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This year’s Undergraduate Students Association Council is setting the course for the rest of the year, as they discussed four action agenda items and continued presidential appointments on Tuesday.

Action agenda items are projects that each council agrees to work on and develop throughout the year.

These items are designed to bring together the councilmembers to work on longer-term, larger-scale goals that give an outline for council.

The first is President Gabe Rose’s idea to increase the visibility and accessibility of the council so that students become more involved in campus life and more aware of what USAC does for them.

“When people aren’t aware of what’s going on, there’s no accountability,” he said.

Rose said he has already begun forming a publicity team in his office and is hoping to give USAC more of a presence on the Hill by hosting town hall meetings or holding USAC meetings in Covel Commons.

General Representative Christina Colosimo brought to the table a proposal for what council refers to as shared governance.

This means giving groups such as students, alumni or staff more of a voice in the administration of the school.

For example, part of USAC’s plan with this action agenda item is to try to get active, voting student members on as many different administrative councils and committees as possible.

“It’s around 14 percent student fees that run this university,” said Colosimo, adding that this means ideally students would get an equivalent of 14 percent input on such committees or councils.

Colosimo said she is going to draft a resolution in support of shared governance, and she hopes Chancellor Gene Block will take up the issue and work with council on it.

General Representative Michelle Lyon’s proposed action agenda item seeks to create more of a link between UCLA campus life and the surrounding Los Angeles area.

For example, she said she would like to sponsor programming such as showcases of local bands or do more local community service and outreach, helping students get in touch with resources around Los Angeles.

Cultural Affairs Commissioner Bernice Shaw presented a plan to work on issues of campus safety.

There were also presidential appointments made at the meeting, with some discussion about approving an absent candidate for the judicial board.

Rose, who at the beginning of his term promised to have a smooth series of presidential appointments and make non-partisan appointments, said he believes he has kept this promise.

Rose said many of his appointments have been approved unanimously.

Though Students First! members Sanobar Sajan and Bernice Shaw expressed reservations about exactly how bipartisan Rose’s appointments had been, they admitted that some of their reservations about the appointees had been unrelated to partisan issues and echoed their fellow councilmembers in saying that no matter what the political situation, it is the appointee’s qualities that truly matter.

“Regardless of slate politics, it should really boil down to qualifications,” Shaw said.

Overall, this year’s council seems pleased with how the appointments have gone, especially compared to the conflicts previous councils have experienced around this issue.

“This (has been) one of the best years in terms of focusing on applications and interviews,” Lyon said.