Graduate students elected new leaders for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Four candidates ran unopposed for the four positions in the Graduate Students Association elections, which ended April 13. Although no slate members won in the previous election, all elected officials this year were part of the Transparency, Accessibility/Accountability, and Collaboration, or TACO slate.
The election had an increased voter turnout at about 14%, compared to 10% last year, said GSA Elections Board director Arpita Iddya in an emailed statement. She announced the results at a GSA council meeting Wednesday.
Election officials had to shift their advertising online, using listservs and social media in light of instruction being moved online because of the coronavirus, Iddya said.
Graduate students also voted in favor of the “BruinGo” Universal Access Transit Pass Referendum, which will raise graduate student fees by $25.04 per quarter or $37.56 per semester, starting fall 2020.
The referendum funding will be allocated to UCLA Transportation and provide free transit access for graduate students in Los Angeles County, including Los Angeles Metro, Culver City Bus, Big Blue Bus, Long Beach Transit, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, Torrance Transit and LADOT Commuter Express.
Results:
GSA President: Jean Paul Santos
Former vice president of external affairs JP Santos will be serving as president for the upcoming year. Santos is a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering. He will succeed law student Zak Fisher, who served one year as president.
Vice president of external affairs: Neda Ashtari
Ashtari, a medical student, will succeed Santos as vice president of external affairs.
Vice president of internal affairs: Musibau Francis Jimoh
Jimoh, a doctoral candidate in the department of Materials Science and Engineering, will succeed former president of internal affairs Paul Nesterenko.
Vice president of academic affairs: Letty Trevino
Trevino will take the place of former vice president of academic affairs Shrinidhi Balasubramanian. Trevino is a doctoral candidate in the department of Spanish and Portuguese.
