They also elected Stephen Fujimoto as the spring quarter President Pro Tempore
By RACHEL GAUER — campus@theaggie.org
Vice President JT Eden called the meeting to order at 6:13 p.m. on Thursday, April 6. Following roll call, Eden recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.
First on the agenda was the Senate President Pro Tempore spring quarter election. Two senators were nominated for the position: Senator Stephen Fujimoto and Senator Zeph Schnelbach. First, Senator Shrey Gupta nominated Fujimoto. Then, Chairperson Megan Chung nominated Schnelbach.
With a 10-2 vote, Fujimoto won the election and assumed his new position as Senate President Pro Tempore.
Next, the Senate heard a presentation from the Yolo County Supervisor, Lucas Frerichs. Frerichs served as the Mayor of Davis last year, and now serves as a Yolo County Supervisor. Within his presentation, Frerichs explained the county’s efforts to increase the number of students utilizing Snap EBT, or CalFresh food stamp benefits.
“Over 3,000 UC Davis students have qualified for monthly CalFresh benefits; [however,] we know there are at least 6,000 students who could qualify for monthly benefits and they’re not signed up yet,” Frerichs said. “This is a big area of work that I think that we have to do in the country to make sure that every student who needs those benefits can get signed up for them.”
Next, the Senate confirmed two new members to the Aggie Public Arts Committee. Committee Member Emily Gavidia, a fourth-year psychology and sociology double major, recommended Destiny Aceves, a fourth-year sociology major and Kimberly Moran Fuentes, a fourth-year philosophy major. Aceves commented on her reasoning for joining the unit.
“I am really excited about being a part of this committee,” Aceves said. “I am just delighted to use my artistic talents as a way to foster healing, beautify the campus and to promote inclusivity.”
Both Moran Fuentes and Aceves were confirmed by the Senate table.
Next, each senator selected specific ASUCD units to adopt for the duration of spring quarter. Their selections will allow them each to work closely with several units for the entirety of the term. Senators Eustacio Alamilla, Gupta and Schnelbach all selected to work with the ASUCD Coffee House, while Senators Jacob Klein and Julia Shurman chose to work with Unitrans.
Next, the Senate moved into public comments, where they discussed a recent issue with the ASUCD elections and candidate website.
Following public comments, third-year international relations major and External Affairs Vice President (EAVP) Celene Aridin presented the Office of the EAVP quarterly report. Within the report, Aridin reminded the Senate table of her position’s role and of the tasks that the EAVP is typically responsible for.
Next, the Senate table moved into officer reports, in which each member shared what they have been doing in relation to their role since winter quarter finals week. Transfer Student Representative Logan Ueno announced his updated office hours and told the Senate table about his previous week’s meetings, which included conversations with potential candidates who are interested in running for Transfer Student Representative (TSR).
The Senate moved into the status of previous legislation in which they discussed Senate bills #83, #84 and #86, which would implement an internal mentoring system for new senators, allocate money to be distributed to the Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success during finals week and inform new classes of ASUCD officials about ongoing issues, respectively. Next, the Senate introduced new legislation, including SB #89, a request for funding for a workshop, and SB #90, a bill that would allocate $12,900 to the CoHo for a promotional event to encourage higher voter turnout in the ASUCD spring elections.
Next, the Senate considered old legislation. They first discussed SB #87, a bill proposed to give $350 to fund an event called ASUCD Hack Night. The bill was tabled until the April 13 Senate meeting due to a conflict in reserving a room for the event.
The table also discussed SR #5, which is a resolution that calls for increased funding for those with disabilities. The table moved to amend SR #5 with all of the amendments the table discussed. With no objections, the resolution was amended and passed unanimously.
Next, the Senate approved past meeting minutes and then moved into open forum.
Chairperson Mackenzie Field asked that the members of the Senate table participate in the Cool Campus Challenge, a sustainability challenge that pits UC Davis against UC Berkeley. Additionally, Fujimoto thanked the Senate table for his newly elected position.
“I want to say thank you for electing me,” Fujimoto said. “I’m incredibly honored and humbled, and I hope that I meet the expectations placed on me in this role.”
The meeting was adjourned by Fujimoto at 9:38 p.m.
Written by: Rachel Gauer — campus@theaggie.org
