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Davis

Davis, California

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Senate Brief

ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times are listed according to the clock at the Oct. 18 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.

Rebecca Sterling, ASUCD president, present
Yena Bae, ASUCD vice president, present
Justin Goss, ASUCD senator, pro tempore, present

Kabir Kapur, ASUCD senator, present
Jared Crisologo-Smith, ASUCD senator, present
Bradley Bottoms, ASUCD senator, present
Anni Kimball, ASUCD senator, absent
Paul Min, ASUCD senator, present
Don Gilbert, ASUCD senator, present, arrived at 7:29 p.m.
Joyce Han, ASUCD senator, absent
Erica Padgett, ASUCD senator, present
Beatriz Anguiano, ASUCD senator, present
Patrick Sheehan, ASUCD senator, present
Yara Zokaie, ASUCD senator, absent

Presentations

Paul Medved expressed concerns about the funding of intercollegiate sports and the four sports that were eliminated from the University. He suggested that ASUCD help reinstate sports teams that were eliminated and that the Senate table require quarterly reports from the Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) department that would discuss budget and spending.

UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD) Police Chief Matthew Carmichael explained what actions he is implementing to improve the police department in response to the Nov. 18 pepper spray incident. He explained that he solicited assistance from P.O.S.T., the Commission on Police Office Standards and Training. He also hired about 100 students to patrol and secure the campus during and after hours to prevent theft of valuable equipment. Carmichael also explained that public reports will be released online that would document each incident that required the use of force. Officers were also required to attend training on new and gentler ways to implement force, when necessary. He explained that the UCDPD is looking to involve community members in officer hiring, in community-based hiring panels. Additionally, he said that the department will sponsor UC Davis students to attend police academy, and will in turn hire one student a year to the UCDPD.

Appointments and confirmations

Ruiqi Rachel Du was confirmed as Aggie Public Arts Committee chair and explained plans to paint campus bike circles and fundraise through painting for Davis businesses.

Jason Trinidad, Woo Ju Kim, Shayda Rashidi and Abel Wong were confirmed as ASUCD Court justices. They were asked how they would remain impartial in their positions and then took the oath of office.

Yasmine El-Gabry,  Emily Lipson and Ricardo Martinez were confirmed to the Elections Committee.

Katie Grainger was confirmed to the External Affairs Commission.

Allan Bach, Joseph Benassimi, Brandon Lam, Divya Lambah, Chinedum Muo, Evan Sepmeyer and Brett Tagami were confirmed to the Academic Affairs Commission. They expressed their desire to bridge the gap between faculty members and students, establish clear lines for what is considered plagiarism, help students graduate in four years, work with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to help students relax during finals and possibly require that professors provide different options for office hour meeting times.

Dylan Fakhimi was confirmed to the Student-Police Relations Committee.

Kate Lin and Emre Titizer were confirmed to E-Fund, a program that assists students in pursuing entrepreneurship and provides students with financial and skill advice.

Consideration of old legislation

SB #13, authored by Aason Hsu, eliminates a member from Lobby Corps and adds a chairperson from the Business and Finance Committee to committee on committees and students various administrative advisory commit The bill passed unanimously.

SB #14, authored by Emmanuel Diaz-Ordaz, allocates funds to send students to the Students of Color Conference. Senators discussed if there was merit in sending people to the conference. The bill passed with a 9-2-1 vote.

SB #16, authored by Anguiano, allocate $750 to the MEChA statewide conference. The bill passed with an 11-0-1 vote.

SB #18, authored by the Internal Affairs Commission, defines what actions can merit a censure by the Senate table and the number of senators who must agree to implement a censure. The bill passed unanimously.

Public announcements

Kapur encouraged people to register to vote by Oct. 22.

Meeting adjourned at 11:02 a.m.

Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy.ucdavis.edu. MUNA SADEK compiles the Senate briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Oct. 28 to reflect accurate information.

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