ASUCD convened for its weekly senate meeting on Oct. 13, 2016. All senators were present, although Adam Xu and Josh Dalavai were late to the meeting. Vice President Abhay Sandhu called the meeting to order at 6:11 p.m.
Campus planner Lucas Griffith started off the meeting with a presentation about the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for 2017 to 2027. The last LRDP was carried out in 2013. Although there are potential issues with the plan, the senators felt most concerned about the student housing units planned to be built on Russell Field, a space used by many UC Davis intramural, club and ICA athletic teams. Senate asked Griffith to relay its concerns to campus planning and to keep the senators updated on further developments.
Later in the meeting, ASUCD made a number of appointments and confirmations to different branches, including Business and Finance, the External Affairs Commision and the Elections Committee.
After a recess, Sandhu called the meeting back to order at 8:45 p.m. The first legislation on the agenda was constitutional amendment #49, which would move to dissolve the Judicial Branch of ASUCD.
Senators discussed the effectiveness of the Judicial Branch, noting that most of the responsibilities go to the Internal Affairs Commission (IAC). IAC chairperson Nick Flores said that a bill would be written to give powers of the court to the IAC if the amendment passed.
With a roll call vote, the senate moved to pass constitutional amendment #49 and place it on the fall 2016 ballot with a 10-1-0 vote, with Senator Sofia Molodanof voting against the amendment.
Sandhu adjourned the meeting at 10:38 p.m.
Written by: Ivan Valenzuela — campus@theaggie.org
That amendment needs to fail. You don’t disband a branch of government and then figure it out after. Where the Court’s duties are being shifted should be written into the amendment to go into effect immediately if it passes.