The Associated Students 75th Senate discussed food security, improving campus climate and financial policies at their Oct. 16 meeting. Senators also heard reports from the President, Student Advocate General and Executive Director.
Among the new initiatives were the expansion of senate leadership to redistribute workload, enforcement of accountability and transparency measures for financial reports and nutrition accommodations for students with dietary restrictions.
With Internal Vice President and fourth-year art major Açucar Pinto absent as chair for the second week in a row, first-senate president pro-tempore and third-year political science and philosophy double major Dan Sidiqqui called the meeting to order.
Siddiqui introduced “A Bill to Expand The Office of Senate Leadership”, which would add more staff positions to the offices of the first and second pro-tempores in order to assist with their workload “that is almost as great if not the same as all five Executive Officers,” according to the bill. The bill was tabled for one week after discussion among senators.
The senate passed “A Resolution To Establish A Temporary Jewish-Muslim Alliance Senate Ad-Hoc Committee,” which aims to improve relations between the two communities on campus and provide education on the issues of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The committee also plans to advocate for expanded halal and kosher — Muslim and Jewish dietary restrictions — resources, create academic calendar protections on religious holidays and ensure the funding from University of California President Michael Drake for combating antisemitism and Islamophobia is distributed across different departments.
“A Resolution Enforcing Article IV, Section 8 of the Associated Students’ Legal Code” unanimously passed, requiring university designated A.S. lock-ins such as Disabled Students Program, MultiCultural Center, Student Health Services and others, to submit monthly and annual reports to the Executive Director breaking down their budget and spending.
“By no means is the intention of this legislation to impede upon the missions of the aforementioned entities, but a lack of accountability regarding usage of student fees specified in legal code necessitates measures to ensure compliance and reporting responsibilities,” the resolution read.
A.S. Executive Director Marisela Marquez spoke about hiring additional A.S. personnel, the annual external audit process and student-led initiatives including the promotion of A.S. activities, a campus reflection room for prayer and the three-year Raise the Bar grant to minimize sexual assault by creating a training for establishments which serve alcohol to handle such situations.
A.S. parliamentarian and third-year political science major MingJun Zha delivered a report on behalf of the Global Gaucho Commission (GGC) discussing initiatives for international students. GGC plans to launch a pilot program for the International Gaucho Nutrition Assistance Program by the end of this quarter, which will financially sponsor and support students who are unfamiliar with local food systems and have dietary restrictions.
Third-year computer science major and Student Advocate General (S.A.G.) Alvin Wang updated the Senate about his work over summer, handling 17 student cases ranging from housing to financial aid issues.
“No office of the student advocate has ever taken cases over the summer. So we have our case workers trained, and we’re the first office to ever train our caseworkers in summer,” Wang said.
He said he is currently the “primary point of contact” between students and administrators on discussions about dining hall reform. Wang wants to expand UCSB housing’s dietary options to accommodate those who require vegan, halal and kosher options.
Wang also made a request to the Senate to approve the $12,000 allocation from the 2023-2024 High Impact Projects Fund for the Basic Needs vending machine. The vending machine will be fully functional in one to two weeks and contains 30 slots for items including contraceptives, Black hair care products, ibuprofen, allergy medication, liquid IV, bandaids and more.
A.S. President and third-year political science and sociology double major Nayali Broadway delivered her report to the Senate, delving into her office’s progress over summer and current initiatives including A.S. Orientation, Networking and Empowerment leadership retreat, LinkedIn Learning and her presidential newsletter which she plans to send two to three times a month, among other things.
Broadway discussed her ideas to improve campus climate relating to Israeli and Palestinian relations by collaborating with senators and student organizations on a joint event.
“We’re talking about having a collab event with Jewish Commission, [Muslim Student Association] and [Students for Justice in Palestine]. So I’ve been reaching out to those orgs to see if that’s something that they’re still interested in. Jewish commission has expressed interest and so has MSA, so I’m waiting to hear back from [Students for Justice in Palestine] and then I’ve also included [Jewish Voice for Peace] into the conversation,” Broadway said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Oct. 24, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
