The fourth Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) meeting of the year kicked off with Executive Fellowship Director (EFD) Chris Garcia describing plans to combat a lack of leadership seen in his department by proposing three initiatives. The initiatives are as follows: basic needs, the Native American Graves and Protection Act (NAGPRA) and campus safety.
The Basic Needs Initiative consists of doing more research into how the resource is being used so that awareness can be spread in regards to what resources the program offers. College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Senator Anahita Hooshyari Far plans on doing more research into NAGPRA and how that may apply to the UCR campus and EFD Garcia plans to expand campus safety measures by improving lighting around campus, partnering with organizations such as the Women’s Resources center, University of California Los Angeles and (UCLA) Transportation Services (TAPS). EFD Garcia urged more senators to join the Student Voice Committee and get involved in the work that they are doing.
After vetting two candidates for the School of Business (SOB) Senator position, the seat was awarded to third-year business administration student Dhruv Patel. Patel described in his speech his aspirations to increase the amount of engagement that business students would have with their professors. In other words, he hopes to combat the stagnant interactions between faculty and students that take place throughout their undergraduate career.
He plans to do this by “organizing networking events, speaker sessions and workshops.” He explained that his experience in the Undergraduate Business Association (UBA) would help him do these things as he has organized networking events with industry professionals and events with “media concentration.” Patel elaborated further saying that the experience gained in regards to connecting with others would allow him to create and leverage connections. Other points of interest for Patel involved “advocating for more advanced finance courses, better internship placements or expanding career resources.”
When asked how he would help pre-business students transition from CHASS to SOB, Patel described how he would hold events specific to their concentration, led by faculty members where students could have their concentrations and various courses “translated” by faculty so that they understood where they would like to center their efforts. When asked about the types of legislation that he would like to pass, Patel explained that he would like to move certain career-related classes up to SOB students’ third-year curriculum rather than their second-year curriculum, as it would be more relevant.
Legislation regarding the creation of a position for Head of Staff and Executive Fellowship Director for the first year fellow program. President Abby Choy explained that this was to more evenly distribute responsibilities, so the EFD would not be as overburdened. Senator Sofia Jimenez brought up concerns regarding accountability and how the EFD would be kept accountable given the addition of another leadership role.
President Choy explained that this would largely be the responsibility of the Head of Office.
Further concerns were brought up regarding the timeline for the new EFD position. Senators questioned when student applicants would begin shadowing their prospective officers, if the applicants would hold the EFD accountable for the time they worked without compensation and if the timeframe allocated to vet applicants was sufficient.
Four Senate Bills were passed during the course of the meeting. Three updates were made to the bylaws adding information regarding the addition of the Executive Fellowship Director Position. The last bill detailed requirements for senators to be more civically engaged by volunteering in the city of Riverside and UCR’s campus throughout their term.
Those who were absent included BCOE Senator Allison Pham, CHASS Senator Carter Anderson, CHASS Senator Karen Vo and CHASS Senator Mia Tuifua
