It’s time again for the biweekly installment of the USAC blog.
Unlike the last meeting, which was just the council members and administrators, Kerckhoff 417 was packed with almost double the people, mostly representatives from the Afrikan Student Union, MEChA, Queer Alliance, Vietnamese Student Union and Samahang Pilipino.
Before the meeting, one group member said to another that their presence was mainly an “intimidation factor.”
They were attempting to appear intimidating because of the proposal from the Office Space Ad Hoc Committee, which took center stage during the two-hour meeting.
Leaders from the student groups said they were upset by the lack of communication and the ineffectiveness of the ad hoc committee.
President Gabe Rose was apologetic to the groups during the meeting, but after Cultural Affairs Commissioner Bernice Shaw expressed disappointment in the council over the whole handling of the space reallocation, he raised his arms in the air out of frustration and asked, “What else were we supposed to do?”
Though the speakers expressed criticism toward the way the process took place this year, Facilities Commissioner Sherlyn Mossahebfar, who sat on the ad hoc committee, said the members of the committee felt they were “very fair” and went over many proposals before presenting to the council.
The proposal, which consisted of changes to the Office Space Allocation Committee’s recommendations, was passed by the council and called for guaranteeing locker space for groups affected in the space reallocation, including groups such as the Vietnamese Student Union and Samahang Pilipino, which may share their offices with other groups.
During the meeting, the council also approved appointments to the Campus Sustainability Committee, LGBT Center Board of Advisors and Student Activities Center Board of Governors, and passed a change to the Finance Committee bylaws.
Reports from council members included updates on the student government accounting’s digitalization process and plans for Alternative Spring Break trips.
Though the crowd brought with it tension and criticism, the night ended on a more cheerful note as the council sang “Happy Birthday” to Chancellor’s Representative Dr. Berky Nelson.
As a quick side note, we’re currently looking for a new name for our blog, since it’s a new council and we need something snappy and fresh to match. E-mail your suggestions to news@media.ucla.edu.