Senate holds public censure over ethics violation
On Oct. 28, ASUCD Vice President Gareth Smythe called to order this quarter’s fifth senate meeting in Memorial Union’s Mee Room.
Three presentations were made during the meeting. First, Senator Andrea Velasquez’s staff members Maria Lopez and Lynn Ayala gave a presentation on mental health. Prepared by Velasquez and her staff, the presentation discussed the importance of mental wellness and solutions to achieving it.
Next, the meeting proceeded with a presentation on Student Colloquium, a course that allows students to teach other students in various topics. Senate is interested in looking into implementing Student Colloquiums at the university. The table discussed various aspects of implementation, such as a selection process for qualified student-teachers and access to teaching materials.
Lastly, President Mariah Kala Watson presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Student Affairs. In this memorandum, ASUCD could secure funds to better improve its units. An example of this, according to Watson, would be a performance bonus for well-performing units as an incentive to continue their progress. With a 12-0-0 vote, senate approved the MOU.
Senate then moved to confirm Aman Dhillon into the Gender and Sexuality Commission. Dhillon is excited to bring in more collaborations between different groups on campus, such as the Women’s Resource and Research Center.
In terms of legislation, senate passed two resolutions and a bill.
Senate first passed Resolution No.5, a resolution which would give support to a proposed Proactive Rental Inspection Program and Renters’ Rights Ordinance. These programs were initially introduced by the Davis Renters’ Alliance, a representative body of students and faculty, in order to identify housing issues early and protect students from problems with landlords.
The table then passed Resolution No.6. This is an edited version of a resolution which was previously introduced at last week’s meeting. This would give the senate’s support to CALPIRG’s current pledge system.
Lastly, senate passed Senate Bill No.8. This bill concerns the Club Finance Council (CFC), an ASUCD council established in the 1980s that unbiasedly provides support and financial assistance to registered clubs. Authored by Senator Alex Lee, SB 8 would help promote economic stability within ASUCD by encouraging and educating clubs on certain units that are available for them (i.e. Campus Copies and Classical Notes, the CoHo, etc.).
Senate ended with a public censure. The censure accused Brendan Chang of violating senate’s privacy and going against ASUCD’s Code of Ethics by sharing his comments to The Aggie. The comments originated from senate’s closed Facebook group. These comments involved Lee’s recent removal as pro tempore.
Senators Casey Nguyen, Danielle Santiago, Reem Fatayerji, Miguel Guerrero, Sevan Nahabedian and Kamaal Thomas petitioned for the censure. Chang personally agreed to follow the censure’s recommendations and the censure was closed.
