The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every week on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Kerckhoff 417 and are open to all students. Watch a live stream of the meeting on the USAC Live! YouTube channel.
Agenda
- The council unanimously appointed Apsara Perera, a second-year environment science student, as Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors undergraduate representative. Perera will have full voting power.
- The council unanimously appointed Arielle Mokhtarzadeh, a first-year undeclared social sciences student, as ASUCLA Board of Directors alternate undergraduate representative.
- The council unanimously appointed Stephanie Wong, a third-year business and economics student, as USAC Finance Committee Chair.
- Representatives from the Muslim Student Association gave a special presentation about recent events which representatives said were Islamophobic. Representatives voiced their disapproval of the Campus Events Commission’s screening of The American Sniper, which they said glorifies the killing of Muslims.
- Campaign mangers from All of Us, a campaign organized by the Student Wellness Commission and the USAC Office of the President, gave a special presentation detailing their plans to advocate for mental health initiatives.
- Representatives from Spot Dot, a mobile application, gave a special presentation about an application that allows students to track the events happening on campus.
- The council unanimously approved an allocation of $2,650 from the Contingency Programming Fund.
Officer Reports
- USAC President Heather Rosen met with Carly Calbreath, an undergraduate representative at the ASUCLA Board of Directors, last week to discuss qualities the president should look for in applicants for the positions on the ASUCLA Board of Directors. Rosen also talked with Calbreath about funding issues in ASUCLA, such as the lack of funding to the UCLA Communication Board. Last Wednesday, Rosen met with leaders of the Jewish community to discuss incidents of anti-Semitism on campus. Rosen added how the universal scholarship application, which allows students to apply multiple UCLA scholarships with one application, will be ready starting July on MyUCLA. On Wednesday, Rosen and External Vice President Zach Helder will meet with the California Coalition for Public Higher Education to discuss what they think are issues students face in funding their education.
- Internal Vice President Heather Hourdequin met with Elizabeth Scott, the co-founder of The Body Positive, an organization that encourages positive body-image thoughts, to discuss ways to bring workshops to UCLA. Hourdequin mentioned Food Trucks for Finals is pending approval from the Los Angeles Fire Department fire marshal. On Wednesday, Hourdequin will meet with Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss lighting issues in Westwood and what she thinks are issues in how the District Attorney handles sexual assault cases. Hourdequin added that the Circle of 6 mobile application will be incorporated into the orientation presentation.
- External Vice President Zach Helder said he traveled to Sacramento with Keith Parker, assistant vice chancellor of Government and Community Relations, to lobby for flat non-resident tuition costs. Helder said he also wanted Gov. Brown to allocate an addition $50 million to the UC to expand future enrollment.
- Academic Affairs Commissioner Trent Kajikawa said he travelled with Helder to Sacramento to talk with politicians about the consequences the budget will have on online education.
- Student Wellness Commissioner Marvin Chen said he met with members in the Healthy Campus Initiative to discuss projects such as getting more students to use the stairs and enforcing the tobacco-free policy on campus.
Complied by Nicholas Yu, Bruin contributor.