USAC Recap – July 21

The Undergraduate Students Association Council unanimously supported a California bill addressing artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and other forms of technology-facilitated sexual harassment at its July 21 meeting.

USAC is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings are open to all students and are usually held in person at the Bruin Viewpoint Room and on Zoom every Tuesday at 7 p.m., though the council will meet virtually every other week over the summer. Students can find links to the meetings in the agenda posted on the USAC website or watch a livestream on the USAC Live! YouTube channel.

Appointments:

• Marcus Gabby was appointed to the Student Fees Advisory Committee for a two-year term.
• Diana Aboul-Hosn was appointed to the USA Judicial Board for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Vanessa Harris was appointed to the Campus Retention Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Kennedy Graham was appointed to the Campus Retention Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Ava Beall was appointed to the Campus Retention Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Brett Baptist was appointed to the Campus Programs Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Sara Turcios was appointed to the Community Activities Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Adel Abdulrahman was appointed to the Community Activities Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Alana Langi was appointed to the Student Initiated Outreach Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Carlia Chiu was appointed as a Community Service Mini Fund member for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Janelle Banaria was appointed to the Student Initiated Outreach Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Bella Haakanson was appointed to the Student Initiated Outreach Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Jayla Ward was appointed to the Student Initiated Outreach Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Roma Jasmin Patel was appointed to the Student Health Advisory Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Betty Chang was appointed to The Green Initiative Fund for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Jake Smith was appointed to the Faculty Executive Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Jasmine Altmark was appointed to the Legislative Assembly for the 2026-27 academic year.
• Misha Razeghi was appointed to the Campus Retention Committee for the 2026-27 academic year.

Officer reports:

• President Jayha Buhs-Jackson said in her written report that her office’s hiring materials were approved and applications would be released July 27. Buhs-Jackson added that her office aims to recruit more than 100 staff members from diverse backgrounds through Student Affairs summer academies, New Student Welcome, Bruin Family Weekend and New Student Orientations. She also outlined a structure for her office with teams dedicated to legal affairs, student safety, labor solidarity, media, fellowships and appointments.
• Internal Vice President Gabrielle Trujillo said in her written report that her office continued interviewing director candidates and conducting Appointment Review Committee interviews. Trujillo added that she reviewed proposed amendments to USAC bylaws and joined the planning committee for UCLA’s 2026 Latinx Welcome event.
• External Vice President Cecilia Choy said in her written report that her office finalized UCLA’s delegation to the UC Student Association’s Student Organizing Summit, an annual conference from July 31 to Aug. 2 where UC students learn organizing strategies and decide what issues UCSA will focus on. Choy added that she met with external vice presidents from other UC campuses at a UCSA board meeting to discuss initiatives for the upcoming year.
• General Representative Evan Salazar said in his written report that he met with UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services to discuss promoting its Compassionate Response Team, CAPS’s mobile mental-health crisis unit, through social media outreach and crisis-response training for USAC members. He also said he attended the Road to 2028 conference, where speakers discussed how the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games could affect Los Angeles and UCLA, and continued planning a basic-needs program with the Los Angeles Catholic Worker – a Catholic community-based program that serves unhoused people in Skid Row.
• General Representative Pranaya Vijay said in her written report that she was finalizing hiring materials and also planned to attend the UCSA’s Student Organizing Summit. Vijay added that she would post USAC employment opportunities on 12twenty – UCLA’s newly adopted platform for job and career services. She also said she created budgeting documents for the Office Space Allocation Committee, which manages organizational spaces in Kerckhoff Hall, and proposed placing air purifiers in shared office spaces.
• General Representative Susie Turner said in her written report that her office was finalizing applications for its executive and director positions. Turner added that her office met with the organizing committee of the Afrikan Black Coalition – a student-led organization focused on developing and organizing Black student leaders across UC campuses. Turner also said her office would join UCLA’s delegation at UCSA’s Student Organizing Summit.
• Academic Affairs Commissioner Angela Ledesma-Grattarola did not update her written report.
• Campus Events Commissioner Salem Walsh said in her written report that planning for Bruin Bash, the annual concert hosted by CEC and CAC before fall quarter, was progressing.
• Community Service Commissioner Maya Gheewala said in her written report that CSC began planning UCLA Volunteer Day, an annual community service event held Sept. 26. Gheewala added that her office also created a committee to plan Servocacy Fest, an event showcasing student service organizations. She also said she was developing the commission’s budget, reviewing Community Service Transportation Fund guidelines and planning outreach to the On-Campus Housing Council.
• Cultural Affairs Commissioner Divine Trewick said in her written report that Bruin Bash planners made progress on the artist lineup, marketing calendar and potential sponsors. Trewick added that she met with directors and submitted bookings for Hip Hop Congress, a Cultural Affairs Commission program that showcases artists of color, as well as fall art galleries and The Word on Wednesday at UCLA, a recurring open mic event that provides students from marginalized communities with a space for artistic expression.
• Facilities Commissioner Paige Zwerner said in her written report that her office continued filling committee appointments and interviewing staff candidates. Zwerner added that interview questions for The Green Initiative Fund were approved by human resources and that her office was resolving outstanding payments from the previous term.
• Financial Supports Commissioner Corea Kim did not update her written report.
• Student Wellness Commissioner Daniela Castro said in her written report that interviews for the Student Wellness Commission had concluded and applicants would receive decisions soon. Castro added that she was completing the commission’s budget handbook.
• Transfer Student Representative Ashley Ma said in her written report that her office hired six directors and interviewed 13 director candidates. She also met with Anna Capinpin, a Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement advisor, to discuss exclusion of transfer students from campus organizations and potential solutions.
• International Student Representative Charbel Chehade did not update his written report.

Agenda items:

• The council unanimously approved a letter supporting Assembly Bill 2212, which would classify the creation or distribution of digitally generated or altered sexually explicit images without the depicted person’s written consent as sexual exploitation and expand California colleges’ training on technology-facilitated sexual harassment, with a 12-0-0 vote. Vijay said the bill would help survivors define their experiences and access mental health and legal resources, adding that UCLA students have advocated for the legislation through Survivors + Allies, a student-led organization that supports survivors of sexual violence at California colleges and universities.