With strong attendance from students and supporters of the Entertainment Council, the Senate passed the debated SB #41 in order to fund the annual concert
By VINCE BASADA — campus@theaggie.org
The Feb. 8 Senate meeting, the first in-person meeting of the quarter, resulted in the filling of several vacant positions, the passing of SB #39, #41 and #45 and ended with discussions over how senators, members of the public and campus media can better respect each other.
Internal Vice President (IVP) Aarushi Raghunathan called the meeting to order at 6:14 p.m. Afterwards, she read the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.
The Senate first confirmed three nominees to the Judicial Council, though an error in the process was realized only after one nominee had left the meeting — meaning only two justices were sworn in.
Positions were then filled on the ASUCD STEM Committee and Internal Affairs Commission.
The Senate opened for public comment before External Affairs Vice President (EAVP) Celene Aridin presented a quarterly report of her office, emphasizing an upcoming visit by the Student Regents of the University of California on Feb. 16.
Following a break, the Senate began reviewing the status of previous legislation, moved newly introduced new legislation for review and approved the consideration of the consent calendar before moving to the consideration of old legislation.
SB #46, placing The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) Fee Referendum on the Spring 2024 ASUCD Ballot, was passed unanimously.
The Senate then moved into consideration of SB #39, which would allocate $9,626.33 for the purchase of new sound equipment for ASUCD from the technology reserves. Senator and author of the bill Binh Do answered questions from the senators, explaining that the equipment would be accessible for free by ASUCD units.
While discussing the price of SB #39, Do successfully moved to reintroduce SB #41 and SB #40, which also deals with Entertainment Council (EC) funding.
SB #41 is set to allocate $469,075.63 from General Reserves to EC for the “Lawntopia” music festival. Several senators and ASUCD officials, there is a minimum of 10 million dollars in general reserves at the time of publication, according to the bill.
Senator Do introduced the bill during the author’s comments portion in which he addressed concerns that the bill would be taking money away from other crucial ASUCD units (notably Unitrans) and set dangerous spending precedents that could risk long-term ASUCD financial stability.
Do said that he met with Unitrans management and confirmed that they would be unaffected by “Lawntopia” spending.
“As a Senate table, how can we be so against setting new precedents when there is a tangible fleshed-out plan to improve the student experience, yet be okay when setting a new precedent that has led to nothing but a bureaucratic nightmare?” Do said, referencing the recent impeachments of President Francisco Ojeda and IVP Raghunathan.
He then said that students give ASUCD their money expecting a full package of services.
“Every other student government at other UCs are able to provide [these services],” Do said. “One of these includes a concert.”
Do, alongside Senator Jonathan Ng and EC, had released an Instagram post with information on both SB #40 and #41 calling for members of the public to show their support for the bills (and with it, Lawntopia) a day before the event. By the start of the meeting, it had garnered over 800 likes, and public presence at the meeting fluctuated around 30 people for the time spent deliberating on those bills.
In discussion of SB #41, time was deferred to former ASUCD Senator Gaius Ilupeju, who argued that ASUCD, while staffed and led by well-intentioned people, is not as fully aware of its financial state as it should be — alleging misconduct by Associated Students Business Management, Administration and Operations Executive Director Greg Ortiz. President Ojeda gave him a verbal warning to be respectful, which Ilupeju acknowledged before moving forward with this statement.
Ilupeju noted early in his comment that he had not been paid fully for his two terms as an ASUCD Senator.
“I don’t think Greg [Ortiz] is a horrible person, but there’s so much bureaucratic and administrative holdup here that it affects students’ lives — like mine,” Ilupeju said.
He alleged that Ortiz failed to delegate responsibilities and ignored ASUCD bylaws by saying one of Ilupeju’s projects from last quarter was “over” because he was no longer a senator, though Ilupeju argued that funding from the initial Senate bill should have applied through the quarter.
“After budget hearings, I realized that EC was going to need something to put on events,” Ilupeju said. “I started meeting with them in the summer. I asked Greg [Ortiz] in the summer, I was like, ‘How much is in reserves?’ No answer. I don’t blame any of this on [Controller Allyson Francisco].”
Ilupeju also questioned the status of the reserves, voicing doubt that the Senate had an exact idea of how much money was in ASUCD reserves. This is something that he said he blames himself in part for. He also criticized the table for the hold in promised funds for student-aid programs.
Gaius’ statements were followed by fourth-year political science and economics double major Oshiogwe Nash-Haruna.
“Entertainment is a basic need that helps people mentally, spiritually and emotionally,” Nash-Haruna said. “Having an annual event is something a lot of students look forward to on a yearly basis. As senators, your job is to represent your students’ needs and wants — not act like you’re in Washington D.C.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by other members of the public, as well as EC representatives.
“I’m here as a direct voice of the student body, and I can tell you right now that if you do not pass this bill and put this as an investment into EC, you will not be seeing positive results in your election turnout,” Volunteer Director for EC Shanthoshi Thamilseran said.
A few students did voice opposition to the bill, notably former Senator Erek Leschyn who criticized Do for reversing his position on the impeachment and argued that his Instagram post, which featured an image of Drake, was misleading. Do disputed these points in a point of clarification.
Another sentiment voiced was that while senators have good intentions, they can be “out of touch” as Nash-Haruna said, and have not collaborated as much as they could have with Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and groups outside of ASUCD. However, Senator Dani Antonio’s Planet Her event and Senator Trinity Chow’s upcoming cross-cultural event were cited as examples of events that crossed over with other groups.
Amidst rising tensions, Senator Leah Jung expressed concern over individual senators’ safety who had been criticized by name by members of the public and requested that the table move to Senate discussion.
After an hour of public comment, consideration of the bill moved to Senate discussion. EAVP Aridin reasserted community guidelines and asked both senators and the public to remain respectful.
Controller Francisco discussed financial issues in regards to SB#41.
“As senators, [they] are going to have to see the budget holistically and decide [the] priority and make cuts,” Fransisco said. “ […] as the financial person of this association, I do not know how we will sustain this [expense for Lawntopia] if you are not prepared to make serious cuts to our other units.”
The bill went to a vote at approximately 11:30 p.m., ultimately passing 9-4-1 (Yes-Abstain-No). The news was met with applause and cheers from the public, several of whom had been present since the start of the meeting more than five hours earlier.
Senator Antonio, the sole ‘No’ vote, gave an address acknowledging the public’s dedication and perspectives shared throughout the night. She also addressed earlier critiques of her work on Planet Her by saying she had reached out to RSOs and student groups, some of whom tabled at the event.
“I am one person,” Antonio said. “I am trying my best.”
She also clarified that while she respects the views of the public, she voted in the best interest of the causes she ran on. Ending her statement, she received applause from the room.
Raghunathan also came to their defense.
“Time and time again in ASUCD, the people who are being called out publicly are the women of color,” Raghunathan said. “These are the most hard-working senators […] We need to stop this pattern of calling out women of color on this table when that is such a rare thing for this table to have.”
Afterwards, SB #40 passed unanimously without objection. The Senate then returned to discussion of SB #39, which also passed unanimously.
Moving to open forum, Senator Jung criticized Senator Nur Ambaw, who had filled in for Pro Tempore Chasa Monica after they left earlier in the night, and both the IVP and EAVP for not better maintaining order, as well as defending targeted senators.
Raghunathan responded by pointing out her recent impeachment and cited increased media scrutiny of her performance. Further discourse on the issue led to a call for decorum, as well as Aridin calling on all of her peers to defend one another and stop “pointing fingers.”
Raghunathan later spoke of events of personal attacks and doxxing against her in previous meetings. Jung apologized for her complaints and thanked her colleagues for their insights and context.
This point branched into a larger conversation amongst the table on safety and well-being, with an emphasis that senators and ASUCD staffers are also students.
The meeting adjourned at 12:12 a.m.
Written by: Vince Basada — campus@theaggie.org
