CORRECTION: The original version of the article online contained an error. The list of projects being worked on by Rustom Z. Birdie, Financial Supports Commissioner, was omitted due a technical error. The article has been updated to contain the information.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council, comprised of 13 elected student officers, is the governing body for the entire UCLA undergraduate population. Here are some of the projects student government officers have been working on for fall quarter.
Jasmine Hill
President
– With the IVP’s office, open the Student Organization Operational Funds so student groups can apply to get funding for items such as T-shirts, which are often important for advertising purposes. The deadline to apply is in November. – Secure money for a community service scholarship, which will be available for students to apply to during winter quarter. – Work with the Facilities Commission to provide a mini-grant from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) so student groups can get small amounts of funding for green efforts. Expected to be available by Week 5. – Offer USAC internship to incoming students who are interested in getting involved with student government.
Stephanie Lucas
Internal Vice President
– Create workshops and a “how to” guide on student organizations, breaking down the basics of starting and running a student group at UCLA. The guide is expected to be available by Week 2 or 3. Workshops will run throughout fall quarter. – Continue Strathmore Safe Rides, piloted last spring, which is expected to begin Week 1 or 2 of fall quarter. The service takes students home on late Thursday nights, in an effort to improve safety.
– Implement more podcast recording, especially in large lower-division General Education classes in the humanities and social sciences. – Create digital test banks for the Hill and for the Greek community that would also be available online.
Cristopher Santos
External Vice President
– Pick campaigns to focus on for the year: the federal Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act and a job campaign bill.
– Promote voter registration on Bruinwalk, in classroom presentations and in dorms. – Push state legislators to look for new revenue sources, such as oil extraction taxes, and to engage in comprehensive prison reform to save money that can then be reallocated to higher education. Santos hopes to roll back student fees to 2007 levels. – Advocate to the UC Board of Regents for a holistic admissions process throughout the UC system.
Rustom Z. Birdie
Financial Supports Commissioner
– Increase the buyback value of textbooks so students can receive up to 20 percent of the book price. However, this benefit is only available if they opt for an ASUCLA gift card rather than cash. – Open the textbook scholarship program, which was previously only available to students with financial need, to all undergraduates who are U.S. residents. The quarterly raffle provides 100 students with $250 certificates for textbooks. At the end of the quarter, students return the textbooks, which become part of USAC’s textbook loan program.
Suza Khy
Academic Affairs Commissioner
– Help secure positions for a Native recruiter, a counseling assistant and an academic counselor for American Indian studies. – Offer free Kaplan-hosted workshops in the fall for students who are planning to take tests such as the MCAT and GMAT.
– Organize a textbook loan program for students, alongside the Financial Supports Commissioner. – Develop a student task force to try to establish a diversity requirement next year among the General Education requirements undergraduate students must take.
Matt Spring
General representative
– Execute USAC “rollout” on Sept. 30 in Bruin Plaza. This celebration, held during Week 1, will include give council members a chance to be more visible to the student population.
– Create a photo exhibit showcasing diversity at UCLA; some of the photos will be displayed on the Hill during Zero Week. – Revamp “UCLA Did You Know” Campaign (http://ucladidyouknow.wordpress.com/), a blog site that offers random tips on everything UCLA-related. – Extend the evening van service to south of Wilshire.
Emily Resnick
General representative
– Increase spirit events on campus by working with UCLA Athletics to offer ticket packages for the UCLA-UC Berkeley football game on Oct. 9. Students will be able to purchase a ticket and transportation to Cal. – Host a Halloween mini-carnival on Oct. 27 filled with games, candy and performances. – Produce a farmers’ market in Bruin Plaza in late fall, likely Nov. 20. If the test launch goes well, Resnick’s goal is to make the market a weekly occurrence during winter and spring quarters.
– Launch a website offering Wooden gym traffic statistics. Expected to be available week 1 of winter quarter, the site gives students updates on how busy different areas of the gym are.
Gatsby Miller
General representative
– Create a “how to” guide to apartments explaining how to move in, how to furnish, what to look for in roommates and more. This apartment guide will be released online around week 5.
– Install a meal voucher machine in Ackerman by the end of fall. The machine will allow students to exchange swipes for vouchers, making it more convenient for students to buy food on campus. – Produce an apartment fair at the beginning of winter quarter, when students usually start the apartment hunt. Students will get to learn about different apartments in Westwood and speak to landlords.
JC De Vera
Facilities Commissioner
– Extend the hours of the Bruin Bus so that it runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Pilot a weekly grocery shuttle program, which will transport students in the dorms to popular Westwood stores: Trader Joe’s and Ralph’s. – Produce Green Awareness Day, a sustainability fair, during Week 4.
– Advocate for gender-neutral restrooms for the new buildings being built on the Hill, as well as for a themed floor where students room with students of the opposite gender
Kinnery Shah
Cultural Affairs Commissioner
– Plan and host Bruin Bash, alongside the CEC and SCA. – Create spoken word lounge planned for Oct. 13, which will focus on poetry and comedy. Shah explained the theme as “the power of words, the art of laughter.” These slams will be held weekly in the Kerckhoff Art Gallery and the last one of each month will be on the Hill.
– Exhibit artwork from both UCLA students and L.A. artists in Kerckhoff Art Gallery. The first exhibit’s opening night will be in October.. – Continue Diversecity tours, a popular student activity, in November. The free tours take students to various locations in Los Angeles.
Charles Ma
Campus Events Commissioner
-Organize and host Bruin Bash, with the CAC and the Student Committee for the Arts.
-Change the $2 movie program to “free dollar movies,” because it costs more for the school to charge money and hire staff than it does to offer these flicks for free, Ma said.
– Hold a free sneak every week and two to three speakers and concerts during the quarter. – Host more programs on the Hill, and increase co-programming with other student organizations and USAC members.
Jamie Yao
Community Service Commissioner
– Plan and host Community Service Day “”mdash; separate from the UCLA Volunteer Day “”mdash; in late November. The event will be open to all undergraduates, unlike the freshmen-exclusive Volunteer Day. – Produce and host Service Activities Fair in Bruin Plaza during Week 7, an event that will include interactive service activities such as making sandwiches for a nearby homeless shelter.
– Expand usage of the Community Service Record, a tool on MyUCLA for student organizations to track service hours.
Linda Phi
Student Welfare Commissioner
– Host Bruin Fest, formerly known as ResFest, to introduce new students to UCLA’s various health organizations. The games and activities will occur in the Wooden Center on Friday of Welcome Week. – Plan World Aids Day in November. The event will include free HIV testing outside Bruin Plaza, as well as informational booths and an AIDS walk around campus.
– Integrate different health organizations on campus together, so that they work together to promote certain goals.