USG directors have big plans for next year
The new Undergraduate Student Government executive cabinet, introduced earlier this week, already has ambitious plans for a number of new projects, ranging from increasing outreach to making campus more sustainable.
Chief of Staff Maya Babla said USG is excited for the innovative ideas the new directors will bring.
“We’re going to build on past successes and evaluate issues that were started this year, as well as infusing new ideas and bringing fresh concepts to the table,” Babla said. “We’re going to get those new concepts by going back to students and asking their opinions.”
Director of Alumni Affairs Cindy Vuong has already begun compiling a list of alumni contacts from various student organizations around campus. She hopes to ultimately consolidate the information and create an alumni database. Though this will be done on a rolling basis, she hopes most of it will be completed by next fall.
“Alumni are a really good resource to have,” Vuong said. “They’re very valuable for things such as recommendations and different kinds of professional opportunities … A lot of students want more interaction with the alumni, but not all of them are aware of the events, discussions and panels that are held.”
Like Vuong, Director of Community Affairs Marissa Srour also hopes to increase awareness of what USC has to offer. Srour intends to continue to expand the Greater L.A. initiative, which sets up events that encourage and enable students to step off campus. Events this past year included day trips to gardens and museums as well as community service events. Srour said USG is expanding the program to include social issues that students might be interested in.
“We hope for more student input,” Srour said. “We want to continually collaborate with students.”
Director of Diversity Affairs Andrenna Hidalgo also encourages students to get more involved and said she will encourage the student body to come to office hours to learn more about what USG is doing.
Hidalgo’s goal for the upcoming year is to expand the definition of diversity so that it extends to the disabled students as well as transfer and commuter students.
“We want to help people who do not have a big enough voice on campus, whose needs are not being met,” Hidalgo said. “We want to work on their behalf.”
Director of University Affairs Tim Sae Koo said his main goal for the upcoming year is to create a bridge between last year’s goals and this year’s.
“A lot of projects can’t be finished in one year,” Sae Koo said. “So we’re going to have to check up on them and improve them.”
One project Sae Koo will be working on is improving sustainability. Beginning next year, the university will offer a reusable mug program. Mugs will be sold at a low price and allowed in the libraries. Each time a student makes a drink purchase on campus, he will receive a 10 percent discount.
Sae Koo is also looking into adding a “Lyon Cam” in the Lyon Center to monitor traffic. Students will be able to sit at home and watch Lyon Center activity online to see how busy the Lyon Center is. Although this project is still in its preliminary stages, Sae Koo said most of the feedback he has received is positive.
Similar to Sae Koo, Director of Campus Affairs Monish Tyagi also hopes to build upon projects from the previous administration as well as work on new ones.
Two things that he hopes to improve are increasing the hours of the L.A. Live tram and Campus Cruiser.
“We’re trying to figure out how to improve transportation options for students,” Tyagi said.
Tyagi also plans to address bike safety on campus and hopes to figure out how to streamline traffic around the new campus center. He also plans to test the blue light phones on campus and evaluate the distribution of CSC guards.
“We are continually working with [the Department of Public Safety] and figuring out how we can make things more safe for students,” Tyagi said.
Ravi Agarwal, the director of Academic Affairs, will be working on giving students a longer Thanksgiving break and making it an official school holiday. He will also be working with individual schools and departments to increase the number of two-unit classes offered and set up “language tables” where students can practice a foreign language without necessarily taking the class.
USG President Chris Cheng said he hopes the new executive cabinet will be actively involved around campus.
“Something that is going to be different is that [the directors] are going to be out there,” Cheng said. “Not just in their office hours but to actually work hands-on with the students to hear what they want and to do their best to accomplish those goals.”