ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the March 31 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings.
Meeting called to order at 6:12 p.m.
Adam Thongsavat, ASUCD president, absent
Bree Rombi, ASUCD vice president, present
Yena Bae, ASUCD senator, present
Miguel Espinoza, ASUCD senator, present
Emmanuel Diaz-Ordaz, ASUCD senator, present
Andre Lee, ASUCD senator, present
Amy Martin, ASUCD senator, president pro tempore, present
Mayra Martín, ASUCD senator, present
Tatiana Moana Bush, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late
Darwin Moosavi, ASUCD senator, present
Matthew Provencher, ASUCD senator, present
Brendan Repicky, ASUCD senator, present
Rebecca Sterling, ASUCD senator, present
Eli Yani, ASUCD senator, present
Appointments and confirmations
Martin was appointed president pro tempore.
Provencher and Moosavi were appointed to be senate representatives to the Unit Relocation and Space Allocation Committee (URSAC).
Repicky was appointed to be senate representative of the Media Board.
Lee was appointed to be senate representative to the Internet and Networking Commission.
Martín was appointed to be senate representative to the Recruitment and Retention Organizing Committee.
Bae was appointed to be senate representative to the Aggie Public Arts Commission.
Jared Crisologo-Smith, Jared Rego and Erica Padgett were appointed to the External Affairs Commission.
Don Ho was confirmed as ASUCD Controller.
Sterling and Espinoza were appointed to be senate representatives to Student Health and Wellness Committee.
Consideration of old legislation
Senate Bill 51, authored by Patrick Sheehan, introduced by Lee, to allow questions to be asked on deferment and to allow speakers to withdraw deferments, passed unanimously. Yani said that he was concerned that this bill could be abused if someone wanted a lot of time to speak at the table, and that it is the job of the individual senators to make sure bylaws are being enforced. Lee made multiple amendments to the bill.
Senate Resolution 10, authored by Anisha Chikarmane, co-authored by Sterling, introduced by Sterling, to support the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, which would work to make college more affordable, passed unanimously. Bush said that she hoped the bill would help other housing communities beside the Greek system.
Senate Bill 54, authored by Sergio Cano, introduced by Moosavi, to redefine Senate Reserves, passed unanimously. Jared Hein of the Business and Finance Commission said he was concerned about letting senators define what reserves should be used for, but that he would like to see the bill passed. Lee said that the bill wouldn’t actually change a lot of things – it merely clarified current practices. After lots of talk about the specific wording of the bill, Cano said he was worried that the wording could prevent outside groups from asking senate for funds. Bush agreed, and asked to add a note to the bill to make sure the bill was inclusive of anyone who wants to work with ASUCD.
Public discussion
Dana Percoco said she wanted to discuss the length of commission meetings. She said that she did not feel comfortable asking commissioners to stay at meetings for longer than two hours if they are not being paid. Lee said he wanted to make sure people used their time wisely so that committees could look at all of the bills they need to.
Lee, Moosavi and Yani said they felt that the Business and Finance Commission should be seeing the bills that they are supposed to see and should make time to see all bills they need to see.
Martin suggested that if the senate continues to vote on bills relating to sustainability, that the senate should try to make the third floor of the MU zero-waste.
Public announcements
Sabrina Dias said that there would be a renter’s rights presentation for students who wish to learn more about housing rights. It will take place on Tuesday, April 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Griffin Lounge.
Moosavi said that April 28 through April 22 is Earth Week, and there will be events in the quad all week.
Meeting adjourned at 11:43 p.m.
Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy.ucdavis.edu. HANNAH STRUMWASSER compiles the senate briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
