Representatives from two student groups made their own respective special presentations during the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting on Tuesday.
Both organizations, Tuition Relief Now! and Reproductive Health Interest Group, were recently featured in the Daily Bruin on the current issues they bring to students’ attention and continued their advocacy to the student government council.
Kristina Lai and Stephen Searles told the council that their organization focuses on passing the California Affordability Act of 2008, which will freeze UC and CSU student fees for five years and will only increase according to the California Consumer Price Index during the five-year period. They hope to collect a minimum of 400,000 signatures by April 17 to have the bill included on the November ballot.
Searles said Tuition Relief Now! would like to have USAC involved in their efforts to collect signatures and pass a resolution in support of the group.
"Our initiative really coincides with some of the missions of USAC," Searles said. "We think that a lot of your offices can really help us out."
Searles said his organization is already talking with the external vice president’s office.
President Gabe Rose responded by saying he would like to talk to Tuition Relief Now! in the future regarding a USAC resolution.
The Reproductive Health Interest Group from the School of Public Health followed Tuition Relief Now! with a presentation on the Gardasil vaccine. According to the group’s representative, the vaccine prevents the human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. The group said students could get the vaccine at the Ashe Center to prevent strains that may lead to cervical cancer.
The group representative said the organization is collecting signatures in an effort to make the vaccine more affordable for students.