Campus safety and accessibility to UCLA facilities are issues
that affect every student at the university, and Tutram Nguyen,
Sonia Sylls and Albert Farias, are competing for a chance to
address these issues next year as the Undergraduate Students
Association Council’s facilities commissioner.
Sylls, a third-year political science student who is running on
the United Independents slate, said she has been pinpointing areas
of campus in need of better lighting and other safety precautions.
The area by Saxon Suites, she said, is of particular concern.
Another focus, Sylls said, would be reducing crime incidents
near campus that involve automobiles.
Sylls added that she would create a monthly newsletter to keep
students updated with reports on safety, construction, parking
structures and other campus facilities.
“I just want to be available to students who have concerns
… I’d like my doors to be open to all students at all
times,” Sylls said.
Sylls, who served on the Wooden Center board of governors
helping to approve the extension of the west wing of the gym, said
she wants to redistribute office spaces allocated for use by
student groups.
This process, Sylls said, has been neglected for years, and
student groups have not had a chance to compete for space in
Kerckhoff Hall.
Nguyen, a third-year political science and Asian American
studies student who served as the director for this year’s
Vietnamese Culture Night, said she wants to use the facilities
commission to facilitate workshops for student organizations on
campus.
These workshops, Nguyen said, would provide on-campus
organizations with information about booking venues and going
through the paperwork required to plan events.
Nguyen, who is running with the Students First! slate, also
wants to make on-campus studying a more inviting habit for
students.
To do this, she plans to advocate increased evening van service
and expansion of the Ackerman study hall.
“The commission has been dormant for the past few years
and I want to revive the commission … every student is affected
because these are facilities that they all use,” Nguyen
said.
Farias, a third-year molecular cell developmental biology
student who is running as a member of the Students United for
Reform and Equality slate, said he wants to address campus safety
issues by increasing lighting around campus and improving the
“perimeter” ““ the running trail that outlines
UCLA’s campus.
“I think that UCLA has a lot of excellent programs to
promote security,” said Farias, who added that these
programs, including the Community Service Officer program, are
often not utilized to their full extent.
Farias, who is chief of staff of the facilities commission under
Adam Pearlman and a student health advocate subgroup coordinator in
Rieber Hall, said he wants to add student health and wellness to
the pool of issues addressed by the facilities commission.
“I feel like I can add a new perspective to the position
itself … strike up a lot of creativity within the
students,” Farias said.
If elected, Farias also plans to address on-campus recycling.
While there are programs in place, Farias said, the number of
recycling bins on campus are not substantial, which counters the
program’s effectiveness.
Both Sylls and Nguyen said the opening of the Men’s Gym
this coming fall quarter needs to be addressed by next year’s
facilities commission.
Nguyen said she wanted to make sure students’ desires are
met by the gym’s facilities. Sylls said she wants to ensure
that the programs moving into the gym, including ROTC and
scholarship resources, are able to do so with ample time between
move-in and fall quarter.