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LGBTQ Campus
Resource Center
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LGBTQ+ Student Advocacy

Apply to be a member of the UCLA LGBTQ Student Advocacy Committee!

The committee is currently accepting applications through Friday, October 7th at 11:59PM via the Advocacy Committee Application.

Email LGBTQ CRC Administrative Coordinator Minnie Esquivel Gopar (mgopar@lgbt.ucla.edu) with any questions.

There are 18 positions on the LGBTQ Student Advocacy Committee, which include:

About the committee:

The UCLA LGBTQ Student Advocacy Committee is a leadership development opportunity for UCLA graduate and undergraduate students to address LGBTQIA+ related concerns on campus. The Committee is organized into subcommittees based on two issue areas (for example, supporting QTBIPOC students and health and wellness, etc.). Issue areas may fluctuate each academic year, depending on campus advocacy priorities and committee members’ interests. All committee members are supervised by the Director of the UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center. General subcommittee members are also supported by the four Subcommittee Co-Leads, who work in pairs to oversee their assigned subcommittee/issue areas. All LGBTQ Student Advocacy Committee appointments run from Winter – June, excluding academic holidays.

The UCLA LGBTQ+ Student Advocacy Committee

Program Description

In Winter 2020, the LGBTQ Campus Resource Center launched the UCLA LGBTQ Student Advocacy Committee, a leadership development opportunity for UCLA graduate and undergraduate students to address LGBTQIA+ related concerns on campus. The Committee is organized into subcommittees based on two issue areas (for example, supporting Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous Students and Health and Wellness, etc.). Issue areas may fluctuate each academic year, depending on campus advocacy priorities and committee members’ interests. All committee members are supervised by the Director of the UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center. General subcommittee members are also supported by the four Subcommittee Co-Leads, who work in pairs to oversee their assigned subcommittee/issue areas. The organization is summarized in the image below.

Advocacy Committee Org Chart

Learning outcomes of the program include:

  • raise awareness of critical issues that impact UCLA’s LGBTQIA+ community members
  • provide leadership and professional development opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students
  • find and build community with UCLA students, staff, and faculty
  • share and access resources, support, and updates related to campus advocacy
  • feel more connected to UCLA LGBTQ CRC

Past advocacy work:

Advocacy issues our staff and students have worked on in the past, in collaboration with student organization leaders and other professional staff/faculty, include:

  • Removing legal name from BruinCards for students, CCLE, and Ashe & CAPS appointment reminders
  • Increasing access to all gender restrooms on campus, and
  • Addressing concerns related to gender inclusive housing on the Hill

Spring 2020 subcommittees worked on the following projects:

  • Student Kai Huang served as the inaugural Committee Co-Lead along with LGBTQ CRC Director Andy Cofino.
  • Health (co-led by students Kai Huang and Sohini Halder): Compiled resources available to UCLA LGBTQIA students for mental health support
  • Addressing Biphobia (led by student Sohini Halder): Hosted 3 virtual discussion spaces for bi/pan/fluid students
  • Supporting QTBIPOC and Undocumented Students (co-led by students Martin Diaz and Shannon Kasinger): Compiled and distributed COVID19-related resources specifically for QTBIPOC & Undocumented communities into one accessible and shareable resource
  • Trans and Nonbinary Concerns (co-led by student Kai Huang and CRC Director Andy Cofino): Drafted signage for making the All-Gender Restroom in the Student Activities Center more accessible for UCLA students, staff, and faculty

Inaugural Committee Members (2019-2020)

  • Martin Diaz
  • Hannah Friedman
  • Sohini Halder
  • Mara Hassan
  • Kai Huang
  • Jeril Joseph
  • Shannon Kasinger
  • Sean McMillan
  • Ajana Orozco
  • Rob Ulrich

2021-2022 Committee Members

  • Joy Iriye
  • Minh Bui
  • Audrey Farrell
  • Sav Elahian
  • Lauren Baczewski
  • Kim Mendez-McLeish
  • AJ Johnson
  • Sean Sugai
  • Callisto Boka
  • Arianna Zhao
  • Iris Yip
  • Robert Jimenez

2020-2021 Committee Members

  • Lauren Baczewski
  • Minh Bui
  • Eliyah Cohen
  • Hannah Friedman
  • Halli Rae Gigante
  • Kai Huang
  • Joy Iriye
  • Ajana Orozco
  • Tae Sakulpanich