Jamal Madni, the incumbent candidate for the presidency of the Graduate Students Association, has developed a four-part platform that is focused on graduate student life, funding, housing and sustainability.
Madni, a third-year graduate student in the department of biomedical engineering, said his slate, called GSA Progress, is basing its platform on continuing its progress on various graduate student initiatives from the past year.
The entire GSA Progress slate is running uncontested in this week’s elections.
A key portion of Madni’s platform involves the creation of a graduate student center on campus, which would act as a location for graduate students and their families to socialize and engage in recreational activities.
As GSA president this year, Madni worked with UCLA administration on a plan to convert the current university police building on Kinross Avenue into a graduate student center. The plan is currently still in its preliminary stages of development.
“We’ve drafted a proposal to create a center which will have a recreation and gym component, a food and drink area and technology available for public use,” Madni said.
Madni added that he is currently working with the chancellor and a number of vice chancellors to secure the necessary plans for the space, and said he would continue these efforts next year.
Another part of Madni’s platform concerns additional graduate student funding and support for research assistants, teaching assistants and fellowships, which he said is a continuation of his office’s accomplishments.
In the past year, Madni said he has worked closely with other graduate student presidents in the UC system to request this additional funding. The UC graduate student presidents received a total of $10 million in extra funding this year, with $1.9 million of it going to UCLA graduate students.
“Considering the current economic climate, this was a tremendous success,” Madni said.
Next year, Madni said his slate will continue to advocate for graduate students to receive more funding.
Netta Avineri, a graduate representative of the Associated Students UCLA board of directors and a candidate for the vice president of academic affairs position in the GSA elections, said Madni has mixed continuity with new ideas as GSA president.
“Jamal thinks outside the box. He’s a good listener and is able to build consensus with people who have differing opinions. My experiences with Jamal have all been positive,” Avineri said.
One of the most important concerns for graduate students is their quality of life in housing, and as a result, Madni said he has made the issue a part of his platform.
To improve transparency in UCLA housing, Madni said this past year he has developed a graduate housing accountability initiative.
The initiative implemented an online system that allows graduate students to check their wait-list status in Weyburn Terrace and University Apartments South, as well as find information comparing UCLA housing costs to standard market prices, Madni said.
In the following years, Madni said he hopes for GSA to hold UCLA housing accountable for rent increases and property acquisitions.
“We’re trying to minimize any rent increases, and at the same time ask UCLA to release any numbers regarding its contracts,” he said.
Dianne Tanjuaquio, the legislative liaison for the GSA and a former undergraduate internal vice president, said that Madni makes himself accountable for his actions and is always transparent about his work.
“As a graduate student, I feel proud about the projects that Jamal is getting done,” Tanjuaquio said.
The final component of Madni’s platform is to create more sustainable initiatives on campus.
Madni said he worked with other officers to convert a significant part of GSA’s operations into paperless form, saving an estimated 30,000-40,000 sheets of paper a year.
Madni also elaborated on other areas of interest that he said were not necessarily on the platform, but that he would put attention and effort into.
He said that a stronger relationship with the UCLA Alumni Association was critical with the state of the economy, and he noted that alumni had large amounts of funding and resources available for students.
Madni, who also served last year as the chair of the ASUCLA communications board, said UCLA has done a tremendous amount for his education.
“This is my way to give back and make my impact as a student,” he said.
Voting begins today at noon on MyUCLA.