The Associated Students of UCR’s 22nd meeting was called to order on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 in the ASUCR Senate Chamber. All senators were present, except CNAS Senator Rachel Paredes. Executive Vice President Mufida Assaf was also absent, with President Pro-Tempore Orlando Cabalo acting in her place. Motions were called to first remove senator reports from the agenda and a vote passed 14-0-0. Motions to approve the agenda were called by PPT Cabalo, and a vote was motioned by CHASS senator Aalani Richardson and seconded by SOE Senator Dorothy Doronila, passing 14-0-0. Following this, an approval of previous meeting minutes was called by CHASS Christian Martinez, and the vote passed 14-0-0. A motion was also called to add finance meeting minutes on agenda by senator Martinez seconded by senator Doronila, passing 14-0-0.
A roll call of the executive cabinet then took place with the presence of ASUCR President Will Wang, Vice President of External Affair Elysha Castillo, Vice President of Finance Jeffrey Tran, Vice President of Sustainability and Elections Director Sarmiento confirmed.
Ex-Officio reports then took place beginning with Ethnic and Gender Program Liaison Jeanine Nassar. She expressed how glad she was to return to in-person learning and discussed a tabling event with the Ethnic and Gender wanted to plan for week 2 or 3. She is working with EVP Assaf to find alternatives to this proposal. It was reported that at the LGBTRC and SDRC, a couple of students have shared their concerns about going to specific centers and staff having turned them away. Nassar will be working with those specific centers to help solve them. Nassar also identified other issues with CAPS and the SDRC lacking the appropriate resources for LGBT students and will ensure that meetings will take place regarding this as well.
ASUCR Executive President William Wang met with VP of Finance Jeffrey Tran to increase athletics engagement. Wang is currently working with the alumni committee in hopes of partnering with alumni for entrepreneurship. He reported his meeting with VCSA Brian Haynes as well. Wang discussed how on Monday, there were technical difficulties with the period of time where students were unable to vote. Voting will take place till Monday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. and results will be released Tuesday, April 26.
A motion was called to extend voting by CHASS senator Victoria Nguyen and seconded by senator Richardson. CHASS Senator Christopher Kent thinks Saturday is better as candidates have to campaign an extra 2 days. However, Elections Director Sarmiento responded that she believes that no one cares about school on the weekends. Senator Doronila inquired, “is it going to be re-released or are they going to be notified.” ED Sarmiento responded that on Friday, a campus-wide email will say it will extend on Monday. Sen. Richardson asked if senators are able to post on the weekends since campaigning is over on Friday, with the response from the ED to add a motion to extend campaigning till Monday. Sen Martinez noted that campaigning posters are to be removed from Friday, and ED Sarmiento responded that if posters are to come down, candidates can continue campaigning by handing out flyers and utilizing social media. A motion was called to extend elections to Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. by senator Doronila and seconded senator Richardson, with a vote passing 15-0-0. Another motion to extend the voting timeline, by senator Nguyen and seconded by senator Martinez passed by 15-0-0.
Vice President of Finance Jeffrey Tran then gave his ex-officio report where he detailed how he finally caught up with requisitions with only 10 left and that $71,000 has been reimbursed to student organizations. He hopes to see that number increase throughout the quarter.
Vice President of External Affairs Elysha Castillo gave her report detailing her meetings with a Racial Justice coordinator and announced that external office meetings will take place every week Monday at 5:00 p.m. She further discussed her efforts with staffers for supplemental instructional funding, hoping to empower marginalized voices.
Vice President of Sustainability Alondra Martinez announced in her report that five green grants had been passed during the week. In addition, she made a petition live to create a sustainability center on campus, looking for 1,000 signatures. Martinez is currently working to install more bike pumps on campus and announced giveaways all week for the Earth Day festival, which will have music, vegan vendors and sustainable vendors.
As part of committee reports, motions were called for to open review Finance Hearing Minutes No. 1 for the finance meeting which took place on April 15, 2022. A grant of $1,500 was notably allocated to the Undergraduate Business Association. Motions were called by senator Richardson and the meeting minutes were approved with a vote of 15-0-0.
Vice Chief Justice from the Judicial Council Fadi Zaki led public comment with many clarifications. A statement was released from the judicial council working alongside the Elections Committee and the judicial will no longer be processing reports anonymously. If a violation is to be submitted, no names will be shared outside the branch. In regards to the trial of Marketing and Promotions Director Wallace Fang, Zaki spoke with Executive Director Laurie Sinclair and found that two-thirds of the charges were proven guilty. He emphasized positive reinforcement as justification for their sentencing and noted that if this continues to happen, there will be severe consequences.
Associate Director of Graduate Admissions School Tamra Johnson of Business Graduate Business Programs then took the stand and announced how she is giving scholarships MBA 2 year and specialized one-year programs. As clarified through an inquiry by senator Doronila, students do not have to apply for FAFSA as the application is viewed holistically. However, letters of recommendation and one essay will be required.
The meeting concluded with multiple announcements from senators. CHASS senator Lauren Garcia announced her work with the Vice Chair of Sexual Harrassment Committee on a program called R’Therapy. There will be an event that she encouraged senators to stop by for. CNAS senator Myra Usmani detailed how the Student Health Advisory Committee wants to implement a vending machine for health products. CHASS senator Blanca Estela Alba is working with the Transfer and Non-Traditional Director to give out cords to TNT students and will be making a post about it. Finally, senator Nguyen announced the Underground Scholars Initiative Forgotten Population Event that will take place next week The meeting was then adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
