Senate elects new Pro Temp, passes resolution calling for Punjabi language classes
The April 4 ASUCD Senate meeting was called to order at 6:13 p.m. by Vice President Shreya Deshpande.
The meeting began with senate pro-tempore elections, with senator Noah Pearl being elected as the only nomination. Next was the farewell from former Internal Affairs Commission (IAC) chair Jacob Ganz. Ganz thanked friends in the crowd, fellow IAC members and other commission heads while reminiscing on his first senate meeting in June 2017, where he felt “so inspired and intimidated” by the senators. He remarked that now, two years later, he is “still really inspired by everyone.”
After his farewell speech, Ganz said a few words about Henry Nibellin, who was confirmed as the new IAC chair, stating that “[Henry] has been amazing and has worked really hard […] He knows the bylaws as well as I do.” Nibillen said he enjoys the “cool work” and “constant changes” IAC brings, hoping his new position as chair will provide “a great opportunity to grow.”
Next on the agenda was to appoint a new chair for the Business and Finance Commission. The recommendation for the position was Noam Marcus, who was described by Senator Andre Spignolio as someone with a deep “understanding of finances that’s required.” They also stated Marcus provides a bright future, as they could “fill a role that [Spignolio] lacked.” Marcus described being chair as “the logical next step” since he and Spignolio joined BFC at the same time and have seen the commission grow together.
The agenda was amended to continue with appointments, next on the list being a new director for the Entertainment Council. Current Director Liz O’Neill stated she is nominating Kimya Khayat due to her being “one of our most dedicated members.” Due to her being part of the council since her freshman year, Khayat said she has seen both “ups and downs,” leading her to confidently know “what [she] wants to implement in order to enhance the student experience.”
The Senate then moved on to Unit and Committee adoption for any more senator additions, as the table originally chose which units and committees to be a part of during week 10 of Winter Quarter.
Old legislation was scheduled to be considered, but the author of SB#62, SB#64, SB#66 and SB #67, Senator Mohammad Qayum, was not present and so it was pushed to next week’s meeting. Instead, a new resolution (SR#9) from the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission (ECAC) called “Punjabi Classes Resolution” was brought forth to the table.
The author of the resolution said that having Punjabi classes are long overdue, as students have been asking “for over 10 years” for these courses, but “UC Davis administration has not been listening to these demands.” The administration’s response was to tell the Punjabi community to raise money on their own for the courses since the university claimed it had no ways of doing so, leading to a quarter of a million dollars being raised by Fall 2017. Despite raising the money, “it’s been two years that administration has not offered a plan of action. Nothing. Not even meetings. It’s just wrong.” The resolution passed with no objections.
Discussions on the status of previously passed legislation were tabled for next week. Senator reports, ex-officio reports and announcements followed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
Written by: Deana Medina — campus@theaggie.org
