ASUCD swears in new senators at final meeting of fall quarter

The Dec. 4 meeting saw four Senate newcomers join the table, alongside two returning officeholders

By: AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS — campus@aggie.org 

At their final meeting of fall quarter on Dec. 4, the ASUCD Senate swore in its new members and heard farewells from outgoing officeholders.

The meeting began with short goodbye speeches from the outgoing senators in attendance: Lexi Raben, Nanki Kaur and Interim Senator Livreet Sandhu. Outgoing officers also included Senator Umar Shaikh and Interim Senator Shaina Taebi, who were not present at the meeting.

ASUCD’s new senators also took office at the meeting. In order of their swearing-in, these senators are: Rosa Linda Martinez Ruano, a third-year sociology and community and regional development double major; Aaron David Heth, a third-year political science major; Mia Oscanoa, a first-year political science major; Nate Little, a first-year political science major; Jenna Younes, a fourth-year international relations major; and Ezra Rubin, a third-year classics and international relations double major.

Of the outgoing class of senators, Younes was the only one who sought re-election in fall. Rubin, a former senator who left office last spring, was sworn in remotely as he was studying abroad in Greece.

Also in attendance at the meeting and filling many of the chairs in the viewing area were friends and supporters of the new senators, who helped celebrate their taking office.

Innovation and Research Lab Presentations

Afterward, the Innovation and Research Lab (IRL), ASUCD’s in-house software development and research group, presented the findings of two projects to the Senate table. 

First, the Staff Satisfaction project, done in collaboration with Rubin, sought to understand the experiences and emotions of ASUCD unit employees. Conducted in spring quarter of 2025, the survey was sent out to all unit directors for their employees to complete. The findings included responses from 15 ASUCD units, representing approximately 27% of all unit employees.

Overall, IRL found that ASUCD unit employees are generally satisfied with workplace experiences and feel generally prepared for their responsibilities. However, they also found that Coffee House (CoHo) employees were generally less satisfied with their scheduling compatibility with classes. Additionally, they found that longer-term employees feel underscheduled. 

After presenting their findings, IRL gave three recommendations to units on how to better satisfy their employees, including implementing a shift preference system for larger units, closing the gap between employees and leadership and clearly defining and maintaining role expectations through training. 

Senior Project Researcher Pearl Vishen, a fourth-year data science major, hopes to continue the survey yearly for all units in order to see how student experiences may change over time.

“This is the first time we have conducted this survey,” Vishen said. “We do have hopes to make this yearly, in order to track how these changes evolve over time and [to] see if any tactics that have been implemented have any effect on employees’ experience.”

The second IRL presentation featured the Basic Needs project, made in conjunction with the ASUCD Executive Office. The project’s 61-question survey was made to assess the state of UC Davis undergraduate students’ basic needs across various dimensions of welfare, as well as to measure student awareness of ASUCD basic needs resources. The data included 351 responses.

IRL’s findings suggest that ASUCD further promotes available resources to students in need of financial aid support, students who have work-study programs and students who utilize AB540 non-resident tuition exemption. Specifically, IRL recommended that Aggie Compass, Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students (HAUS) and ASUCD Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) should be expanded and more accessible for students. 

Later in the meeting, Jeremy Elvander, a fourth-year data science major, was confirmed as the IRL’s new unit director.

Anti-Palestinian Racism

In a presentation, Younes shared ideas on how ASUCD can help combat anti-Palestinian racism on campus. This followed a recap of her Anti-Palestinian Racism Town Hall, hosted on Nov. 10 in collaboration with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Davis Graduate, Medical, Veterinary, & Law Students for Palestine (GMVL).

Over 40 people attended the event, which featured presentations, a speaker panel and a Q&A session for students to voice their concerns, according to Younes. Younes also spoke about the threat of being doxxed by non-student groups outside the university.

“[There’s] a newsletter that regularly doxxes student faculty and community members, and they’ve doxxed me,” Younes said.

Younes also criticized the lack of action from the UC Davis administration regarding the harassment, physical and verbal assault and anti-Palestinian racism toward students.

“There have been at least 20 recorded and documented instances of harassment and blatant anti-Palestinian racism that has not been addressed or resolved by the university,” Younes said.

To combat this, Younes recommended that senators educate themselves by attending SJP meetings. She also noted that she hopes to release a doxxing toolkit for students, as well as host the event again in the future along with an “Islamophobia town hall.”

Younes also noted that attendees at the event shared concerns over the university’s Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program (HDAPP).

“[Attendees] were concerned [if] reporting actually does anything,” Younes said. “The short answer is no. They don’t provide any sort of resolvement or follow-up or support after reported incidents and hate crimes, and the only reason we encourage people to report things is so that it’s on record.”

Younes later argued that university administrators needed to step up and address harassment on campus against Palestinian students more directly.

“UC Davis administration has made no real effort to prevent their continued harassment —  they’re fully aware of everything that happens,” Younes said. “They don’t take any measures to ban [harassers of students] from campus [and] stop them from coming to campus.”

Quarterly Reports and Other Matters

The Pantry discussed recent accomplishments of the quarter, including an increase in tabling and over 2,000 pounds in donations from the Donations for Citations program. 

Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) presented their quarterly report, highlighting events including Safer Sex Expansion, Study with SHAW and Kindness Day Letters making.

Later, External Affairs Vice President (EAVP) Zack Dollins gave his quarterly report, which covered the structure and advocacy priorities of the UC Student Association (UCSA). As EAVP, Dollins is the official representative of ASUCD to UCSA, tasked with attending various lobbying events and meetings and representing the student government as a whole. 

Within his quarterly report, Dollins mentioned meeting with University of California President James Milliken, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and various campus organizations, as well as attending the Student Housing & Policy Summit. Dollins also mentioned working on continued advocacy for a climate literacy General Education requirement, a sustainable food features fair and campus animal welfare research.

Lastly, Senate Pro-Tempore Luis Leonardo Garcia presented his quarterly report, which covered the numerous events and accomplishments during his one-quarter term as Pro-Tempore. Within his term, Garcia hosted a handful of events in collaboration with various student organizations and resources. These events included the Undocuscholars Advocacy and Aid (UAA) Committee, Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), Entertainment Council, El Centro, Puente Club, Aggie Arts, Aggie Rally Pack Committee and the Student Advocate Office. Garcia also authored and co-authored 12 Senate bills that were passed this quarter and noted that he served as chair for several committees within ASUCD and led the ASUCD Volunteer Awards. 

The table also confirmed Melanie Ceballos-Renteria, a third-year political science major, and Abigail Hidalgo Toala, a first-year international relations major, as the UAA chair and vice-chair, respectively. The former position had been left vacant after the previous chair, Martinez Ruano, was elected as a senator.

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Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — campus@theaggie.org