The Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) called their sixth Senate meeting of spring quarter to order at 7:22 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
The meeting began with Vice President of Finance (VPF) Cooper Kumar detailing three grants for clubs. The Senate passed each line item.
The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) items were discussed following the Finance meeting. The first was an amendment to the Vice President of External Affairs (VPEA) office bylaws. President Pro Tempore (PPT) Leila Haidar invited External Affairs Executive Assistant Rishika Salvi, President of the UCR College Democrats, Joseph Anastacio, and External Affairs Government Relations Director Briana Trujillo to explain the updates.
The first update was to include the School of Public Policy (SPP) Senator in the bylaws. Previously, there was an update to the SPP Senator bylaws to chair a committee in the External Affairs office, so the VPEA bylaws now include the SPP Senator’s involvement.
Another update was to create two 12-month paid positions to replace the singular Government Relations Director. The bill writers are working with the VPF to finalize this split. The new positions will first be the Legislative Director, who serves as the UCR representative to the UC Student Association and their government relations committee. The second position will be Lobby Core Director. This director will oversee general operations and handle lobby visits and trips.
There were additional updates that included interns, committee titles and improvements on attendance. This update was passed by the Senate 10-0-0.
The next bill updated the official bylaws on how many senators there are for each college within UCR. The bill’s wording established the total number of senators from all the colleges to be 19. The Senate passed the bill 10-0-0.
Another bill removed the Executive Assistant position to mirror current practices. The original position was split between the Executive VP’s office and the President’s office. PPT Haidar explained that these two positions are vastly different and no longer utilize the same assistant. The bill was passed by the Senate 9-0-1.
The next bill removed a position in the executive chapter that no longer exists. The bill was passed 10-0-0.
The final bill was an update by President Abby Choy to change nine-month positions into ten-month positions. This was so ASUCR student staff could be compensated for the first month of training before the nine-month position. The bill passed 10-0-0.
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Senators Ryan Choi, Justin Ibay, Nathan Baw and Karen Vo were absent. School of Business Senator Dhruv Patel, College of Natural and Agricultural Science Senator Vanisha Lalli and Bourns College of Engineering Senator Uma Akundi were excused.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
