The two student advocates on the UC Board of Regents are coming to UCLA on Monday to complete their annual tour of the UC campuses.
Student Regent Cinthia Flores and student regent-designate Sadia Saifuddin will answer questions from students and recruit applicants for next year’s student regent-designate position at the informational session Monday afternoon.
“The visit is intended to publicize the (student regent) position, to bolster application numbers and to have us be on campus to familiarize ourselves with the student body at UCLA,” Flores said.
The student regents are the primary advocates for UC students, and work to ensure that their opinions and best interests are considered at the Board of Regents.
Student regents serve two-year terms, beginning with a non-voting regent-designate position and then advancing to a voting regent position the following year.
As student regent, Flores is the only voting student member of the board. Saifuddin’s current position will be open next year when she takes Flores’ place as the new voting student regent.
Monday’s info session will give students a chance to understand the role of student regents and encourage them to apply for the student regent-designate position. It will also be a conversation between students and the people who represent them, said Undergraduate Students Association Council External Vice President Maryssa Hall, whose office is coordinating the event .
“People don’t really think about the regents because they are so far away, but they make huge decisions that affect students,” Hall said. “They are the best way to have students’ voices heard.”
Flores and Saifuddin spent the past several months working on various initiatives, from environmental issues to improving tuition models.
The student regents have been working on establishing a UC task force for Fossil Free UC, an organization that advocates the divestment of UC funds from the fossil fuel industry and encourages investment in renewable energy.
Flores and Saifuddin are also assisting UC President Janet Napolitano in solidifying a University task force for undocumented students and ensuring the allocation of $5 million toward undocumented student support.
“We are trying to figure out the best way to ensure their financial aids are being met and also working with their advocacy,” Saifuddin said.
In light of a ongoing state audits of sexual assault policies at UCLA, UC Berkeley and two other public universities, the student regents said they will work to reform any policies that may need improvement.
The student regents, along with Napolitano, are also determining how to improve the UC tuition model to make it more sustainable.
“The last few years have been up and down and it has been really difficult for students to figure out how to pay for an education,” Saifuddin said.
Flores, a UCLA alumna, said she is excited to return to her alma mater and reconnect with the UCLA campus and students.
“Campus holds a very special place in my heart. I really look forward to meeting people,” said Flores , who is a student at the UC Irvine School of Law.
The applications for the student designate position are due Feb. 20 on the regents website.