NOMMO
“USAC has [had] an immense history of student activism – student empowerment, and really advocating for key issues that students deal with”- Devin Murphy
Are we ready to ACT? So critical of the oppression we suffer as an Afrikan-American community, we often overlook our own homophobic self-oppressive nature.
Devin Murphy, third-year Political Science and Afro-American Studies major, is a minority in every sense, but there is nothing minor about the role that he plays in his own community and on UCLA’s campus. A Queer-identified, Afro-Cuban man, Devin carries social weights of both color and sex discrimination, only, he does so with pride. “I am extremely confident in who I am,” he pronounced from behind the USAC President’s desk.
Taking what others would call oppressive attributes and wielding them as weapons for social justice, Devin Murphy plans to hold true to himself and his identity as he makes his way to being the next openly Queer-identified Afrikan American USAC president.
Are we ready? If so, it’s voting time… LET’S ACT!
Judged not by his identity, but instead by the constituents of his character, Devin Murphy has time and time again shown his ability to lead and take action.
Serving three years in the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC), Devin Murphy is now USAC’s current Chief of Staff.
Starting his UCLA experience as a first-year intern in the External Vice President’s office, he worked as a Student Activist Project intern, an internship he describes as, “catered towards learning about different issues in the different communities.” Here, he exuberated with passion, “learning the importance of coalition building, power mapping, and developing [himself].”
In his second year Devin served with the State and University affairs staff for the External Vice President’s office. “Now that I knew different community issues, it was time to go to work on connecting that to our direct UC system and our statewide advocacy.” In this space of connection, he learned of the legislative process, the powers of the governor, and how to navigate different power structures, both on-and off-campus.
Now in his third year, as Chief of Staff, Devin Murphy has developed his knowledge of how to run an effective office. Attaining national coverage for platforms such as the 7,000 in Solidarity, a campaign against sexual assault, Devin has first hand experience with giving platforms significance. Humbly spoken, he professed, “No one spoke about this a year ago. We have made national coverage around our campaign that started in this room… with 3 people.
In addition to his works in USAC, Devin serves as an intern for the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. Though unpaid in many of his services, he appreciates the connections and changes he has been able to make while in the spaces. Additionally, experience has benefitted him with the ability of “[knowing] how to facilitate a conversation amongst various communities while finding a focal point for issues discussed.”
Well versed in knowledge of USAC, Devin Murphy understands that the presidential seat is a place of influence, “USAC is an institution on campus that has gained so much power. USAC has [had] an immense history of student activism – student empowerment, and really advocating for key issues that students deal with”. Garnished by the many spaces he has inhabited in service in the community, Devin Murphy currently stands as the favorite to win the upcoming election.
What inspired you to run for USAC president?
Devin: [Periodically homeless – coming from a place of poverty – I sat beside my mother as she attended her college night classes. I saw my mother struggle to provide for my brothers and I. Now older and understanding, I can make changes to prevent situations like my own. I’m motivated to make changes that will allow my ten year old brother to navigate through life easier than I did. Understanding who I am, I wish to not only cultivate a better tomorrow for him, but for the community alike.]
Platforms:
Amplify Student Voices through USAC & Administrative Accountability
I believe in a student-centered student government and university. Through institutionalizing quarterly USAC and Student Media forums and through increasing student access to Chancellor Block, I will ensure greater transparency and accountability for USAC, as well as UCLA and UC administration.
Increase Diversity through the UC Diversity Pipeline
The diversity of experiences and backgrounds that we each bring to this campus is what makes UCLA so great. Yet historically underserved and underrepresented communities still face barriers to access. I will work with UCLA and UC administration to reinvigorate our outreach and recruitment efforts because our campus should reflect the diversity of the LA community we come from.
Cafe Powell
Sleepless nights and Late Night are very familiar to many of us around midterms and finals. As students, we often put our health aside for academics. I will establish Cafe Powell to make sure that healthy eating options are available to students while studying at the college library so that we can prioritize our wellness along with our education.
Prioritize and Expand Mental Health Services
Mental health is a topic that is still largely overlooked on our campus, which can be detrimental to our academic success and overall well-being. I will be a champion for an innovative and progressive plan for mental health services by expanding current services on our campus and pushing for a statewide evaluation of student mental health services and policies.
Like sitting with a great professor, I felt more knowledgeable and inspired after leaving the interview – so much so, that I truly believe Devin when he states, “I have the ‘it’ factor.”
Visit www.voteletsact.com to learn more about Devin and other LET’S ACT! candidates.
This afternoon, I had the opportunity to sit down with Irmary Garcia, the incoming Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) Cultural Affairs Commissioner. She proved to be very knowledgeable, not only of student government, but also of the innumerable difficulties that Afrikan-American students face at UCLA. She was eager to divulge what she has planned for her new position.
Interviewer: Sharila Stewart
NOMMO Staff
Tell me about yourself.
Irmary: I am a third-year Political Science major from the Bay Area. I enjoy writing spoken word poetry, and my favorite musician would have to be Chance the Rapper. I feel that I can identify with him because he is young and Black; furthermore, despite not being signed to a record label, he is still successful.
What brought you to UCLA?
Irmary: The People of Color tour was what really won me over. Discovering that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at the Janss Steps was empowering. There is so much history here— I wanted to be a part of the legacy.
Once a Bruin, how did you become involved in student government?
Irmary: I feel like I would not be currently involved in USAC if it was not for the Afrikan Student Union (ASU). My freshman year, I participated in the Academic Supports Program (ASP) internship course. It really opened my eyes to the vast opportunities UCLA provides and showed me how I could get involved. I became involved in student government because I believe that it is important for me and others to bridge the gap between ASU and USAC. Many people view USAC as something that is not really accessible to them. I wish to change that.
Why did you choose to run for Cultural Affairs Commissioner?
Irmary: The arts are very important to me. I believe that they allow people to not only better understand their own identities but also one another.
How will your election benefit the Black community?
Irmary: As an Afrikan American, I have grown to understand what Umoja [the Swahili word for unity] means, and I recognize the numerous obstacles Black students face on this campus. Equipped with such knowledge, I know I will able to work with and for us. I want to make sure I am always available to our community.
Congratulations on being next year’s Commissioner! What are your plans for the office?
Irmary: Thank you, I am extremely excited! One thing that I intend to implement is a Cultural Crisis Response Team. Every year that I have been at UCLA, a hate crime has taken place. I think that it is crucial for students to know how to respond to such issues and have spaces to discuss them. The unit would provide these things and make students more aware of their resources. Also, I believe that community participation is essential, so my office will be very open to feedback.
Often times when students take office they succumb to political pressures and stray from their initial goals. How will you ensure your plans are actualized?
Irmary: The Cultural Crisis Response Team will be actualized because I am incredibly fervent about this issue; the hate incidents and crimes that have occurred on campus have always been a concern of mine. However, I know that passion and determination are not enough. I am not one to merely speak about change— I engage in action. I have spoken to my advisor and Nancy Greenstein, the Director of Police Community Services at the UCLA Police Department, in order to better understand the resources needed to make the unit effective. I have also decided which Cultural Affairs Commission representatives will be involved in creating the team. Essentially, this task force is ready to act.
This year, four Afrikan-American students (including yourself) are running for USAC offices. What would you like to say about them?
Irmary: We are all incredibly passionate about student government. We understand that this is not for ourselves, but for the marginalized voices. All of my running-mates are extremely qualified and believe that being elected to USAC is a privilege. If all of us are elected, I believe that it will excite our community and encourage them to become more active. If you do not see people that look like you, you do not feel as inspired to get involved. Hopefully, that will no longer be the case next year!
Irmary Garcia is an incredible choice for USAC Cultural Affairs Commissioner and NOMMO Newsmagazine wholly supports her. Having an Afrikan-American student in such a position will certainly benefit the Black community; Irmary will ensure that our voices are heard, valued, and incorporated.
Meet Janay Williams, a third-year Microbiology Immunology Molecular Genetics major and African American Studies minor. Williams is a candidate for Academic Affairs Commissioner in the 2014 Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) elections. She is one of four African American candidates running under the Lets Act Party. Born and raised in Moreno Valley, Williams grew up in a large family as the youngest of three children. She attributes much of her success to her family.
Janay’s Campus Involvement:
- Academic Affairs Commission
- Academic Climate Committee.
- Student Fee Advisory Committee.
- Academic Senate
- External Vice President for the Student Activist Project.
- Vice President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated
- Resident Advisor in Rieber Terrace on the eighth floor.
- Academic Coordinator for the Afrikan Student Union (ASU).
- Intern for the Academic Supports Program (ASP).
- Vice President of the National Pan Hellenic Council.
As Janay heads into her fourth year at UCLA, she is hoping to hold a USAC position and to leave a strong legacy. Janay said, “This is an office I truly believe in, and I have been in the [Academic Affairs Commission] office for the past two years. I have seen the potential this office has, it can be very progressive since there is much power in it.”
Janay’s Platform:
- Create Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) advocacy. Within the AAC office there are different appointments that include: Student Initiated Outreach Committee, Campus Retention Committee, Committee of Undergraduate Admissions In Relationships With Schools, and Faculty Executive Committee. “These are all important committees which allow students to get into the minds of faculty and administrators. I feel students could really benefit from this. I plan to use all the appointments I have, and bridge them together to teach [them] how to lobby for academic policies,” Williams said.
- Create a task force to facilitate the passing of the diversity requirement. “I can say that I am going to advocate for this requirement all I want, but I need to do something tangible. This task force would include students, faculty and administration working towards the requirement. I really want to include the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, Patricia Turner, and I want to include the academic senate chair for the upcoming year on this committee. This would really help to facilitate the passing of the diversity requirement,” said Williams.
- Create a holistic guild to navigate south campus for students. “A lot of Black students do not know the resources available to them on south campus, this is a way we can put all the resources in one place and build off of that. In the next few years I would like to see a campus resource center where students can go and ask questions and really utilize the resources,” Williams said.
- Partner with UCLA libraries to create paid fellowship opportunities in research for both north and south campus majors. She has already been in communication with the librarians working towards this goal.
In her final remarks about running for Academic Affairs Commissioner, Janay said, “I would ultimately be working for you all, and we would have the opportunity to help benefit the Black community, whatever you need from us as Black students we are here to give it to you. USAC [has been] a tool to facilitate in the organizing of the Afrikan Student Union… and will continue to.
On Tuesday, February 4, the Afrikan Student Union at UCLA brought forth a resolution to the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s (USAC) weekly meeting. The goal of the resolution is to “divest undergraduate students association and UC Los Angeles’ from corporations profiting from the Prison Industrial Complex.” For those who are not familiar with the resolution and its implications, it sets out to address and to act as part of the solution towards many of the issues that Black and other minority students face both on and off campus, in relation to the “Private Prison Industry.” According to the resolution, corporations that have ties to the use of inmate labor include, Wells Fargo, Vanguard Group, Blackrock Fund Advisors, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Invesco Finance LTD, JP Morgan Chase, and Procter & Gamble.
The meeting began with a public comment from Kateisha Menefield, Vice-Chair of the Afrikan Student Union, who introduced the resolution that demands UCLA to take “Responsibility not just as Bruins, but as simple human beings.”
Students listen as public comments are shared./ Amber Tidmore- NOMMO Staff
Following Menefield’s lead, other students presented their own comments. Devin Murphy, President of the Black Pre-Law Association said, “The [Private Prison Industry] is utilizing human beings in prisons to make more money,” and with a push from our government for more funding, “our tax dollars and student fees are going into this funding.” Murphy furthered expressed personal experience as a Black male on campus, “There is a surplus of African American men in prison, why is it not a surplus of African American men on this campus? That is an issue. When we talk about the idea of campus climate and feeling included, how do I feel included when more of me are in prison than on this campus, am I suppose to be here? That’s the question I ask myself.”
Black Bruins were not the only students present to support this issue, as other ethnic groups voiced their concerns:
“I do not want people to fall into the trap that Black History is [only] Rosa Parks and Harriett Tubman… because the Jim Crow Laws still lives on in [the form of] mass incarceration, and we have to recognize that history repeats and is disguised in different forms… [We] should use this legacy of Black History month to educate ourselves and to make an actual change” – UCLA student of Palestine
Before the council members were to vote on the resolution, Kamilah Moore, Chair of the Afrikan Student Union, and Maryssa Hall, External Vice President of USAC, presented some alarming statistics to the council members and to the public:
“More Black men are under correctional control today than were enslaved in 1850, and… Black women are the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population and the criminal justice system.”
The Black inmate percentage is almost half of the incarcerated population, totaling nearly 40 percent, which correlates with the school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon. The resolution further states that in the Los Angeles Unified School District in the years 2012-2013, “Latino students were more than twice as likely as White students to be ticketed, [and] Black students were almost six times as likely as a White student to be ticketed.”
Males make up 70 percent of these statistics.
Despite the issues and statistics presented, the resolution and public comments were marked with criticism. The use of what is considered to be “divisive language,” was the least of the students worries who contributed to the public comment portion of the meeting. However, after Moore’s and Hall’s presentation, there were small grammatical errors being critiqued by some of the council members. While in an article published that same day before the meeting took place, Natalie Delgadillo of the Daily Bruin also focused on critiquing the rhetoric of a presentation from the resolution, and how public opinion could weaken the goal of passing it.
Students listen as public comments are shared. /Amber Tidmore- NOMMO Staff
Delgadillo said, “Sometimes the oldest, most overused clichés ring the truest. A resolution set to be presented at the student government meeting tonight has an old grammar school adage looping in my head: ‘It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’. She concluded that in deciding whether or not to pass a resolution, “Councilmembers must always consider [if] a resolution is the best way to address an issue they find worthwhile – and if that answer is yes, its authors must work to make sure the resolution’s purpose isn’t marred by pointlessly divisive or extreme language.”
Criticism seemed to deviate from the issue being presented, and only ten council members approved the resolution while the rest neither abstained nor denied it. Despite criticism, many of the council members expressed support, and for some, the personal experiences of the students resonated.
In spite of this, the personal experiences of students are still viewed by some as “pointlessly divisive or extreme language.” It is clear that there is still work to be done, not only for the Black community, but also for all students on and off campus.
See the link below for an updated version of the resolution, and a list of the endorsers of the resolutions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RfkEEfbq8FqXpPm8Og1O7Sb4wZ6XoqNEp0AupW5SAN8/edit?pli=1
List of endorsers of the Resolution:
Student/Campus Organizations:
- Harambee Council at UCLA
- USAC Office of the President
- USAC External Vice President’s Office
- USAC Cultural Affairs Commissioner
- USAC General Representative 3
- Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project
- Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation
Individuals in support:
- Avinoam Boral Internal Vice president of the Jewish Student Union
- Liz Friedman Women in the Physical Sciences President
- Devin Murphy President of the Black Pre-Law Association
- Janay Williams member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc
Community Organizations:
- Alliance for Equal Opportunity in Education and Community Coalition of South Los Angeles
Last night, the Afrikan Student Union at UCLA addressed the Undergraduate Student Association Council with “A Resolution to Divest Undergraduate Students Association Council and UC Los Angeles Finances from Corporations Profiting from the Industrial Complex.”
Students and USAC Council members wait as the “A Resolution” presentation is soon to begin./Amber Tidmore- Nommo Staff
The endorsers of the resolution include:
Student/Campus Organizations: Harambee Council at UCLA, USAC Office of the President, USAC External Vice President’s Office, USAC Cultural Affairs Commissioner, USAC General Representative 3, Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project, Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation.
Individuals in Support: Avinoam Boral Internal Vice president of the Jewish Student Union, Liz Friedman Women in the Physical Sciences President, Devin Murphy President of the Black Pre-Law Association, and Janay Williams member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Community Organizations: Alliance for Equal Opportunity in Education and Community Coalition of South Los Angeles.
The endorsers were not the only individuals in attendance, but also many students of color and non-students of color who came to express their opinion, and to show support for the resolution and the Afrikan Student Union (ASU).
USAC meeting opens the floor for public comment./ Amber Tidmore-Nommo Staff
Kateisha Menefield, Vice-Chair of ASU made the first public comment introducing the resolution to the meeting, followed by other public comments, then a presentation given by both Kamilah Moore, Chair of ASU and Maryssa Hall, External Vice President of USAC; and lastly, council members asked questions. Ten of the council members voted in approval of the resolution and the rest of the members neither abstained nor denied it. In favor of USAC, the resolution passed, which to many, is significant step to ignite further divestment from the prison industrial complex.
The link to the resolution can be found at the end of the article. Yet, to read more about what the resolution stands for, what it sets out to change, and the personal comments and experiences of both students and USAC council members during the meeting, check back with NOMMO Magazine this Friday.
http://usac.ucla.edu/documents/resolutions/USACPrivatePrisonDivestmentResolution.pdf
In response to verbal and physical assaults on a Black first-year student by his three white roommates at San Jose State University (SJSU) in November, UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) unanimously agreed to adopt a resolution that takes a stance against racism and to propose actions to support tolerance and diversity.
The resolution adopted Tuesday, January 22, hopes to confront these ongoing issues. It consists of USAC President John Joanino and External Vice President Maryssa Hall writing a joint open letter to Gov. Jerry Brown endorsing a statewide review of the condition of Black students within higher education. It also calls for UCLA to add a race studies component to its general education requirements.
The type of harassment the SJSU student experienced stunned all campuses and sparked a protest at SJSU. According to a spokesman for the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office, the White students placed a bicycle lock around the neck of the Black student, put up photographs of Hitler, hung a Confederate flag, and wrote racial epithets on the whiteboard in the suite they shared.
USAC officers said these incidents indicate a need for greater diversity and for UCLA to take a stance on the issue because being silent is irresponsible. “Even though it happened at a different campus, UCLA students are taken aback by the fact that it was allowed to happen,” Hall said. “We at UCLA are involved in a wide range of coalitions with other UCs and other state schools. We should definitely be taking a stance.”
San Jose State University students gather around the 1968 Olympic statue while protesting a reported racial hazing of an African-American freshman student, Nov. 21, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. Karl Mondon/San Jose Mercury News/AP Photo
For many years, underrepresented students on campus have been victims of hate crimes, harassment, and various forms of exclusion based on their race, and it is time for the university to take action against these incriminations.
“Students and faculty members have been lobbying for a diversity-related requirement for more than 25 years, but UCLA remains the only University of California college without one,” said Christine Mata, Assistant Dean of Students for Campus Climate. “Learning about other cultures and issues that aren’t necessarily from our background is key to understanding how we interact with each other as a campus,” she said. “The more we learn about diversity, the more open we are to positive interactions.”
Faculty in the College of Letters and Science rejected the proposal in June 2012 with a vote of 224-175. One concern raised by voting faculty members in 2012 was the feasibility of the requirement.
A similar diversity-related requirement proposed in 2004 was also voted down.
The requirement would have had students in the College of Letters and Science take one general education course that focuses on understanding differences between people of diverse communities. Professor Leuchter said a diversity requirement is imperative to ensure students participate in a common experience in order to send a strong message about our campus’ commitment to diversity.