A UCLA student group camped out by the Los Angeles Unified School District office Monday calling for the district to add a non-voting student representative to its board.
Students for Education Reform at UCLA is a student group dedicated to making sure every student has the option of receiving a higher education, said Hannah Hamley-Castillo, a third-year anthropology and Spanish and community and culture student. Her group is asking for a high school student to sit on the LAUSD Board of Education to be a student voice.
“We are a very strong believer in student voice and the power of student voice. That’s why we believe that having a student representative at LAUSD is really revolutionary,” she said.
On Monday, the group went to the LAUSD headquarters and camped out until Tuesday morning to demonstrate the importance of student representation. The LAUSD Board of Education, a seven-member board that governs the school district of more than 640,000 students, is currently composed mostly of teachers and administrators. LAUSD Board of Education meetings fall on Tuesday mornings and conflict with regular school hours.
Hamley-Castillo said her group is focused on making sure the board hears what the community wants, which she doesn’t think is happening now because there are no students on the board.
She said that currently Students for Education Reform at UCLA has not received much support from the board, but it has been supported by the community and groups such as United Way of Greater Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to helping people rise out of poverty through education and housing services.
Compiled by Fiona Kirby, Bruin reporter.