The second Associated Students of UCR (ASUCR) Senate meeting took place on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. All senators were present, excluding Senators Alex Lu, Kevin Nguyen and Leila Haidar. The meeting began with a land acknowledgment to the indigenous people who lived in the land before and was called to order at 7:01 p.m.
Motion to approve the current meeting’s agenda was called for by Executive Vice President (EVP) Victoria Nguyen. The motion to approve the agenda was made by Senator Rayhan Khan and seconded by Senator Teesha Sreeram. The motion was approved 13-0-0.
First to come to the public forum was Rachel Nguyen from the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG). There, she announced that CALPIRG had signed up over 800 new members. She reiterated that there is a $10 activity fee students can add to their tuition through CALPIRG to support student activism. This month, the national organization that they belong to, known as StudentPIRGS, is holding a costume party.
Next on the podium were two ambassadors from the School of Public Policy (SPP). They announced that the UCR Public Service Job Fair is on Wednesday, Oct. 25, and will have many Federal, State and Local agencies present.
After that was Genevieve Ortiz, who holds a position in the External Office under the Vice President of External Affairs (VPEA) Angel Renteria. Currently, she holds the position of Organizing Director of Communications. Ortiz mentioned that a bill proposed later in the meeting would restructure her position and make it into the work of two different people.
VPEA Renteria arrived on the podium and directed a question to the two SPP ambassadors who had presented earlier and asked who would be present at their job fair. The SPP ambassadors responded that agencies like the FBI, FDA, Homeland Security, LA Passport agency, etc., will all be arriving on campus for the event. VPEA Renteria expressed concern about how comfortable students will feel knowing that agencies like Homeland Security will be present on campus. The SPP ambassador ended by stating that they will be taking precautions and this has already been planned out, and if there are any other concerns, to reach out to them.
Last, on the public forum, Cooper Kumar, who works with campus partnerships under Renteria, explained how he works closely with Genevieve and that her work is a lot to handle, especially compared to his own work. He supported bringing in another role to split the work that Genevieve does.
Next on the meeting agenda was Ex-Officio Reports, picking up on the previous week’s ECAB and Judicial Staff Ratifications. VPEA Renteria explained how he hired his team because of their love for student advocacy. Renteria proposed ratifying Alejandra, Genevieve, Cooper, Joanna, Isabella, Julia, Miguel, Vivian, Elvira, Carmen, Dagmawit, Paolina, Eva and Harini. The motion to approve these ratifications was made by Senator Viraj Ala and seconded by Senator Nadia Colon. The motion to approve ratifications passed 13-0-0.
During Committee Reports, a motion was made to open SB-F23-002 Comms and OD Role Amendment Bill + GR Reform + More by Senator Naia Pizzaro and seconded by Senator Khan. The vote passed 13-0-0. President Pro Tempore Abby Choy explained that this amendment is an update to the legislation that separates the Organizing Director of Communications into two positions. There were also some changes made to names and titles to make them more appealing and inclusive. VPEA Renteria elaborated saying that it will separate the Organizing Director of Communications into two roles, UCSA Organizing Director and Communications Director. The UCSA Organizing Director will work with the Campus Partner Organizing Director to ensure that student needs are being heard. These amendments will also make it easier to delegate work. The Labor Commission will be renamed to the Highlander Labor Committee. The Campus Partnership Director will be renamed to the Campus Partnership Organizing Director. The Statewide Lobbying Director will be renamed to the Statewide Relations Director, and the Highlander Action committee will have a mid-year audit. All the positions listed above will be voluntary. Motion to approve was made by Senator Colon and seconded by PPT Choy. The vote passed 13-0-0.
Next, a motion was made to open SB-F23-003 CHAPTER 11 – Bylaw Amendments by Senator Anjana Narasimhan and seconded by Senator Grace Su. The vote passed 13-0-0. PPT Choy explained that it is a bylaw amendment to Campus External Affairs to change titles of positions to be more inclusive. A representative under the Vice President of Campus Internal Affairs (VPCIA) recommended that any future VPCIA reach out to campus committees at the beginning of the term. The motion to approve was made by Senator Kaden Ho and seconded by Senator Natalie Trutali. The vote passed 13-0-0.
Finally, a motion was made to open SB-F23-004 Candidates’ Senate Meeting Requirement by Senator Su and seconded by Senator Crystal Toral. The vote passed 13-0-0. PPT Choy explained that it has been in effect for the last few years and just had to be written down in the bylaws, referring to the idea that candidates must go to at least one senate meeting before they can become a senator. Senator Su asked if there was a time limit to this bylaw requirement, and PPT Choy responded that she had to consult someone. EVP Nguyen suggests that it can be tabled for now and can be revisited after the language has been changed. The motion to table was made by Senator K. Ho and seconded by Senator Amariah Peedikayil. The vote passed 13-0-0.
Next on the agenda was the motion to open Finance Hearing Minutes #1. The motion to open was made by Senator Peedikayil and seconded by Senator Colon. The vote passed 13-0-0. Senator K. Ho explains that the Organization’s Contingency: Opening Balance was $136,562, and the Organization’s Allocations were $128,469. The vote was passed 5-0-1 during the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the Organization Contingency was $8,093 and the ASUCR Contingency: Closing Balance was $53,513. The motion to approve the Finance Hearing Meeting Minutes was made by Senator Trutali and seconded by Senator Sreeram. The vote passed 13-0-0.
No one went to the podium for public comment.
Senator Reports was next on the meeting agenda and began with SPP Senator Pizzarro. She explained how she met with the Director of External Engagement, the Dean of SPP, and SPP Ambassadors to plan events for this quarter. She also has meetings planned for upcoming events to increase visibility and attendance and will be planning the town hall soon.
A motion was made to amend the agenda and go back to Staff Ratifications by Senator K. Ho and seconded by Senator Khan. The vote passed 13-0-0. Chief Justice Kacker ratified Sravika Pillarisetty as the Secretary of the Court and explained that while she had applied to be a first-year fellow, she was recommended to be the secretary due to her previous work experience. The motion to approve ratifications passed 13-0-0.
Back to Senator Reports, CHASS Senator Khan announced that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The first event he will organize is a walk around the Bell Tower to advocate for and support those with breast cancer.
PPT Choy announced that she will be doing a collaboration with CALFRESH. She reiterated from the last meeting to reach out if anyone would like support for student researcher abuse. She ended by stating that LRC meetings are on Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For Roundtable and Announcements, CHASS senator Philson Ho announced that academic affairs committee applications are open and that if anyone is interested in bettering student academics on campus, they should join.
Senator Peedikayil announced that BCOE will be doing their match challenge, in which whatever donation you give to BCOE will be matched in turn by the school. The event will continue from now until Oct. 31.
Vice President of Internal Affairs Ruhi Barman announced that the application for three of her committees closed at midnight that night.
VPEA Renteria gave an announcement directed to ECAB and Legislative announcing that the University of California Office of the President is looking for a student leader from each campus to attend their conference.
EVP Nguyen announced that the Senate Internship application was extended until next week and to follow the ASUCR Instagram for more information. On behalf of Elections Director Alexandra Arias, Senator applications and the Non-Traditional Student Director application were extended till the next week as well, and the special elections will be the following Wednesday, Oct. 25.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Senator K. Ho and seconded by Senator Sreeram. The vote passed 13-0-0, and the meeting adjourned at 7:44 p.m.
