University of California Student Association President Angelica Salceda resigned from her position earlier this week, board members said Wednesday.
The UC Student Association board is comprised of representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student governments of the UC campuses. Though the UC Student Association has no vote on the UC Board of Regents, it has pushed certain pieces of legislation in the past ““ such as the Dream Act ““ and lobbied with the regents for a tuition buyout in the 2012 state budget, Salceda told the Daily Bruin in August.
The association’s president is responsible for maintaining communication with the UC president and the chair of the Board of Regents, writing and signing documents on behalf of the association, facilitating meetings and presenting a monthly report to the association board, according to the organization’s website.
In an email sent to the association’s board members on Monday, Salceda said she had to step down from her position to focus on her academics, several sources on the board said.
Salceda graduated from UCLA in 2007 with bachelor’s degrees in political science and history. She is currently studying law at UC Berkeley and was elected as the 2012-2013 UC Student Association’s president this summer.
After her resignation, Salceda will stay on as a voting board member, said Darius Kemp, director of organizing and communications for the association. Salceda did not respond to requests for comment as of press deadline.
The board plans to elect a new president at UCLA this Saturday, through a special election held at its board meeting, said Lana Habib El-Farra, external vice president for UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council.
El-Farra does not know who will step up to run for the organization’s president, she said.
John Joanino, a legislative liaison on the association’s board and a third-year sociology student at UCLA, said he was shocked that Salceda resigned. But he said he is confident someone will step up to take on the position.
“I am not worried at all because I know there are incredible leaders on the board that will fill her spot,” Joanino said.