Fourteen campus organizations addressed safety concerns at the first meeting of a newly revived undergraduate student government committee Thursday.
The Campus Safety Alliance, a coalition of student organizations and security officers who address safety issues on campus, held their first meeting in Kerckhoff Hall on Thursday to establish a framework for future CSA meetings and broader safety goals. Undergraduate Students Association Council bylaws state the internal vice president must hold CSA meetings at least once per quarter, but the alliance has not met for some years.
Attendees said they hoped to address in future CSA meetings issues including emergency preparedness, sexual violence, mental health and discrimination.
Representatives from UCLA administration, Campus Safety Officers, various cultural organizations, the UCLA Panhellenic Association, LGBTQ Center, USAC and the On-Campus Housing Council were present.
Robert Blake Watson, the USAC internal vice president, said he thinks CSA’s return is important because there is currently no entity through which students’ safety concerns can be consolidated and conveyed to administrators.
Watson said his office decided to bring the committee back not only to adhere to the USAC bylaws, but also to address instances including a proposed security camera policy and incidents with Greek life.
Matthew William Richard, the campus safety coordinator in the IVP office, added the first meeting was focused on brainstorming CSA’s procedures and agenda, since the alliance has been inactive for so long.
“One idea we might address is that the be vice chair be from the student body, as a symbolic thing,” Richard said.
The members voted to appoint Julia Gierasimow, the Panhellenic Association vice president of risk management, as vice chair of CSA.
The members present at the meeting voted to meet every three weeks, and to allow for additional meetings in case of emergencies.
Gierasimow, a fourth-year psychobiology student, said she was pleased with the alliance’s decision to meet more than the minimum set by USAC bylaws.
She added she hopes CSA will remind all students that there are advocates who care for them.
Robert Gardner, a sixth-year political science student and member of the African Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine who attended the meeting, said he thinks the meeting was productive in setting the agenda and procedures for future issue-specific meetings.
Richard said he hoped to convey the importance of CSA’s role on campus.
“There’s nothing like us,” Richard said. “We aim to bridge the divide between all parts of campus life because they all impact each other and everyone from each part of campus life deserves equal representation in regards to their safety.”
Claire Fieldman, USAC president, said she thinks it is important that CSA provide feedback on security initiatives undertaken by its members.
She added she hopes CSA will address not only physical safety concerns, but also the psychological impacts of intolerance.
“I would love to see the CSA be representatives from some of these impacted communities (including undocumented students and international students), talking about how the rest of campus can show solidarity with them and organize around efforts that protect their safety, both physical and psychological,” Fieldman said.
Watson said he hopes CSA will build a community that can continue reforms in future years, especially because CSA has not been active in the past.
“If this were a normal year where this has been going on for multiple years, we might have more lofty goals. But I really want things to start at the baseline,” Watson said. “This needs to be something that is sustainable in the long run.”