ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the April 21 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings.
Meeting called to order at 6:10 p.m.
Adam Thongsavat, ASUCD president, present, arrived late, left early
Bree Rombi, ASUCD vice president, present
Yena Bae, ASUCD senator, present
Miguel Espinoza, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late at 6:40 p.m.
Emmanuel Diaz-Ordaz, ASUCD senator, present
Andre Lee, ASUCD senator, present
Amy Martin, ASUCD senator, president pro tempore, present
Mayra Martín, ASUCD senator, present, left early at 9:55 p.m. due to illness
Tatiana Moana Bush, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late at 6:20 p.m.
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
Presentations
Thongsavat said that senators should focus their energy on the aftermath of Picnic Day, the current California budget crisis and ASUCD’s budget. He also expressed his sympathy for Scott Heinig’s – the Aggie who passed away Picnic Day weekend – family. He thanked Mark Champagne, ASUCD business manager who is retiring at the end of the academic year, for his many years of work.
Appointments and confirmations
Jaspreet Bahia and Tiglath Ziyeh were confirmed as Court Justices.
Jeanna Gindi was confirmed as director of City and County Affairs.
Baxter Boeh-Sobon was appointed to University Affairs.
Unit director reportsGeoff Straw, the Unitrans general manager, said they might put the V line in service on the weekends for the Village and Arlington Farms Apartments. He also said that Unitrans is in the master planning phase for a new MU terminal.
Aaron Giampietro for Lobby Corps said that they are in the midst of their letter writing campaign. He also said that the University of California Student Association (UCSA) has been very welcoming and willing to work with UC Davis, and that he thinks it is important to keep lines of communication open with them, but not necessarily rejoin.
Hannah Kirshner, The Pantry unit director, said that they now have new hours Monday through Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. They also have expanded menu items and are looking to cultivate their new relationship with the Grocery Outlet. The Pantry tabled on Picnic Day and made $250. They are also now collaborating with the Health and Wellness Center and they will be hosting a free cooking class on May 18. They are also setting up a new inter-UC pantry conference. The Pantry will be holding a raffle at the Davis Farmers Market on April 30. She also said they are seeing upward of 100 students a day.
Brianna Espino, the unit director of Campus Copies/Classical Notes, said that they are looking to get new copy machines, and that she hoped senators would pass the bill for the machines seen later in the night. She said the unit has made many internal restructurings after an audit. She also said they are trying to make their unit a low-cost copy and academic supply store for students.
Consideration of old legislation
Senate Resolution 11, authored by Giampietro, co-authored by Bihter Ozedirne and Kevin Pascual, introduced by Sterling, to support California Assembly Bill 7, which would encourage the UC Board of Regents to bar any payroll increases in the next two years to all public higher education employees earning more than $150,000 a year, authored by California State Rep. Anthony Portantino, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 12, authored by Giampietro, co-authored by Ozedirne and Pascual, introduced by Sterling, to support California Assembly Bill 2 authored by California State Rep. Anthony Portantino, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 13, authored by Giampietro, co-authored by Ozedirne and Pascual, introduced by Sterling, to support California Assembly Bil 89 authored by California Rep. Jerry Hill, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 14, authored by Giampietro, co-authored by Ozedirne and Pascual, to support California Senate Bill 8 authored by California State Senate Member Leland Yee, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 15, authored by Giampietro, co-authored by Ozedirne and Pascual, to support California Senate Bill 181 authored by California State Senate Member Carol Liu, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 9, authored by Liz Walz, co-authored by Tiffany Mayville, introduced by Martin, in opposition to Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011-2012 proposed budget cuts to the University of California. Ed Montelongo said that the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission liked it, and thanked the senate for sending it back to the commission. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate Bill 71, authored by Espino, co-authored by Lee and Martin, introduced by Lee, to allocate $35,194 from Capital Reserves to purchase two Canon copy machines and accessories for Campus Copies/Classical Notes. Lee said that he thinks this would bring in new services to the unit. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate bill 68, authored by Daniel Olivas, co-authored by Bae, Lee, Moosavi, Provencher, Alison Tanner and Repicky, to allocate $320 from Senate Reserves to purchase 10 48 inch by 60 inch canvases and 12 paint brushes for the ASUCD Aggie Public Arts Committee to produce a mural in the ASUCD Coffee House. The table had a conversation about the possibility of taking these funds out of Capital Reserves, but ultimately decided against it. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate bill 63, authored by Rombi, co-authored by Lee, Amaan Shaikh and Christine Sifferman, to establish the ASUCD Scholarship Committee. The table had a conversation about whether or not students should be able to receive the scholarship more than once per year or per college career, and decided that this should be left up to the scholarship committee awarding the scholarship. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate bill 66, authored by Sergio Cano, co-authored by Sabrina Dias and Rombi, introduced by Lee, to allocate $177.14 to purchase 500 ASUCD brochures, passed unanimously.
Public discussion
Yani said that it was an abuse of power when student assistants to the Chancellor tried to sway the senate to rejoin the UCSA. Provencher said he agreed, but hopes that senators are intelligent enough to make their own decisions.
Public announcements
Amanda Gonzalez said that a group of students is interested in hosting the Students of Color conference next year. The point of the conference is to educate people and take action regarding the rights of students of color. She said they are looking to other student groups to be on the planning committee for the conference.
Meeting adjourned at 11:48 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.
