Resolution in works for “It’s Okay to be White” fliers posted around campus
On Nov. 16, the ASUCD Senate convened in the Mee Room of the Memorial Union for its weekly meeting. Senators Matthew Yamaguchi, Khadeja Ibrahim and Marcos Rodriguez were absent. Environmental Policy and Planning Commission Chair Alice Beittel was also absent.
Darin Schleup, the director of dining services, gave a report on the CoHo. Schleup pointed out that September had been a “bit of a down month” for sales compared to last year, but they are expected to improve in December.
Schleup then listed a number of new items the CoHo had added recently, including a new breakfast-sized burrito at TxMx Grill, Tachos (cheesy tater tots) at TxMx and new, gourmet pizzas at Ciao. Schleup said that the CoHo anticipates at least an $85,000 price increase for January 2018 due to minimum wage increases.
The next part of the meeting was the Picnic Day quarterly report. Picnic Day Chair Grace Gaither, a third-year theater and dance major, informed the Senate that the Picnic Day team was fully hired. The theme of this year’s Picnic Day will be “Where the Sun Shines,” and the team is aiming for zero waste.
During questioning, Gender and Sexuality Commission Chair Becca Nelson asked Gaither about the police involvement planned for Picnic Day. Gaither said her staff will work with Davis police and will be meeting with the police department in the near future.
The meeting then moved on to Disability Rights Advocacy Committee (DRAC) chair confirmations. Third-year computer science and statistics double major Andy Wu was recommended for the position.
Wu was described as an “active member of the community” and “has a proven record of work ethic.”
During questioning, Senator Gogineni asked Wu how he plans to increase areas for students with disabilities. Wu said that he wanted to create a space similar to the Shared Services Center for students with disabilities to come together.
Next, Tipsy Taxi delivered its quarterly report. A representative from Tipsy Taxi said that the unit is working with Unitrans to merge two units back together in an effort to receive more funding. Additionally, it is working to get disability training in the training manual.
The meeting then moved onto the Judicial Council’s monthly report, followed by a public discussion and DREAM confirmations. Two candidates discussed their previous experiences and a motion was made and seconded to confirm both to the DREAM Committee.
Time was then allocated for public announcements. Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission Chair Julienne Correa brought up the “It’s okay to be white” posters found on different areas of campus recently. The posters were immediately taken down. According to Correa, a resolution condemning the fliers will be written because the posters were written out of hate. Additionally, Correa plans to bring together people from different communities to help write the resolution and provide a safe space to talk about these issues.
KDVS and the Food Pantry seeking Senate support for their events and fundraisers was also brought up.
The Aggie Reuse store then delivered its quarterly report. According to the presenters, the store has doubled its leadership team from last year and has over 1,900 likes on Facebook. It hosts free craft workshops twice a quarter. During the past quarter, the theme was Halloween. As of week six, it had made 33.9 percent of its yearly quota, and its goals for the future include increasing intern productivity, expanding intern roles and increasing intern skillsets.
The Senate then took a short break. After the break, Senate Bill 16 was introduced, which sought to amend bylaw Section 616 by striking out the requirement of cutting the number of stipend positions within the budget by 12.5 percent while maintaining the 12.5 percent stipend increase.
The meeting concluded with ex-officio reports followed by elected officer reports. The meeting adjourned at 9:53 p.m.
Written by: Clara Zhao — campus@theaggie.org
