Six months into their terms, undergraduate student government members are taking their campaign promises from paper to policy.
On top of their individual campaign promises and council-wide action agenda items, members of the Undergraduate Students Association Council are responsible for goals set by their slates.
Each election season, slates ““ groups of students who pool their resources and run for office together ““ create platforms that unite their candidates.
The two slates represented on council this year, Bruins United and Students First!, have both continued to work toward the goals they set.
Bruins United
Bruins United, which currently holds a six-seat majority over Students First!, ran on a four-point platform: increasing academic assistance, improving transportation and parking, reforming the student group funding process to make it more fair, and encouraging Bruin spirit and pride.
USAC President Gabe Rose, a member of Bruins United, said he believes his slate has made considerable progress toward each goal.
“When it comes to core issues we believe in, we’ve stayed united. We’ve stuck together and really worked hard,” he said.
On the academic front, Rose highlighted his slate’s work on creating a business minor.
“We’ve made a lot of really cool progress in terms of academics. … The business minor has been phenomenal,” he said.
Academic Affairs Commissioner Addar Weintraub of Bruins United has also changed the enrollment process to make it easier for students to get courses they need to graduate, she said.
Though transportation and parking issues are ongoing, Rose said his slate continues to press for improvement and has effected some important changes.
For instance, former external vice president Justin Hotter, also a member of Bruins United, prompted city officials to fix a number of broken streetlights in Westwood, and Facilities Commissioner Sherlyn Mossahebfar is pushing for new campus shuttle routes through the apartments, fraternities and sororities.
Apron parking may also be nearing a resolution, though USAC was less directly involved in this success. Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, whose district includes Westwood, has introduced legislation that would exempt Westwood from the law banning apron parking.
Mossahebfar said she has been in contact with city officials and they have told her Weiss’ bill is likely to pass.
Rose said he is especially proud of Bruins United’s work on the funding process for student groups.
Earlier this year, the council called an emergency meeting after preliminary results revealed problems with the way USAC allocated money to student groups.
“Somehow the numbers were way off,” he said. “We could have just done what council does every year and rubber stamp it, but that wasn’t something that I was willing to do, and the majority of my council wasn’t willing to do.”
Rose said councilmembers immediately reallocated the money, and have since drafted permanent changes to the funding process.
“I’m really proud of Bruins United for stepping in,” he said.
Bruins United has also emphasized school spirit issues such as Undie Run and a possible on-campus bar, Rose said.
Councilmembers worked with the administration during fall quarter’s Undie Run to encourage safety and alleviate other concerns, Rose said.
“ASUCLA’s doing some really great work on that,” Rose said. “(And) the chancellor’s been really open to it.”
Students First!
Students First! ran on a three-point platform: making a UC education more affordable, increasing underrepresented students’ access to education and improving campus safety.
The slate currently holds just one seat, following former General Representative Sanobar Sajan’s resignation after it was discovered that fraudulent e-mails had originating in her office.
But Gregory Cendana, former Students First! presidential candidate and former internal vice president, said he does not believe the minority has hampered his slate’s ability to accomplish what it hoped to.
“It’s challenged us to find different and new and innovative ways to engage the student population,” he said. “We’ve continued to do the work that we committed to in the spring, even if we weren’t elected.
“Even with the current Students First! people on council, we’ve been supportive of their work.”
Cendana said in terms of college affordability, Students First! has continued its lobbying efforts, especially at the state level.
The slate has helped organize rallies at UC Board of Regents meetings, including a meeting this week at UCLA, in support of lower student fees.
Cendana noted that outside factors, such as the state budget, have sometimes made the slate’s work more difficult.
“With the recent release of the budget there’s definitely going to be different obstacles,” he said. “We hope that education will be prioritized.”
Students First! members, including former candidate Matias Ramos, who is a current Daily Bruin Viewpoint columnist, also helped dole out $40,000 in scholarships to undocumented students who are ineligible for financial aid, Cendana said.
In regard to access for underrepresented students, Cendana said Students First! has continued to work with administrators on the holistic admissions process by participating in input groups, among other efforts.
Holistic admissions is meant to take students’ personal circumstances into account, rather than relying solely on academic data.
But Cendana cautioned that the policy has not been in place long enough to identify specific changes that need to be made.
“It’s too early to say whether the admissions process needs to be changed,” he said. “We definitely think it’s a good first step.”
Cendana said Students First! has been similarly involved with campus safety issues, participating on committees and forums.
He added that he believes campus safety has improved so far this year, citing the BruinAlert text messaging system and UCPD’s new Taser use policy.
But Cendana said he believes that there is more work to be done, esepecially in addressing hate crime.
“I still think we need to address different hate crimes toward different communities,” he said. “I know there are many students who still feel like they can’t report it because they’re scared or unsure of the process.”