Student Union Assembly
The Student Union Assembly (SUA) is the undergraduate advocacy organization and the official student voice of UC Santa Cruz. It comprises three representatives from each college government; six elected officers (president, vice president of external affairs, vice president of internal affairs, vice president of academic affairs, and vice president of diversity and inclusion); and one appointed representative from each of the following student organizations that represent historically underrepresented people within the UC system: African/Black Student Alliance; Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance; Queer Student Union; Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlán; Student Alliance of North American Indians; and Ethnic Student Organization Council. The SUA also provides paid part-time internship opportunities for students. These internships include, but are not limited to, field organizers, treasurers, outreach and publicity, and strategy and planning.
The SUA conducts open meetings every Tuesday at 8 p.m. throughout the academic year. Students interested in advocacy, activism, and politics, as well as those concerned with their own and their friends’ lives, are invited to get involved. The assembly operates via issue-specific campaigns and around general campus concerns. In the past, the SUA has formed campaigns around fighting fee hikes, defending affirmative action, saving financial aid on a national and state level, striving for reasonable campus growth, and reforming UC Regents’ procedures. Current issues include fighting to make a UC education affordable, fighting to stop balancing budgets on the backs of students, fighting for the rights of UC workers, and working with community groups because UCSC students are also Santa Cruz residents. The SUA also works with the UC Student Association and the United States Student Association on systemwide, statewide, and national issues. For more information, visit the SUA website.