Unless you count the below-minimum wage stipend, there
aren’t a whole lot of concrete perks to being an
Undergraduate Students Association Council member.
Most members say the most valuable thing they have gotten out of
being on USAC is their overall experience on council ““ making
a difference on issues they care about, forging new relationships
or directly serving students through their service.
USAC elections will be held fifth week, after which new officers
and commissioners will take over for the current council.
“Having a lot of access to resources that you can use to
program or advocate on students’ behalf ““ I think those
are some of the greatest perks you can get,” said USAC
President Allende Palma/Saracho.
However, there are some things that councilmembers get to take
away from their experience, especially in the case of graduating
seniors.
In monetary compensation for their services, the 13 elected
officers receive an average annual stipend of nearly $2,600,
according to the Associated Students of UCLA payroll register.
Appointees and some office staff may also receive stipends,
ranging anywhere from $75 to $1,350 annually.
Over the course of the year, an officer stipend amounts to
minimum wage pay for about seven hours per week. Some council
meetings alone last nearly that long.
“It’s more of a personal fulfillment type of thing
““ if you’re going in for the perks, this is the wrong
place to do it,” said Jason Avila, student welfare
commissioner.
Student government is also granted parking spaces for officers,
commissioners and some of its office or project staff.
While recipients still pay for their permit, they are guaranteed
a much-coveted UCLA parking space.
All paid USAC staff also receive a 20 percent ASUCLA employee
discount on selected items in on-campus stores.
However, any tangible compensation they receive from the
university is only the beginning of what councilmembers say they
have gotten out of their experiences.
The skills they have acquired and cultivated through their
student government experiences are far more valuable to them than a
stipend, councilmembers agree.
John Vu said his experience as external vice president allowed
him to live a completely different lifestyle than most
students.
“This is my schedule: Basically, on the weekdays I would
go to class, have tons of meetings, conference calls and do lobby
visits to different districts. And on the weekends I would be
traveling to different campuses or to board meetings.”
Getting used to a jet-set schedule filled with non-stop travel
and meetings has helped prepare him for a job after he graduates,
Vu said.
“Lobbying skills, talking to the media ““ a lot of
these different skills that I have learned in the EVP office can
definitely be transferred into a lot of my plans for the
future,” he said.
After graduating, Vu plans to seek a career centered around some
of the policy issues he has worked on while on council.
Vu isn’t the only councilmember who feels his experience
in USAC will benefit him in the long run ““ Palma/Saracho
expressed similar sentiments.
“You gain a lot of experience at facilitating discussions,
even when the discourse is very diverse and sometimes you
don’t agree, but it enables you to work a lot better as a
mediator,” Palma/Saracho said.
With future plans for a career in education, running an
internship program for student government offices has helped him
hone skills for the objectives he later wants to pursue in
teaching, Palma/Saracho said.
“Learning the kinds of things that a younger generation of
students are really interested in, and knowing how to tap into
those things ““ I think that’s really exciting because
these folks aren’t that far removed from the students I want
to work with at the secondary level,” he said.
The lack of financial compensation ““ and of praise and
credit from both the student body and the media ““
doesn’t bother Palma/Saracho, he said.
“When folks have a problem, we know about it ““ they
come to us,” said Palma/Saracho. “When the students are
kind of just living their everyday lives, that’s a good
measure to me that we’re doing our jobs. We don’t need
recognition.”