Associated Students UCLA is a multimillion-dollar organization that provides student services and activities that the university does not fund. It oversees the Undergraduate Students Association Council, Graduate Students Association, Communications Board, campus services and enterprises. Board of Directors meetings are monthly and open to the public.
Executive Reports:
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ASUCLA Executive Director Pouria Abbassi said ASUCLA will be collaborating with the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students, the UCLA Transfer Student Center and UCLA Athletics to host a Super Bowl viewing party on Feb. 2 in Ackerman Union with free food and prizes. He added ASUCLA received $125,000 from UCLA for its basic needs programs, which support food-insecure students. He also added ASUCLA plans to collaborate with the organization Students4Students, which runs a shelter for students experiencing homelessness in Santa Monica.
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Abbassi said ASUCLA recently launched a UCLA clothing line in collaboration with UCLA alumnus and former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A representative from his office added that the clothing will be available at the UCLA store as well as Dick’s Sporting Goods, PacSun, LIDS, Pro lmage Sports, and Mitchell & Ness.
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ASUCLA committee chair and undergraduate representative Erika Bricky said ASUCLA’s executive committee approved a contract with Arroyo Consulting, which is affiliated with ASUCLA alumni representative Jesse Torres. A representative from the committee said they plan to make the collaboration as transparent as possible to address concerns about conflict of interest. Bricky added the centennial mural, which will be on the north side of Ackerman Union, is in development stages.
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ASUCLA undergraduate representative Alexis Wells said her committee is working on implementing a single-use plastic policy to reduce the use and disposal of plastic on campus.
Financial Statements:
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Abbassi said ASUCLA received $5 million in income as of December 2019, with a net income of $43,000. He added income from concessions decreased last year because of poor attendance at athletic events. A representative from his office added ASUCLA has $6.1 million in reserve.
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Patrick Healey, ASUCLA store director, said the majority of the store’s preliminary sales for January were textbooks. He added that the use of the store’s textbook rental program declined in the past year.
Agenda
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The board unanimously appointed undergraduate representative Bricky as committee chair, and graduate student representative Avi Oved as vice committee chair.
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Bricky said faculty representative Kevin Eagan will be replaced, and the board voted to temporarily fill his committee role with alumni representative Steve Yu and administrative representative Frank Wada.
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The board voted to approve the audited financial statements for the 2018-2019 academic year.
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Healey said the UCLA store now allows students to pick up both textbooks and clothing ordered online. He added the store is collaborating with the UCLA Thrift Shop for their BearWear trade-in program, where students receive discounts for trading in their UCLA-branded clothing. Traded-in merchandise will be donated to the UCLA Thrift Shop, whose profits support patient care at UCLA Health.
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A representative from Spanish clothing retailer Pull&Bear said the launch of their collaboration with UCLA was successful, and said the company hopes to increase their press coverage in the U.S. through the collaboration.
