The undergraduate student government approved a key presidential
appointment at their general meeting Tuesday night when they chose
the commission head who will deal primarily with the
council’s budget.
Priscilla Chen will be the Undergraduate Students Association
Council’s new finance committee chairwoman beginning July
1.
Chen did not attend the meeting and could not be reached for
comment.
Though some councilmembers had reservations about approving an
absent applicant, most thought she was qualified.
Chen has held numerous leadership roles in the Asian Pacific
Coalition and in the UCLA Model United Nations Program.
Council approved Chen ““ who was recommended by President
Anica McKesey and approved by the Appointments Review Committee
““ with a 9-3-0 vote. ARC reviews applicants who are forwarded
by the president before they are presented to council.
As head of the finance committee, Chen will be responsible for
making budget recommendations to council about how much money
should be allocated to student groups.
Many councilmembers were confident about Chen’s abilities
as the committee chairwoman.
“Her previous experience in dealing with organizations and
her understanding of the budget and proposal processes made her the
most qualified applicant,” McKesey said.
Members of ARC shared the same sentiment.
Chen seemed like she is willing to learn and will be committed
to the position, said Hrug DerManuelian, the current finance
committee chairman and member of ARC.
Still, some councilmembers preferred that Chen actually be at
the meeting to address their concerns.
Community Service Commissioner Justin Schreiber said he had a
few questions that he would have liked to ask Chen before approving
her. Schreiber was concerned with how Chen would allocate funds to
those groups she had been previously been involved with and how she
would deal with potential budget cuts to the USAC budget.
Though he considers Chen to be qualified, Campus Events
Commissioner Jason Gaulton said the applicant should have been
present at the meeting to address council’s questions
considering the importance of her position.
Student Welfare Commissioner Janet Chiang agreed ““ she
wanted to have a face to the name before making the
appointment.
McKesey said she would ask Chen to attend next week’s
council meeting to address their concerns.
Though Schreiber, Gaulton and Chiang voted against Chen’s
appointment, they said they still believed she was a qualified
applicant and would be able to successfully do her job.
The finance committee chair is one of the two most important
appointments the president makes, said Justin Levi, the current
budget review director. Levi said the other appointment is that of
the BRD.
The BRD is responsible for informing and working with student
groups about USAC budget processes. President Anica McKesey said
she plans to forward Levi’s replacement to council next
week.
The two budget advisers played a key role in the USAC budget
processes throughout the past academic year.
These advisers worked extensively with council and student
groups to deal with substantial budget cuts at the beginning of the
year.
DerManuelian and Levi also made recommendations to council later
in the year when the budget experienced an influx of funds with the
passage of a fee referendum.
A huge quality that the budget advisers need is the ability to
learn quickly and Chen has that, DerManuelian said.