The Associated Students 75th Senate introduced legislation that would reshape requirements for student groups receiving Associated Students funding and heard the implementation plan for the new Outstanding Boards, Committees and Units Award at its Jan. 8 meeting. The Commission on Culture, Arts, and Joy Justice is under consideration to be dissolved with its $50,300 budget being redistributed to the Associated Students Food Bank.

Senate Parliamentarian and third-year political science major MingJun Zha resigned from his position at the meeting, citing the time commitment as the main reason. Zha is pivoting to pursue a role in the Judicial Council, as he believes his three years of experience in Associated Students (A.S.) gives him “valuable” insight into its operations.

Senators third-year political science and philosophy double major Dan Siddiqui and fourth-year communication and economics double major Taylor Iden brought forward a plan to dissolve the Commission on Culture, Arts, and Joy Justice (CCAJJ) due to inactivity in the past year.

CCAJJ was initially founded in 2023 to “combat the effects of racial and cultural marginalization” through advocacy, cultural and educational initiatives, according to its website. The bill proposes that the $50,300 allocated to CCAJJ this year be transferred to the A.S. Food Bank to fund efforts that aid food insecure students and consolidate A.S. entities.

“The commission is vacant and has been unable to recruit members or host events for the entire year,” the bill read. “The commission has $50,300 worth of student fees allocated toward it which will not be spent before the fiscal year ends if action is not taken by this legislative body.” 

Representatives from the A.S. Food Bank presented a proposal for incorporating the $50,300 into their budget. 80% of funds would go toward food procurement and distribution, 15% to operational costs such as staff and equipment and 5% to emergency funds for special projects or expansion.

“Given the increasing demand for food assistance among students- especially as the cost of living has risen- it has become clear that consolidating funding will provide greater operation stability and capacity for the AS Food Bank to serve the campus more efficiently,” the proposal read.

Later in the meeting, Senators third-year computer science major Aryaman Singh and fourth-year history and philosophy double major Noura Elkhatib introduced a bill to allow Registered Campus Organizations (RCOs) to apply for an account number five weeks after being established rather than the current one full academic quarter.

An A.S. account number allows RCOs to access A.S. funding and resources. According to the Senators, this bill fast-tracks the funding process for new campus organizations and “ensures a more efficient process and empowers student groups to achieve their goals without unnecessary administrative delays.”

Singh and Elkhatib also proposed an A.S. By-Law amendment to mandate that all A.S. funded events with food provided are broadly publicized to the student body with the language “FUNDED BY ASSOCIATED STUDENTS” on all promotional material. Failure to do so may result in a $30 fine or all A.S. funding for an organization being revoked upon the third violation. 

In compliance with A.S. policy, all three bills introduced were tabled for one week due to proposed legal code edits and will be discussed at the next Senate meeting.

Zha addressed the Senate as the coordinator of the Outstanding Boards, Committees and Units (BCU) Award to give updates on its implementation plan after the idea was approved by the Senate last quarter. This quarter, for the first time ever, BCUs may submit themselves for consideration and will be officially nominated by the A.S. President for approval from the Senate.

BCUs will be evaluated based on effective communication and collaboration, inclusivity and representation and responsible use of student fees during the year. Members of the winning BCU will be awarded double their A.S. pay. A.S. President Nayali Broadway released the Outstanding BCU application on Monday and it will be open through Jan. 27.

In the final hour of the meeting, Senators, the A.S. Internal Vice President, Executive Director, Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs and the Director of Student Engagement & Leadership entered a closed session to “discuss the performance of select Associated Students entities,” according to the Senate agenda. Senators were unable to disclose the content of this discussion.

A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Jan. 16, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.

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Anushka Ghosh Dastidar
Anushka Ghosh Dastidar (she/her) is the Lead News Editor for the 2024-25 school year. Previously, Ghosh Dastidar was the Community Outreach News Editor for the 2023-24 school year and the Assistant News Editor for the 2022-2023 school year. She can be reached at anushkagd@dailynexus.com or news@dailynexus.com.