This past year I was involved in an on-campus group called the Hammer Student Association. For me, the experience was a tad different than most HSAers. Applications to be on a committee go out fall quarter, and the club is supposed to a be a year-long committment, but I joined winter quarter. I heard about the Hammer Student Association at a Fashion and Student Trends club meeting (the only one I went to) and thought that helping plan events with other students at the HAMMER would be really fun. I was lucky and did not have to fill out an application; the events committee just offered me a spot!

Just to clarify, HSA is made up of several committees with several different functions. The one I was on, events, plans and puts on events for UCLA students at the HAMMER Museum. These range from artist workshops to giant parties with lots of delish free food (vegan sandwiches and Clif bars!). The communications committee does all of the marketing for the events and does a lot of outreach to UCLA and the greater Westwood and LA community.  The design committee creates all the visual stuff like posters or lighting for an event. The last committee is called GRAPHITE, and the members of that committee use the entire year to put together a zine. It’s full of writings and artwork.

HSA meets as a group once a week on Monday evenings. The meeting covers many things from what members did last weekend, cool art exhibitions coming up, and things that need to be done within the club to plan for the upcoming events. Each committee has an additional meeting each week to discuss their specific action items. In events meetings we brainstormed ideas for future events and current plans.

It was very fun to work with many talented UCLA students. Everyone knew so much about the local art scene and what it took to put on a great event. I would say, however, that my favorite part of HSA was the very beginning of the weekly meetings. The club had a small budget for snacks, and every week we would be given awesome foods from Trader Joes to munch on. There was always a hummus quartet and berries and cookies. It was awesome! That, combined with the super sleek look of our meeting room at the HAMMER, made it feel like I left my normal life on Monday evenings and instead was in The Devil Wears Prada. How fun!

Charley was a member of the events committee in the Hammer Student Association. The club works in conjuction with the HAMMER Museum, which is located in Westwood and focuses on contemporary and modern art.