Last week, I, along with many members of the ASUCD Senate and The Aggie, received word from Yara Zokaie that she would be officially resigning her post as a member of the Senate.
I appreciate the fact that Miss Zokaie has decided to move on, as greater endeavors await her during and after law school. Finally, ASUCD can close the book on this sideshow and continue working for our fellow Aggies.
While overinflated theatrics and rhetoric are part of Miss Zokaie’s repertoire as a disgruntled and long-distance Senator, there are a few charges that she leveled in her resignation that I believe ought to be set straight:
Zokaie stated that I refused to appoint an impartial replacement for the seat she vacated when leaving for law school.
I would have been more than happy to include Zokaie in the hiring and appointment process of the new senator who would have filled her position.
Unfortunately, she told to me that she would not question whether I would include her, or take her opinions into consideration, because she did not trust me. Her trust is her decision, but I did not refuse any measure of cooperation and never did we discuss even what an “impartial replacement” would mean.
Zokaie stated that I made policy decisions that were catastrophic for ASUCD.
I have never put the Association in a catastrophic situation. Rather, I have worked throughout my term to counter the threat of situations that indeed could have been catastrophic for the Association. These include writing a fiscally responsible budget, negotiating down the Association’s Direct Cost Agreement, preventing the Association from joining the Shared Service Center, negotiating down the amount of the UC Office of the President Tax on our units and negotiating beneficial MOUs for ASUCD with other campus departments.
Zokaie stated that I refused to cooperate with the legislative branch.
This is simply inaccurate. I attended every Senate meeting during Spring Quarter 2012 to update the Senate on the goings on of the executive office, the progress of the Association’s taxes and the writing of the annual budget, among other issues.
Our ASUCD Executive Office has, and will continue to, focus on advocating for UC Davis students while the state continues divesting in the UC, and the UC Regents continue proposing tuition increases and shrinking class offerings.
