Update from the VP External:

Though Kirran Moss (AGS's new Legislative Liaison) and I have been in our current positions only a few short weeks, we hopped flights at the last minute to attend the University of California Student Association's (UCSA) Board's September kickoff meeting hosted by UC San Francisco last weekend (9/9-10). The chilly bay area climate was a shock for us thin-blooded So Cal-ers but we bundled up and made the most of the opportunity.

The September UCSA Board meeting sets the stage for the academic year and is when UCSA gains momentum after a summer lull in activity. We had several goals for the first meeting: to choose committee members, assign Board Directives to various committees, vote on whether or not to green light UC Berkeley's bid to host the upcoming Students of Color Conference, and get a feel for where the staff and other board members were at with the three major 2006-2007 Action Agenda items selected in July.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: As AGS's Legislative Liaison, Kirran is a member of the Legislative Committee (this may seem rather obvious, sorry). Also, she was appointed to the Grad & Professional Committee. Giovanni Hortua, our COD, was appointed in absentia to the Campus Action Committee. As your VP External, I'm on the Grad & Professional Committee as well as the University Affairs Committee. Each committee chooses how it will go about tackling specific Board Directives as well as the three Action Agenda items (see below for more details on this).

ACTION AGENDA: Back in July the UCSA Board determined that UCSA would focus on pushing forward the following three issues - Voter Registration, Diversity in Admissions, and the Student Compact. The Get Out The Vote campaign is a key component of the first action item.

GOTV: UCSA's major campaign for the fall is Get Out The Vote (GOTV). AGS will work closely with UCSA field organizers and ASUCI to register voters and set up an early polling site on campus. Our goal is to register at least 3,000 students from UCI and 26,000 system-wide.

BOARD DIRECTIVES: Briefly (too late, I know), the Board voted on six directives which were then assigned to committees. Between the VP Ex, LL, and COD, AGS UCI will have a hand in implementing all six directives. The directives and committee assignments are listed below:

Proposition 209 Education Campaign - Campus Action
University of California Office of the President Budget Investigation & Proposal - Grad & Prof
Expansion of Student Regents - Legislative
Expanding UC Grant Aid - University Affairs
Supporting Social Justice Activism - Campus Action
UC Sustainability Standard - University Affairs

I realize this is all rather sketchy but please bear with me. I will have more details available in the near future.

STUDENTS OF COLOR CONFERENCE: The board voted to accept UC Berkeley's proposal to host the annual Students of Color Conference. The conference will be held on November 18-19. This is an exciting opportunity for UC students to come together to discuss and strategize around issues of accessibility and academic preparation. A complete list of speakers and workshops, and registration form will be available soon.

UC REGENTS' MEETING RALLY: The UC Board of Regents is meeting at UCLA on November 15-16 to discuss issues that directly impact UC grad students. Specific details such as agenda items, time, and transportation will be posted as soon as they become available.

The next UCSA Board meeting is October 14-15 at UCLA. Kirran, Gio, and I will be attending both days.

As stated above, I will provide more detailed information and specifics on these and other topics in the coming weeks. As always, I welcome any comments, questions, or suggestions you may have.

Thanks!

~Christine