According to Chapter 20 of the Senate Accessibility and Transparency Act, ASUCR is required to table every Wednesday at the Bell Tower. ASUCR, however, has not tabled every Wednesday. The ASUCR bylaw states that each senator is supposed to table at least once per quarter from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Justin Domecillo, a fourth-year English major, mentioned ASUCR’s tabling issues in relation to the bylaw during the April 10 ASUCR meeting. Domecillo stated, “I really encourage you guys to be better coordinated about your schedules and enforcing this section of the bylaws.”
In an interview with the Highlander, CHASS senator Julian Gonzalez stated that he takes personal responsibility for ASUCR’s tabling dilemma, stating, “I don’t know why anyone hasn’t done it. For me personally, I feel responsible for not being out there especially since it is a requirement.” Gonzalez points to what he sees as a recurring theme with ASUCR officials, stating, “Every year we get a new set of elected officials. There’s been a precedent where elected officials do not table.” Gonzalez is running for ASUCR president in the upcoming election.
ASUCR Outreach Director Carolyn Chang did not respond to the Highlander’s request for comment. Chang is running unopposed for Vice President of Finance in the upcoming election. Andrea Cuevas, ASUCR executive vice president, was not available for comment.
Besides Domecillo, other UCR students are concerned about ASUCR’s inability to fulfill its commitment. Freshman biochemistry major Isabella Espinoza was unaware of ASUCR’s existence: “These freshmen coming in, like myself, have no clue as to what ASUCR is. If I see a table somewhere with people, I am more likely to go up to it. You see all of these posters everywhere with faces but your not really sure what it is for.”
Second-year electrical engineering student Nathaniel Ortiz believes ASUCR’s promises are not matching their actions, “Lately, I feel that ASUCR does not fulfill a lot of their obligations to the student body. They make a lot of promises and commitments, but they do not necessarily deliver on them.” According to Ortiz, campus funding is not allocated efficiently and programs such as R’Gear are inefficient ways to spend money because they do not reach all students.
“ASUCR has good intentions but they really fail to have a coherent plan of action. They are not really following the steps that they are going to take. It all seems improvised to me,” said Ortiz.
ASUCR bylaws can be found on the ASUCR website.
