Several students confirmed as commission members
The ASUCD Senate was called to order at 6:09 p.m. on Nov. 3 by Vice President Adilla Jamaludin. Senators Khadeja Ibrahim, Michael Gofman and Yajaira Sigala were absent. Business and Finance Commission Chair Alexander Mirov was also not in attendance.
Lily Karim, a second-year biomedical engineering major, was confirmed as the Sexual Assault Awareness and Advocacy Commission Chair with no objections.
The Senate then received a presentation from Justin Barnes, the Teach for America campus representative, about the benefits of applying to the Teach for America program.
The Sexual Assault Awareness and Advocacy Commission quarterly report entailed the commission’s recent work in conjunction with Title IX to create an anonymous online portal for victims of any kind of assault. The commission plans to host an event about domestic violence myths, ground itself in the Greek system to continue spreading awareness and provide more tabling events in the Quad.
There was no prior legislation proposed the previous week. The Senate then moved to discuss a bill proposed by Senators Jose Meneses and Gofman, but yielded due to Gofman’s absence. Bills to allocate $372 for the Entertainment Council’s Production Manager’s back pay, allocate $1,300 from Picnic Day events to “pay back some of Doxie Derby’s revenue from Picnic Day 2017,” and $500 to be transferred from the Bike Barn expense budget to Bike Barn’s budget were introduced and sent to the Business and Finance Commission.
Next, Bryan Sykes, the editor-in-chief of The California Aggie, provided the newspaper’s quarterly report. After hiring nearly 30 new staff members, the newspaper is now running with approximately 110 staffers. Additionally, the newspaper, with the help of the library and funding from alumni, will be completely digitized within the next few years.
Prior to public announcements, Senator Simran Grewal left the Senate meeting.
Julie Jung discussed the Best Senator Practices event that was held for the senators and commission chairs after the Senate meeting on Nov. 9. The meeting was intended to remind the elected representatives of their responsibilities to their units and promises made during the election process.
Controller Jin Zhang spoke on behalf of Naeema Kaleem, the ASUCD Elections Chair, about senators who critically responded to the Senate candidates running in the Fall Elections rather than helping them to succeed.
J.T. Ghim, the assistant director of Intercultural Programs, reported on the International Education Week taking place from Nov. 13 to 17. There are around 8,000 students and scholars supported at UC Davis. Those planning the event are working on outdated programs regarding international students and are providing ways for international students to feel more supported while attending the university.
The Senate then confirmed Hailey Gleason, a first-year environmental science and management major; Ryan Birkett, a fourth-year environmental science and management major and Brooke Pritchard, a first-year political science major, as commissioners of the Academic Affairs Commission with no objections.
Judicial Council members Sydney Hack, a second-year international relations major; Jason Hsu, a second-year computer science major; Aria Aghalarpour, a third-year political science major and Devo Leichter, a third-year political science major, were confirmed unanimously by the Senate.
The Senate, due to a lack of present senators, then voted to suspend the bylaws in order to approve Marissa Levinson, a fourth-year marine ecology and organism biology major, as a commissioner of the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission with no objections.
Commissioners Kia Aliakbar, a third-year biomedical engineering major; Samuel Bennedy, a second-year philosophy major; David Lima, a fourth-year political science and philosophy double major; Travis Candieas, a fourth-year international relations major; Natalie Gutierrez, a second-year political science and managerial economics double major; Jero Real, a fourth-year biomedical engineering major and Aparna Komarla, a second-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, were confirmed to the External Affairs Commission unanimously.
The Senate took a 10-minute break at 8:26 p.m.
During public discussion, ASUCD President Josh Dalavai spoke about how senators and commissioners should be present at all events as promised when running for positions. Jamaludin also stated that no senator should have to stay in order to form a necessary quorum when they need to tend to more urgent matters. Internal Affairs Commission Chair Jacob Ganz proposed establishing new legislature that would require senators and commissioners to follow through with responsibilities.
After ex-officio and elected officer reports, the meeting minutes from Oct. 26 were approved with no objections.The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
Written by: Rodney Tompkins — campus@theaggie.org
