SUBMITTED BY: Paul Vollmer
For many of us, the Undergraduate Students Association Council has, and remains, an object of mystery: a board of 13 students deep within the confines of Kerckhoff that is often unseen and unheard.
Aside from the regular events in Bruin Plaza and the campaign signs during our blistering elections, little can be seen or heard of our elected officials.
But upon closer examination, at least one member of USAC is making a sound, if silent, contribution to the very nature of campus life. I speak of General Rep. Thach Nguyen’s office and its efforts to make UCLA a centerpiece for sustainability.
It is an issue that invokes the greatest passion in Bruins. Less than two years ago we voted in The Green Initiative Fund to ensure its priority, and we continuously seek to educate ourselves about the problem and the actions we can take to ensure its solution.
Aside from Blue and Gold, Green has almost become the color in defining Bruins. But when all is said and done, the students look to their leadership, to those in whom they have invested power, and demand action.
They need look no further than Nguyen’s office. Staying true to the promises of his platform to fight for sustainability, Nguyen’s office has made the issue a top priority and does not disappoint when it comes to delivering results.
Since its implementation, General Representative 3’s Sustainability Council has successfully instituted several changes that have placed them on the vanguard of this fight.
In an effort to reduce the amount of paper used on campus, the committee has fought for the implementation of paperless instructor evaluations online.
With current evaluations consuming more volumes of paper than necessary, the measure will provide for a great reduction in the campus’s footprint in the world.
But the work doesn’t stop here. Nguyen’s office has kept the demand for solar panels on campus alive and well, lobbying for the addition of this clean form of energy.
The office has also sought to make Kerckhoff Hall the example for sustainability on campus by securing the installment of hand-dryers in the building’s bathrooms, which will be in place before the next school year.
And to give students an eye into the process, Nguyen’s office has achieved the addition of sustainability links on MyUCLA so that all students can check on upcoming projects and what they can do to help the cause. Giving programming an even greater purpose, Nguyen’s office continues to show its commitment to UCLA students and their desire for action.
Be it silent or overt, Nguyen’s office has lent itself to ensuring the realization of the student dream for sustainability on campus, one step at a time.
Vollmer is a third-year history and political science student.