UC Student Association Board Coming to UCSF – You’re Invited
By Amanda Arsenault
Contributing Writer
The Graduate Students’ Association and the Associated Students at UCSF are proud to host the UCSA Board Meeting on Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18, in the Millberry Union Golden Gate Room from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
The University of California Student Association (UCSA) is a coalition of students and student governments comprising a collective voice for all students to advocate for the accessibility, affordability and quality of the University of California system. As we apprehensively watch enrollment fees escalate beyond reasonable measure, UCSA aims to empower student leadership and make it apparent to state legislatures and the UC Regents that further hikes will curtail accessibility to higher education and, as a result, hinder economic development in our troubled times.
Join the discussion with UC students from all across California advocating that all students, no matter their financial burden, should enjoy access to higher education. For more information visit the UCSA website at http://www.ucsa.org or contact your GSA or ASUCSF External Affairs representatives. To contact your GSA rep, Amanda Arsenault, visit http://gsa.ucsf.edu/. To contact your ASUCSF reps, Daniel Luu and Manjeet Singh, visit http://asuc.ucsf.edu/.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is UCSA?
The University of California Students Association represents students across the entire University of California System. The organization aims to create greater access to public higher education for all Californians by empowering current and future students to advocate on their own behalf for the accessibility, affordability and quality of the University of California education system. We lobby the state legislature, Governor, the UC Regents, and the UC President on student-related issues.
Who represents me in UCSA?
Every student at UCSF is represented in UCSA by the student Director of External Affairs of both GSA and ASUCSF. Contact your GSA/ASUCSF office in order to contact your rep or stop by the office at Millberry Union room 108 West.
How are yearly campaigns decided?
Each year, student delegates from all represented campuses come together for the UCSA Student Congress in August where the UCSA Action Agenda is chosen democratically.
UCSA’s Campaigns for 2009-20010:
1. UC system-wide Graduate/professional Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP) Campaign that aims to significantly reduce the cost of student health insurance while adding benefits such as dependent care coverage, the ability to be referred out to a different doctor as well as reciprocity. A system-wide committee is looking at how to improve GSHIP for students. In order to ensure that the system-wide committee is going to make positive changes to GSHIP, the University of California Student Association (UCSA) needs students like you to share your experience with GSHIP and be involved in this process.
2. Save the UC-Cal Grant – With the Cal Grant repeatedly on the chopping block during budget negotiations, and the Regents continually raising fees, low- and middle-income students can’t continue to afford college. UC students are taking action to ensure that students who need financial aid will always have it in California by writing the Cal Grant into the state constitution, and guaranteeing that the state will continue to fulfill its mandate. Now is the chance to take action and demand the protection of financial aid from the legislature and the Governor!
3. The Student Vote Project – This year we registered over 42,000 UC students to vote!!! Not only does UCSA lead the state in nonpartisan youth vote work, but the nation as well.
Amanda Arsenault is the Director of External Affairs of the Graduate Students’ Association.
This article appeared in the October 8, 2009 issue of Synapse.