The table approved the usage of over $11,000 from their reserves for two bills
By AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS — campus@aggie.org
In an unconventional meeting, the Associated Students of University of California, Davis (ASUCD) Senate participated in a strengths training exercise held by UC Davis Student Affairs during its public Oct. 16 meeting.
Hosted by Jeff Heiser from UC Davis Staff Coaching and Development, the hour-long training, titled “Start with Talent and Finish with Strength,” delved into the strengths of each member of the ASUCD Senate.
Prior to the training, the Senate filled out the “CliftonStrengths” assessment test. The assessment test is a “tool that identifies an individual’s natural talents in areas of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and then helps them develop these talents into strengths,” according to Gallup, the company behind the test.
The test results include a breakdown of an individual’s “themes,” comprising a list of 34 themes under the four domains of team strengths. The four strengths include strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing and executing.
To kick off the training, each member of the table was asked to write their top-five strengths on a piece of paper. Afterwards, each person went around the table and shared their name, favorite part of their ASUCD role and a word they thought others would use to describe them.
Following the icebreaker activity, the table engaged in multiple exercises that challenged their strengths, such as writing competition with their non-dominant hand. Additionally, in between activities, the Senate reflected on how their strengths influence their success within ASUCD.
After finishing the training, several senators thanked Heiser for his time and the uniqueness of the experience within a Senate meeting.
“Thank you for coming; this is definitely something a bit more unorthodox for our table to participate in, but it has been a really valuable experience,” Senator Lexi Raben said.
“I had a lot of fun doing the training, and it led me to learn more about myself,” ASUCD Internal Vice President Dhilena Wickramasinghe said.
Legislation Tracker:
SB#6: Allocates $7,800 to the Entertainment Council (EC) to purchase Reusable PortaFloor Event Turf (rollable temporary outdoor event flooring strip). Introduced and authored by Senator Luis Garcia; passed unanimously.
The PortaFloor would replace the difficult plywood that is typically used during EC events, according to EC Assistant Unit Director and fourth-year design major Abigail Wong.
“Those plywood sheets are extremely heavy,” Wong said. “Usually we have around 20 volunteers, and we have had several injuries with them. They don’t last long, usually cracking while trying to support 80 to 100 per square foot (PSF) as opposed to the 28,000 PSF PortaFloor can support.”
Furthermore, SB#6 allocated the reusable PortaFloor Event Turf for usage for any major ASUCD events as approved by ASUCD Headquarters, such as Lawntopia and Whole Earth Festival.
SB#11: Allocates $4,194.26 to the Campus Center for the Environment (CCE) for garden supplies and a tool shed. Authored by Controller Trinity Chow and introduced by the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC); passed unanimously.
Originally introduced as SB#97 in spring quarter 2025 by then-Senator Zack Dollins, the bill was unanimously passed at the May 29 Senate meeting before being sent for signature. However, as noted in the bill, due to the passage of SB#97 late in the school year and slow turnover by internal personnel, it was not signed by then ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju.
While most of the line items of the spending breakdown remain the same, the CCE requested a storage container and cargo door lock in lieu of the original metal storage shed that was initially proposed in SB#97.
Written by: Aaliyah Español-Rivas — campus@theaggie.org
