The Bruin Lobby Corps is hosting an All Organization Issues Forum today to discuss students’ interests and to advocate on student organizations’ behalf.
This is the first time that this type of meeting has occurred, said Manilynn Discuano, media and publicity director for the Undergraduate Students’ Association Council Office of the External Vice President.
“The External Vice President Jesse Melgar wants to make sure that the issues that they are lobbying for are what students are interested in,” Discuano said. “We want to be representative of all campus.”
The forum will allow campus organizations to meet members of the Bruin Lobby Corps, the official legislative advocacy group for the EVP office, as well as the USAC EVP office staff.
Student groups will be able to voice their concerns and discuss relevant student issues, as well as learn how to advocate for themselves.
“We want to close the communication gap between the EVP and other campus groups,” said fourth-year philosophy student Stephanie Perez, director of Bruin Lobby Corps.
The Bruin Lobby Corps was founded in January 2008, as a committee under the office of the EVP and was formed shortly after Melgar was elected.
As part of this office, the Bruin Lobby Corps strives to ensure affordability, accessibility, and quality of education for UCLA students, according to a Bruin Lobby Corps statement.
They also hope to help students become empowered through this education.
To do this, they strive to build relationships with legislators, and show that large groups of students care about these issues, according to the statement.
The Lobby Corps’ duties include lobbying and coordinating lobbying efforts for campus organizations, as well as other student issues.
To accomplish this, the committee hosts lobbying workshops to educate students, coordinates lobby visits, and recruits students to lobby for themselves, according to the statement.
Through this and their participation in other University of California Student Association campaigns, the Bruin Lobby Corps aims to effectively advocate important student issues.
“We want to learn more about real issues that students are concerned with,” Perez said.
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