The discussion came after the table saw their 14th unanimously passed bill of the school year
By AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS — campus@aggie.org
At the Oct. 23 ASUCD Senate meeting, several top student government officials raised concerns over what they described as a lack of care and attentiveness from the Senate table when discussing and passing legislation.
The dialogue came after the table unanimously passed all five of the Senate Bills (SB) considered for the week; it marked the fourth-straight meeting where all SBs were passed unanimously, with minimal discussion over their merits and implications for the larger Association.
ASUCD President Amrita Julka called for more interaction from the 14 voting members of the Senate with the legislation presented to them.
“I want to remind the table that we should probably be engaging with the legislation that is seen by this table a little bit more,” Julka said. “I know that there are times when the bills we see are not going to be super controversial, and so you may not feel a need to scrutinize it or be more critical, but always review legislation before you come in. Ask any questions you have because it helps with open discussion.”
Internal Vice President Dhilena Wickramasinghe echoed Julka’s comments, also calling for more attention to presentations held during meetings and to confirmees.
“People are taking their time out of their day to come to Senate,” Wickramasinghe said. “I don’t want to say this in a way where it’s like ‘you guys aren’t doing enough’ or whatever, but it’s just something to keep in mind. I think it can be a little bit disheartening when people are giving presentations or coming here to be confirmed, and people are just on their laptops, not even engaging or making eye contact or asking questions.”
ASUCD’s chief financial officer, Controller Trinity Chow, also admonished the table for what she portrayed as a general lack of interest.
“For some of these people that are coming in for confirmations, it’s their first impression of ASUCD, and we give them half-assed questions and maybe two or three seconds of eye contact,” Chow said. “Believe it or not, not a lot of people like us. It’s not our responsibility to be liked — it’s actually our responsibility to serve.”
In past years, Senate discussions around legislation — especially bills that called for spending — were characterized by thorough reviews and dialogue within the table. While not uncommon for individual bills and legislation to be passed unanimously and without contest, it is rare for the table to go for several weeks straight without any substantial discussion over legislative matters; all 14 Senate Bills considered this academic year have passed unanimously.
Members of the table did not respond to Julka, Wickramasinghe and Chow’s comments at the meeting.
When asked for comment on the conduct of the table at a later date, Senate Pro Tempore Luis Garcia — the table’s official representative — asserted that his fellow senators were still adjusting to the legislative process.
“I do want to emphasize that out of all the senators on the table, this past Senate meeting majority are still newer to the Senate and finding their best method to ask questions and engage with the public,” Garcia said. “While I agree with the comments about being more engaged, I know that they [the Senate] are all actively engaged behind the scenes as well, which I believe has been very beneficial.”
Other matters
The table also confirmed several individuals into ASUCD positions, including Katherine Zhang, a second-year economics and political science double major, as deputy head justice of the Judicial Council, and Emily Contreras, a third-year political science and Chicano studies double major, as vice chair of the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission.
During the meeting’s public comment section, multiple student supporters of the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) 9119 and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 spoke in favor of Senate Resolution (SR) #4.
Authored by UPTE Intern Organizer Charl Matteson, a fourth-year psychology and political science double major, the resolution was written “to endorse the contract campaigns of UPTE-CWA 9119 and AFSCME 3299, and to call on the University of California to meet their demands.”
“I want to thank President Julka, Senator [Luis] Garcia and [External Affairs Commission Chair Simrit] Singh for all your help,” Matteson said. “Everyone I’ve interacted with at ASUCD has been wonderful and amazing, and everything that I think can be said, has been said, so thank you for hearing everybody.”
AFSCME Student Representative Isabel Soledad, a third-year international relations major, also spoke in support of SR#4, specifically citing the bargaining efforts for housing assistance for University of California (UC) workers.
“The UC hasn’t agreed to a very important thing we want to bargain for, which is $25,000 in housing assistance,” Soledad said. “They have a program for the UC [executives] and the chancellors, and they give them interest mortgage loans that average around $900,000 to $1 million. Yet, their frontline workers are commuting around an hour or so every day to clock into their shifts. Sometimes they have to sleep over in their car.”
The resolution would later be passed unanimously.
The Senate also heard quarterly reports from the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) and the Innovation and Research Lab (IRL).
Darin Schluep, the director of the UC Davis Associated Students Dining Service, highlighted recent accomplishments and challenges for the CoHo. Sales are up 20.8% from last year, and the CoHo has seen a 3% increase in their transaction total, according to Schluep. However, as construction within and around the site continues, the CoHo has noted utility shutdowns and restricted access in various locations.
John Carraher, a fifth-year computer science and engineering major, presented several projects that the IRL — ASUCD’s in-house software development and research unit — is working on. They include work on the UC Davis Mobile app, the Aggies on the Moove Bike Counter and a project with Safe Rides.
Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — campus@theaggie.org
