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 Evan Shulman - Internal Vice President- Uni-Camp, Co-Program Director of High School Program- ORL, Hedrick Hall RA & Sproul Hall PA (Programming Assistant) - E3 (Ecology, Economy, Equity), Education for Sustainable Living Program - Coalition for Peace & Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Hi! My name is Evan Shulman and I am a fourth-year Cognitive Science major with a Human Complex Systems minor and specialization in computing. I am the Students First! candidate for USAC Internal Vice President. Students First! envisions a university that is committed to maximizing the UCLA experience. As USAC Internal Vice President, I will put Students First! by: Advocating for affordable, green housing off-campus! Problem: With tuition fees and off-campus rental fees on the rise, students are finding it more difficult to find affordable housing close to campus Ð often opting to move far from campus and commute so as to save money. In addition, there is a lack of truly green housing options off-campus. While the recent renovations and plans for on-campus housing include sustainable and green designs, this option is not being pushed for off-campus. Acknowledging both the environmental crisis on our hands, and the blooming green industry, UCLA lies at a critical point to take the lead on the next-generation of sustainable living options. We are capable of being at the forefront of sustainable housing and we SHOULD be and students can BENEFIT from this. Solution: Advocate for the creation of an off-campus green/sustainable housing co-op that will serve as an "educational model that creates a forum for smart discussion about environmental awarenessÓ while also giving students a clean, healthy, and affordable off-campus living option. This will be modeled off of a similar project in Venice Beach Ð project7Ten. This will expand on that campaign, by creating a multi-residence housing complex that simultaneously educates the community and empowers them to be forward thinking and actively participating in being a part of the solution. Why I'm the best person to do this: My experience serves more around networking and bringing the right people to the table to talk about this and make it happen in the best way possible. I volunteered as a tour guide for the project7Ten model house in Venice Beach and have connections to the members that started that project. IÕve already spoken with the CEO of the non-profit that collaborated with project7ten and have his support in helping to bring this to reality. IÕm currently working on talking to UCLA Housing to discuss their efforts to make this happen. As a member of E3, I have extensive networks with that organization and with those in it who would be very excited to work on this project Ð encouraging student engagement in the process as we strive towards sustainability. I would also be working through connections to UCLAÕs Institute of the Environment and the UC/LA Sustainability Committee. - Co-platform with Galen Roth - Facilities Increasing Student Voice and Media Presence on Campus! Problem: There is either not enough affordable ad venues or too little access to current publicity spaces for various student groups' activities/events and programming. Our own Student Media is limited in distribution and audience size Ð with our DailyBruinTV and UCLARadio currently broadcasting online only. These restrictions on student marketing and voice have a negative influence on organizational effectiveness and disempowers student voice/media. It also prevents recurring dialogue and representation of all the events, rallies, and student projects that are happening on campus. Additionally, because of a lack of journalism and music industry academic programs, many students in those Student Media programs learn their skills for a possible career through them. By limiting their exposure and presence on campus, their career opportunities may suffer as a result. Solution: I want to make all student groups aware of free publicity sources (Table tents in the Dining Halls or Electronic slide on the Ackerman plasmas) and how to apply for them. I would also database and make available where cheap ad spaces are on campus as well. However, I feel the simplest solution lies in getting DailyBruinTV and UCLARadio to have more of a presence on campus. I would push for DBTV to get time to broadcast on the Ackerman and Wooden plasmas and would work to have UCLARadio broadcasted through Kerckhoff and in the Dining facilities on the Hill. By giving student media a permanent presence, more news stories on student life and events may be possible to further engage students and make them aware of things from Culture Nights to Advocacy events and from sports results to daily life. Why I'm the best person to do this: When I was an RA in Hedrick Hall, another RA and I conceived of the idea for an ORL Wiki to database and collaborate on programs across the Hill. Many in ORL had no idea what a wiki was, and so through our connections, starting with our Resident Directors, we were able to independently develop and pitch the idea to the top decision makers in ORL. As such, I have the experience of bringing useful functionality to campus Ð starting on a great idea, and working with others to make it happen. I have connections to UCLA Radio and DBTV. As a former RA, I know that fliers can be somewhat archaic and ineffective in reaching out to students and really making them care to come out to an event. These ideas will change that. - Co-Program with George - Cultural Affairs Commission (more diverse music = UCLA Radio) Bring more leadership and financial training workshops to campus! Problem: We have several quality student groups on campus Ð some more established than others Ð and all vying for the same USAC funding pool. Meetings may be less than optimally run, projects less than optimally executed, and events less than optimally funded. This leads to ineffective group, leadership, and membership development and limits the ability for groups to meet their mission statement. Newere groups are often unaware of what makes a successful funding application and thus have a harder time starting out as well. Solution: As student liaison to the more than 800+ student groups, I have the responsibility and the excitement to work with all to ensure they are as effective as possible. As such, I will bring more group and leadership training to campus that center around both effectiveness and efficiency (which will cut down on resources needed) as well as funding training, perhaps from those well-established groups, on how to write successful funding applications for our own funding sources and by bringing grant writers to talk and train for off-campus funding sources. Why I'm the best person to do this: I have programming experience from ORL and I have attended training programs such as the US Student AssociationÕs GrassRoots Organizing Weekends and the American Democracy InstituteÕs Empower Change Summit. There are other programs such as USSAÕs Electoral Action Training and UCLAÕs very own Bruin Leaders Project that I have connections to and would work on bringing to campus. Additionally, IÕve previously worked with UCLA UniCampÕs grant writer, and would seek to work with her and her connections to create the grant writing training. Institutionalizing the Coalition for Peace! Problem: The Iraq War, as an example of most all military components of the U.S., affects not only the international community, but the UCLA community and the students on UCLA's campus. The War is a complex and catastrophic issue that permeates students' lives on multiple levels. There is a large amount of information to sort through, students feel dis-empowered by the conflict and how best to end it, and may not be as aware of how things such as their tuition fees, taxes, and communities are affected by the War. In the 21st century, there has been a renewed emphasis among students on social responsibility, activism, and environmental consciousness. Students are clamoring for changes in the way things have been done in the past: whether it means divesting from Darfur, or being involved in charity drives like Dance Marathon, or pushing for more sustainable alternatives to on-campus living and studying. But often we've had to do these things alone. Solution: This would not be the first time USAC has been used to discuss and act out on the War. Now imagine a collaborative campus environment where not only the students push for increased responsibility for the university, but where faculty and administration can be involved with that process as well? Care about making sure the University is green? Care about making sure the UC invests in socially responsible companies? Why don't we bring together different areas of campus to sit down and address some of the ways UCLA can help become a more 'responsible' school? We've already got some ideas: more sustainable housing alternatives; greater access to recycling materials; better criteria for university investments; more university encouragement of student community service. So let's get the administration and faculty and departments on board as well. -- Make focus on 'dialogue' amongst different communities on the negative effects of war. Work with public affairs, labor, education, environment departments and issue an annual report on the ways in which the war and any other future conflicts affect these fields. --The report focuses on ways to promote dialogue, peace, and understanding of cultures and American values in the university, -- How can students promote peace and understanding? We've already had numerous events about bringing people from different sides of issues together, so this report would provide recommendations/ideas and would include the support of administration and departments. -- Use this report to connect to other UCs to push for a system-wide responsible endowments movement (work with Homaira's platform on this) Experience: I've been actively researching the military and more specifically the Iraq War and its impacts on society since Spring Quarter 2007 with classes taken such as "Telling the Story of War" taught by Dr. Michelle Moe. Transitioning from understanding the negative impacts of War, I've become actively involved in anti-war efforts as well as pro-peace efforts, such as the November "Take Hold!" rally, bringing Elizabeth Kucinich to campus to speak about the War, helping to put on the "What is it Good for?" teach-in, and helping organize the "Make Love, Not War" event, to both educate and organize the UCLA community to strive towards a better future. These actions were organized through various student groups as Take Hold!, Students for a Democratic Society, and the Coalition for Peace. My programming experience in ORL as both a Programming Assistant and Resident Assistant gave me the skills to put on beneficial, targeted, and informative programs - such as ones that would be put on by an institutionalized Coalition for Peace. Students need an outlet to voice their concerns and express their solutions for ending the War and re-prioritizing those resources onto education - I have the capability and the passion to bring the campus community together to discuss the War and other international conflicts and work on organizing ways UCLA and its students can be a part of the solution. As an experienced and well-versed UCLA student, I am ready to serve as the next Internal Vice President of the USAC. I am appreciative of being given yet another opportunity by my university to serve my community and am excited to get the essential work done to make UCLA bolder and better. Students First! will maximize the experience of all students by ensuring a quality education, promoting student health and wellness, as well as student engagement, and by fostering all types of sustainability. My name is Evan Shulman, and an endorsement for me for USAC IVP is an endorsement for vision, passion, making big changes, and having fun all the while. |
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