INTRODUCING OUR QUARTERLY REPORT FOR FALL 2020
UPDATES
Commissioner:
Extended hours at Powell to three hours
Justice minor within Senate
Working with GSA to create a mandatory training on antiracism
Appointed all positions I had to Academic Senate USIE
Hosted summer book club on anti-racism
Sat in on meeting for Teaching and Learning Task Force, Online teaching, election meetings, meetings with the library to extend laptop and internet connectivity rental for students
Have been representing students in cases of academic dishonesty and have begun the process to begin a board to assist
Added Counseling Quarterly to bylaws
Hosted Cram Session for students to join and study during finals and a workshop with the career center
Advocated for folx from UGC to meet with people for marginalized communities which opened up support from Academic Senate on pass/no pass requirements
Zoom bombings
Meetings with all the AAC’s
Provided support where needed for advocacy with Arm Student, Project Spell, etc
Sanctuary Campus:
This quarter, sanctuary campus released a Mental Health resource guide that directs students from all communities to mental health resources catering to and cognizant of their backgrounds. They also negotiated with admin to secure a safer prayer space for the Muslim community. They also hosted a number of events, including a post-election healing space, intended to provide a safe space for communities effected by the election, a sexual assault training workshop, healing space for BLM, and a decolonization of the mind workshop which explored how colonization has influenced the manner by which our current society operates.
Retention First:
This quarter, Retention First compiled a resource/survival guide of helpful UCLA resources for incoming freshmen and transfer students to aid in their transition during remote learning. We also met with admin to advocate for the posting of class syllabi prior to student enrollment. Additionally, we updated the books for bruins application and successfully disbursed funds to 511 students. We will update the application next quarter and adjust the disbursement process to address concerns brought up during fall.
Access and Equity:
Hosted event for first-generation students with AFGU and First 2 Go
Fiat lux class is set to release
Bruin Opp is constantly updated with new opportunities on out AAC site
Transparency and Accountability: This quarter, Transparency and Accountability, continued to answer any responses received about AAC and Academic Senate through our Google form. We discussed concerns regarding how to make different aspects of AAC more transparent with the student body. We worked on releasing our weekly meeting agendas for the student body and also starting to compile monthly updates.
Space and Tech:
This quarter, Space and Tech worked on drafting our upcoming podcast, to center around activism, AAC, and empowering marginalized communities. Our podcast takes an intersectional perspective, and we were able to work with staffers in effectively communicating this broad-reaching vision. We have just acquired the materials for our production process, and aim to start that as soon as possible. Throughout the quarter and the summer, we also coordinated with other departments within and outside of AAC to spread awareness about available technological resources and other AAC materials -- such as Library, Marketing, and TSR. We also worked with the library to advocate for the expansion of laptops to be provided and shipped to as many students as possible
Public Relations:
Revamped entire website
Grew our Instagram from 1.2 k to 3.5 k followers through educational material such as resource guides and issues in the world graphic
Fundraising:
This quarter, we were able to put together a Spark campaign to fundraise for Books for Bruins. This campaign lasted 1 month, and we were able to raise almost $1,000 thanks to the support of the larger UCLA community and others that shared the campaign. With this coming to an end, fundraising has begun focusing on other projects such as sticker/print sales. We will announce when things are ready to sell next quarter. We also hope to continue applying for grants for AAC (although this has been difficult this year and we have no major updates in this area).
Funding:
This quarter, the Funding Committee worked on making our funding applications more accessible for students. With COVID-19 many in-person events were canceled, so we worked to loosen the eligibility requirements to best assist the student body. We were able to expand our funding to subsidize necessities like WiFi for students along with unexpected travel expenses that so many have had to incur as a result of the pandemic. We have also worked on creating guides that help students understand what we look for when going over applications, began to re-open office hours to help with application and document submission, and have begun talks to further expand funding opportunities and eligibility for the student body. Going forward, we hope to greatly expand opportunities for funding for the ASRF and TGMF funds and better adapt to the changing academic world as a result of COVID-19.
Community Liaisons:
This quarter, Community Liaisons have worked to try and create a bridge between the office and the UCLA community. At the beginning of the quarter, we sent out a newsletter to inform students of the resources that the AAC directors are compiling for the community. We have also worked to create connections with orgs on campus in order to be able to get to know other orgs and their missions. We have also created a google form for anyone trying to contact the AAC office. This will help filter which directors it should go to.
Internship:
Over the summer, the internship directors created an Interest Forum to gauge potential new member’s interest and helped tailor the AAC internship program to what they need. The directors penned a Frequently Asked Questions Document for applicants to reference during the application process. They also drafted a copious amount of emails to send to the interested members and department administrators along with forming templates to pitch AAC Internship to Facebook groups. For fall preparation, during the summer the internship directors wrote anticipated emails revolving around hiring/rejecting applicants to boot. They launched our AAC fall Quarter recruitment process by publishing the Internship Application, reaching out to AAC’s PR team, and drafting effective questions for our interview rounds. In addition, they prepared for our Fall Quarter curriculum, based on both Interest Forum responses and the Commission’s platforms. During the quarter, they completed our Fall Internship recruitment, and began their five-week program with our 12 interns. Throughout the quarter, they invited AAC Directors and Academic Senators to meet the Fall interns, and their program consisted of workshops and activities that ranged from resolution writing, standardized testing debate, and career development. During the Week Nine Executive Staff Meeting, all interns were assimilated into the office as general staff members.