The original version of this article contained multiple errors and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for more information.
Undergraduate student government officers and transfer student advocates met Thursday evening to draft the bylaws for a newly created transfer representative seat on the council.
In the Undergraduate Students Association Council election earlier this month, students voted to create a new transfer representative position that would specifically address the interests and needs of UCLA transfer students. The representative will be elected in the fall, earn the same $672 per month stipend as other councilmembers and head his or her own office and staff.
Though the referendum to create the position passed, the logistics of how the representative would be elected and what role they would serve on council are not outlined in current USAC bylaws. To clarify the process, 18 USAC members and other students formed an ad hoc committee, which will meet multiple times this quarter and present in-depth guidelines to the council for approval.
At the meeting Thursday, members discussed concrete ways for the new representative to increase academic and career resources, as well as access to current resources, for transfer students.
Some students said they think the representative should collaborate with community college counselors to encourage incoming transfer students to become a part of student government. Others also said they thought the transfer representative should be in charge of programming events on and off campus to accommodate transfer students who commute to UCLA.
Committee members added that the transfer representative should push for the creation of an independent transfer student resource center that would be tasked solely with helping students transition when they come to UCLA.
“Every year, (transfer students) come to this school and they don’t know where to go,” said Michael Kramer, a member of the committee and The Non-Traditional Students Network. “I want to have a place within UCLA so these (students) can know exactly what’s available to them.”
The third-year history student, who attended the College of the Canyons before transferring, added that he thinks it will be important for the new representative to help consolidate resources for transfer students during their orientation, which is shorter than the orientation for incoming first-year students.
Allyson Bach, the Academic Affairs commissioner and a committee member, said she thinks her office will need to work closely with the new representative throughout next year to ensure that transfer students have access to all the academic opportunities and information that first-year students are presented.
Toward the end of the meeting, committee members said they should review the bylaws for the different positions on council to ensure that the transfer representative’s role is clear in relation to other councilmembers’ responsibilities.
The committee plans to meet again on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 to continue working on the draft of the bylaws.
Compiled by Samantha Tomilowitz, Bruin senior staff.
Correction: Kramer is a history student. He said transfer students come to UCLA and don’t know where to go.