
“It’s amazing. Even Ikea has drop-off
childcare.”
Another goal, Irigoyen said, would be to ensure that graduate
students would be represented fairly at a new facility set to open
on campus. Irigoyen said students, including graduate students,
will experience a $50-$70 increase in student fees when the
facility opens.
“I want to make sure, as a graduate student
representative, that that facility can serve graduate student
needs,” Irigoyen said.
Starting a transition center in the new facility would be at the
top of her list of goals, Irigoyen said.
The center would be designed to help entering graduate students
start their careers at UCLA and learn to navigate campus resources,
as well as to help them make their transitions into their
professional careers, Irigoyen said.
Irigoyen has been involved with GSA for three years, serving on
the campus program committee. She has also served as director of
Melnitz Movies, running a film program that features two screenings
a week.