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A.S. Council Brief Weeks 7 and 8: UC Student Policy Summit and the New Housing Policies

A.S. Council Brief Weeks 7 and 8: UC Student Policy Summit and the New Housing Policies
Image by Ava Bayley for The UCSD Guardian

Week 7

In their Week 7 meeting, A.S. senators discussed projects such as a  campus referral service and gave updates on current projects. Vice President Adrianne Blackshire announced an all-student summit in protest of the quarterly meeting with the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) and the council went over how to change the active directory (AD) passwords. 

First, Sydney Harrison, a speaker for CALPIRG, a student organization centered on the reduction of climate change, gave an update on the group’s mission to eliminate single-use plastics from California to curb plastic pollution. 

Additionally, CALPIRG has been working with Assemblymember Laura Friedman in support of AB-26, a new bill that would ban single-use plastics in delivery packages. Additionally, CALPIRG is raising support for AB-2146, a bill for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators by reducing the usage of Neonics, a form of herbicide. 

Then, Campuswide Senator Daniel Soria introduced his project, the campus referral service. The service will help organizations submit requests and hearings to the A.S. Council and help connect organizations to it more easily. Soria stated that more updates will be provided in the upcoming weeks. 

Senator Anna Zick discussed her correspondence with the Triton Transfer Hub and mentioned plans for a student-led transfer council to help transfer students. However, this is still under development. 

Next, Vice President of External Affairs Adrianna Blackshire spoke about her recent University Affairs (UA) quarterly meeting with University of California President Michael Drake and the rest of the UCOP. Blackshire explained that, despite expressed requests of UA students to not be merged with other organizations, UCOP plans to go against these requests. 

“Due to the circumstance that UCOP has decided to pretty much go against our desire to not be merged with other organizations such as UCGCP and the Council of Presidents, we have decided as members of UA to boycott the quarterly meeting.” Blackshire elaborated. 

Instead of attending, student representatives will attend a UC student policy summit on Feb. 28. 

Following this, the council moved on to reports of standing committees. The Finance Committee approved the following items.

  • F2: Allocation of $404.80 from programming funds to Alpha Epsilon Delta for UCSD Alpha Epsilon Delta 
  • F3: Allocation of $3,298.34 from Programming Funds to Muslim Student Association for Tarbiyya Seminar

However, they tabled the following for two weeks. 

  • F1: Allocation of $60k from Unallocated to the Booster Bucks Initiative
  • F4: Allocation of $15,000 from Student Organization Programming Funds to General Unallocated funds

Additionally, the Legislative Committee appointed Maria Charles as A.S. Election Manager. 

Then, the council went over the reports of external committees. First-Year Senator Xavier Lopez presented on behalf of the cyberspace and governance committee in an update on the Jan. 10 campus notice, where it stated that students have to change their Active Directory (AD) password during Winter Quarter as part of a cybersecurity initiative. According to the Jan. 10 notice, the deadlines for password changes will be staggered over several weeks in order to not overload on the systems and Service Desk. The Active Directory Account, better known as the Triton Link account, is where students can access information such as class registration and financial aid. 

Lopez provided a tutorial on how to change your password, which is also available at this link here. Additionally, Lopez provided a website to find whether your password has been compromised, which can be found here

Senator Allyson Muir for the Library Student Advocacy Council spoke about the tunnel in the first level of the Geisel Library. Because the tunnel is too dark for studying, the council hopes to find a way to repurpose the space. 

Senator Eng and the rest of the Executive Director of Campus Performances and Events office search are currently working with a search firm, Isaacson Miller, to hire an executive director for the new Epstein Family Amphitheater. At the moment, Eng said that they are looking for students’ input on how students and student organizations can use this space as well. 

Senator Johnson spoke about the Mentoring for All Committee and their meeting on February 15. The Committee hopes to reach better outreach and wants to mostly reach out to first and second-year students. 

Finally, in the end, Senator Ramos discussed her plans for a Student-Worker Parking project, a carpooling service for students to get to campus. However, when VP Lara asked about how COVID regulations will be taken into consideration, Ramos admitted that aspect will need more thought. 

Week 8

In their Week 8 meeting, Housing Dining Hospitality, Basic Needs, and Student Legal Services were discussed by the A.S. Council. Additionally, project managers went over housing policies, off-campus resources, and new building projects being done in response to the housing crisis. 

To start this meeting, there were special presentations led by HDH Associate Vice Chancellor Dr. Hemlata Jhaveri. 

Associate Director of Housing Stacy Travis, Director of Residential Experience Megan Fox, and Associate Director of Housing Administrative  Services Chris Dice went over the new housing policy for the 2022–2023 school year. 

Housing applicants will be divided into 5 priority groups: 

  • Scholars in UC San Diego programs that provide four years of housing guarantee or mandate living on campus as a condition of their offer
  • New incoming first-year and transfer students 
  • Returning second-year students, including second-year transfer students who resided in on-campus housing for at least two of three quarters in the 2021-22 academic year
  • Remaining second-year students, including 2nd year transfers
  • Remaining 3rd and 4th years

HDH said that it expects that groups 1, 2, and some of 3 will be housed. Group 3 will be selected by a lottery system and groups 4 and 5 will have a chance to apply for housing by joining the waitlist. 

Travis also provided important dates for room selection. 

  • Now–March 1: Continuing student housing application
  • March 8–14: Housing contract issued
  • March 9–20: Living-Learning Community, I-House and opt-in for Gender Inclusive Housing 
  • April 14 and 22: Lottery date and time, and available space online
  • April 29–28: Room selection sign-up by community 
  • May 3: Notification of delayed assignment 

Students will have to apply for housing by May 1 and accept an offer by May 9. Continuing students who submitted a Continuing Student Housing application by the stated deadline, but were not able to receive a housing contract, will be moved to the waitlist. They’ll have to update their record to stay on the waitlist. 

Meanwhile, students in priority group 4 and 5 will apply once when the waitlist is open. Students on the waitlist will be offered spaces as they become available and will be able to choose any open undergraduate space. For more information, you can refer to the HDH website

Next, the Hub Basic Needs Housing and Education Coordinator Kameo Quenga and Assistant Marissa Islas went over resources that can help students with the housing crisis. Students can refer to the off-campus housing office for resources to help them with off-campus living. The Off-Campus Housing website also has property listings, roommate searches, and emergency resources. 

Following them, Student Legal Services Director Jon Carlos discussed the resources available to students. This includes free confidential counseling, education, and referrals for all students. 

For off-campus students or students looking for off-campus housing, SLS also offers help with security deposits, roommate conflicts, lease reviews, and repairs/insurance. Students looking for their website can find it here

UCSD Capital Program Manager Dennis Brown then went over the plans for the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood. The new undergraduate residence will be located next to Revelle College and the La Jolla Playhouse. 

It will be 900,000 sq. ft. and will house 2000 undergraduates. Along with rooms, there will also be recreation and wellness areas throughout. More information can be found here

Project Manager Bryan Macias then covered the new ideas for Pepper Canyon West Housing. It will be built on the grounds Pepper Canyon Lounge, known colloquially as Camp Snoopy, is currently on. 

Pepper Canyon Lounge will be demolished in the Summer of 2022 and the new Pepper Canyon West will be completed by Fall 2024. It will be made of two towers, of 22 and 23 stories respectively. It will house 1300 residents and the ground floor will be used for retail. It will have new public features also, including a canyon trail that goes into a courtyard of buildings and a large park along Gilman Drive. This will be used mostly for third and fourth years. For more information can be found here

Project Leader Matthew Smith covered the Marshall District Living and Learning Neighborhood plans. It will be a new learning and living neighborhood at Marshall College, with 2000 beds and construction will begin in 2023. 

Smith also stated that the new Triton Transfer Hub will be located in the Triton Center Project, also known as the Triton Pavillion. It will also include the Center for Global Education and the new node for the teaching and learning commons. 

This will be built in the central campus, near the Gilman Super Loop and Price Center. This project will go into construction in 2022 and will be done around 2025.

Jhaveri also established that 704 spaces have been identified for triples. Jhaveri said the decision was made to alleviate the housing crisis in San Diego. 

Following these presentations, Food and Housing Resources Assistant Vice President Natalie Chiang gave her special presentation on the budget of the Professional Closet Program. This is a project the office hosts every year to address difficulties students may have accessing professional clothing. This program seeks to support students by providing them $50 gift cards to purchase appropriate interview outfits from stores like Target or Amazon. Chiang gave the budget proposal of $200,000 from Associated Students to support 400 students to find professional wear. 

Senator Serena Zheng announced her revival week project called Renewal Winter. This project will give out 200 care packages to students studying nursing. This event will take place on March 7 out on Muir Quad where care packages with goodies like ramen and face masks will be given out to nursing students only.

Senators Callahan, Kimiko Walker, and Griffith gave updates on their projects. Senator Rosario told the council of two new projects: one is a scholarship committee, and the other is a new art installation at Sixth College. VP Lara introduced a mentor-mentee program for the A.S. council and said mentor-mentee pairs will be announced by Week 10. 

President Manu Agni went over plans for Spring Break. Agni noted that like last year, he hopes that more people opt to stay in San Diego than go out of the city to reduce the transmission of COVID-19  as a result of traveling in and out of San Diego. Additionally, Agni reminded people to self-test after returning to campus after the break. 

Agni addressed issues with the Pronto App that students use for the trolley and buses, where the barcode that students scan to pay their fare would not work. He said that he discussed it with those behind the app and an update will be coming soon in the upcoming weeks. 

Finally, Agni explained that he was working to get more funding for the library to get outdoor seating. 

Senator Lopez reiterated that the Chief Information Security Officer announced that starting March 1, students need the UCSD VPN to access computers and networks. 

Finally, Senator Nomani gave an update on Uncle Italian. The restaurant in the Student Center is currently not open still due to low foot traffic. However, it plans to change its concept as well as upgrade its alcohol selling license to allow them to sell cocktails. 

A.S. Council meetings take place at 6 p.m. every Wednesday and are open to students. Students can participate in these meetings by joining the Zoom link or joining on Facebook Live.

Art by Ava Bayley for The UCSD Guardian

This article was updated on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 8:27pm to provide additional context to presentations that occurred during the meetings.

About the Contributors
Kaitlin Lee
Kaitlin Lee, News Editor
Haiku: Me, senior, crazy! Major?: Cognitive Science Send me cat TikToks
Ava Bayley
Ava Bayley, Art Editor
As the Art Editor, Ava spends the majority of her time double majoring in Human Biology and Sociology, working as an EMT, and pursuing medicine as a career. Anything to avoid actually doing art.
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