During this turbulent time, students may feel more inclined than ever to ask themselves what Associated Students (A.S.) is doing for them. Rest assured, my staff and I have been working hard since the beginning of the summer to expand our programs and better serve students.

Here are some of the programs and initiatives I’ve been working on:

-Increased Associated Students’ contribution to the university scholarship program by 10%

-Established a committee dedicated to meeting the needs of campus clubs and organizations

-Appointed a director of Environmental Affairs to lead a new committee that will investigate and advocate for sustainability-related improvements

-Played an active role in the phasing out of blue-books this semester and their replacement with more sustainable green-books

-Met regularly with campus partners to discuss textbook affordability. A new program has been launched by the bookstore to help, they have established a price-match guarantee program

-Implemented a transit subsidy program to provide more affordable public transportation to students

-Collaborated with the president of the university as well as the faculty senate president to host town-hall meetings on campus to provide an open forum for students to voice their concerns and ask questions

-Met with Congressman Brad Sherman and state Senator Alex Padilla to express various student concerns

While these are only some of the accomplishments my administration has worked to achieve, we are a couple of weeks into the semester and there is much more to be done.

I am still working with the bookstore to expand helpful programs, such as textbook rental, and hope to make considerable progress this year that will serve students in the future.

Of course, all of this progress is on top of our long-standing services to students and the university, such as our child-care center and recycling program.

It’s also important for us as students to recognize some of the other players who are making all of this possible: the university administration, the faculty senate, the bookstore, and the University Corporation have all made contributions that aid us in improving student life as much as possible.