The 76th Associated Students Senate held its first meeting of the quarter on Oct. 1, during which they heard from a concerned Boards, Committees and Units organization over a mismanaged project. The Senate also passed new legislation and discussed Boards, Committees and Units relations.
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) requesting $8,341.76 to attend national oSTEM conference. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
The meeting began with public comment. Fourth-year sociology and history of public policy and law double major Suyan Wang spoke on behalf of the Global Gaucho Commission (GGC) as chair. She explained that the Gaucho Food Inclusion Program (GFIP), which aims to alleviate food insecurity by providing students with vouchers to redeem free food at Isla Vista restaurants, “did not succeed as intended.”
Wang explained that the GFIP’s creator, 75th Senate Senator and communication and German double major Ella Yu, graduated — leaving it unclear as to who was responsible for GFIP. According to Wang, Yu submitted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to then-Associated Students (A.S.) President, fourth-year political science and sociology double major Nayali Broadway, which highlighted collaborations between the UC Office of the President and UC Student Association. However, the MOU never specified who was a part of the GFIP team, which confused the GGC.
While the GFIP received invoices across six restaurants totaling $10,549.05, only about $860.35 worth of vouchers were actually redeemed, according to Wang. Ultimately, Wang asked the Senate to appoint a senator or a committee for GFIP and implement a stricter, logistical plan that ensures projects will have managers and clear reporting procedures.
Senator and second-year computer science major Yuchang Jiang volunteered to take responsibility for resolving issues within GFIP, as she claims she was involved early in the program’s creation but wasn’t a member of A.S. at the time.
Afterward, third-year biochemistry major and President of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM), Lena Wessel, requested $8,341.76 to fund six students set to attend the national oSTEM conference in Baltimore from Oct. 16-18.
Senator and second-year chemistry major Nadine Malhis specified that the Senate can fund this trip through their conference account, which has a cap of $3,500 per item financed. The Senate agreed to fund the remaining $4,841.76 through the Student Engagement and Leadership (S.E.A.L.) fall quarter fund. The funding from the conference account and the S.E.A.L. fund passed with a 19-0-1 and 18-0-2 vote, respectively.
A.S. President and fourth-year global studies, communication and Spanish triple major Le Anh Metzger delivered a summer update. Metzger spoke about the recent A.S. Orientation, Networking, and Empowerment (O.N.E.) event and the launch of her bi-weekly “coffee with the President” event, which will take place every other Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. at the Arbor. This will serve as her office hours, during which students will be able to come and talk with her, along with courtesy coffee and donuts.
Metzger also explained that over the summer, she met with UC Santa Barbara’s new chancellor, Dennis Assanis, and said they had a “really good conversation” discussing student housing concerns, basic needs issues and the importance of student voices in administrative decision making.
She also discussed the newly installed NARCAN cabinets in the University residence halls and bringing back the “student of the quarter,” where A.S. students nominate their peers for the award. Metzger says she’s “all about rewarding the hard work and being able to honor more people,” and therefore wanted to revitalize this award to encourage Association members.
Metzger also mentioned that she is having ongoing conversations with administration about finding an alternative 24-hour study location on campus following the recent decrease in library hours.
Moving into new business, the Senate discussed A Bill to Reinvigorate the A.S. Senate Advocacy Committee, which was brought by Senator and second-year political science major Erica Sherkin and Senator and third-year political science major Sohan Sunderrajan. The bill aims to strengthen the A.S. Senate Advocacy Committee by clarifying the roles within the committee, creating a new position to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and expanding the staff’s support to better serve students.
The Advocacy Committee is interested in establishing a DEI coordinator position, along with two staffers who would work under that position and two staffers under the campus project liaison. Senator and third-year economics and philosophy double major Noah Luken motioned to refer the bill to the liaison committee, which passed.
Next, the Senate discussed A Bill to Create Quarterly States of the Association, brought by Senator and fourth-year political science major Melanie Jones and joined by Senator and second-year political science major Evan Sussman. This bill, endorsed by Metzger, Internal Vice President and fourth-year history and global studies double major Enri Lala and Internal Co-Chair of the Committee on Committees and fourth-year microbiology and Earth science double major Lily Strange, would establish quarterly “States of the Association” meetings, which would replace written Senate reports. These meetings aim to create a collaborative space for all A.S. entities to share updates within three-minute presentations and improve communication across the Association in a banquet-style environment.
Senator and fourth-year political science major Caleb Claro questioned the bill, asking how a singular forum could solve the problem of unread reports. Jones responded by saying the banquet would allow members of the Association to engage and listen, as a lot of the written reports “don’t even get read.” While Claro asked if the weekly Senate meetings are a sufficient public forum, Jones said many Boards, Committees and Units (BCUs) don’t attend Senate meetings and only submit reports online to “check [a] box.”
The Senate discussed a bill establishing quarterly “States of the Association” meetings. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Senator and third-year political science major Natalia Pascher expressed concern about BCU presentations being only three minutes, as it “implies a strange and unnecessary authority” that the Senate would have over BCUs. While the meeting is currently estimated to sit at two and a half hours if BCUs are given three minutes for reports, five-minute reports would likely extend the duration of the event.
The bill was referred to the Liaison Committee to be refined before returning to the Senate. The first State of the Association meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18.
The Senate then passed a resolution to form a committee to fill five vacant Senate positions.
All resignations and appointments were approved, including Senator and fourth-year history and global studies double major Neo Harter as the Senate representative to the executive committee.
Toward the end of the meetings, Pascher and Mira Than, a senator and fourth-year sociology major, raised concerns over BCUs holding email votes outside of meetings, which is not permitted in A.S. Legal Code. Pascher read aloud several instances of BCU email votes, pointing out that the majority of cases were from clerical errors in attendance, and advised the liaison committee to ensure that BCUs understand proper minute-taking procedure.
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Oct. 9, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
