ASUCD Vice President Maxwell Kappes presided over the senate meeting on May 15, held in the Mee Room of the Memorial Union. The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m.
Senate addressed the ASUCD website being down for an extended period of time. According to ASUCD Senator Gareth Smythe, a new website is being developed.
Plans for the renovation of the Rec Pool and the ARC were discussed. There are currently plans to get rid of the current pool and replace it with two new pools — one seasonal and one year round. The committee in charge of the renovations is collecting suggestions from students about what additions they would like to see. Plans for the ARC renovation include expansion to create more space and possible expansion of the second floor balcony.
Entertainment Council (EC) Director Ben Bryan gave EC’s unit report. Explaining some of the problems the EC faced this year, Bryan cited lack of venue availability, the new campus ticketing policy and an inability for the unit to conveniently access its reserves.
“People are looking for larger artists on campus and we really can’t afford them,” Bryan said. He presented four options that could help resolve some of EC’s issues: increasing the midsize show reserve and putting on shows for free, increasing the midsize show reserve and selling tickets to shows, rewriting the bylaws related to large shows and working with campus recreation and unions and the ticket office to form a contract with outside promoters.
Various options were discussed, including putting the unit into “sleep mode,” which senate decided against in a vote to divide the house.
Unit Director Cameron Cairns gave the KDVS report. KDVS is having monthly meetings with ASUCD Business Manager Janice Corbett. Cairns introduced the new general manager, Ashley Hanson.
During public announcements, Smythe discussed Sunday’s 5K Stride for Aggie Pride, reporting a signup list of about 3,000 people — double the size of last year’s. The employment of a new unit director for the Experimental College was also discussed. ASUCD Senator Mariah Watson reported an increase in The Pantry’s inventory of over 1,000 food items. The Pantry will host the Canned Food Castle Competition on May 30 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the Quad.
“People are starting to use it more and really utilize this resource,” Watson said.
In the appointments and confirmations section of the meeting, senate appointed Tara Storm as new unit director of The Pantry, John Wu as Elections Committee chair and Adriana Reyna, Alexis Caligiuri and Haley Silvano as members of the ASUCD court.
Meeting attendees then ventured out of the Memorial Union for an impromptu fireworks show put on by the Celebrate Davis! Festival on the roof of Kerr Hall. Afterward, senate and the public headed back to the Mee Room for deliberation over old legislation.
Senate passed four bills: Senate Resolution #25, Senate Resolution #26, Senate Bill #72 and Senate Bill #77.
Senate Resolution #25 calls for the support of State Senate Bill (SB) 150, proposed by California State Senator Ricardo Lara. SB 150 would allow California high school students who have not yet received legal immigration status to attend California Community Colleges without having to pay non-resident tuition fees.
Senate Resolution #26 supports California Assembly Bill 25 (AB 25), proposed by State Assemblymember Nora Campos. AB 25 would protect the privacy of California public employees by ensuring they will not face negative consequences for refusal to provide personal social media account information to their employers.
Senate Bill #72, authored by ASUCD Senator Katie Sherman, is intended to create consistency in the ASUCD bylaws and constitution by implementing use of the word “emergency” or “urgent.”
Senate Bill #77, authored by Smythe, calls for the allocation of $9,450.42 from the Equipment Reserves to purchase new computers for the Student Services Office.
The meeting adjourned at 11:52 p.m.
— Lauren Mascarenhas
