The 76th Associated Students Senate held its first summer meeting on July 9. The Senate heard from several members of Isla Vista Arts requesting funding amid federal budget cuts, and Senate leadership presented new projects. 

The Senate agreed to prioritize discussing the allocation of I.V. Arts funds at a future meeting. Wesley Haver / Daily Nexus

The Senate began the meeting by bundling and passing all appointments and resignations, which consisted of new Boards, Committees and Units (BCUs) chairs, the resignation of third-year computer science major Suhrit Padakanti as College of Engineering senator and the appointment of fourth-year political science and philosophy double major Josie Penix as Judicial Council (JC) chair. 

The Senate then went into public comment where four members from the BCU Isla Vista (I.V.) Arts requested that the Senate transfer the leftover funds dedicated to I.V. Arts within the campus fee account to their own by Nov. 1. 

Fourth-year communication and religious studies double major and editor in chief of WORD Magazine Hannah Rott explained that I.V. Arts is supposed to receive funding from the Associated Students (A.S.), but their funding was turned into a campus fee last year. 

Bryn Merrill, third-year film and media studies major, explained that I.V. Arts was receiving funding from the chancellor, but now has to find alternative funding due to the Trump Administration’s funding cuts to public education and arts programs. 

“Through recent budget issues and inquiries with allocating funds to public institutions, especially public institutions with organizations that support the arts, we are being cut down from our funding and having to kind of rework our programs and see where we can seek that funding so we can continue to promote our programs as they were,” Merrill said. 

Fourth-year communication and religious studies double major and incoming WORD Magazine Art Director Hannah Massey said that the print magazines are “integral” to the Isla Vista community. 

“I think they generate so much excitement and joy each time, each [quarter] that we present another round of copies,” Massey said. “This funding is supporting these budding journalists and artists who are honing their craft. And that is so much fun to see our names printed in a physical copy. And so that is what this money is going towards, supporting these future writers and artists.”

The Senate agreed to prioritize discussing the allocation of I.V. Arts funds at a future meeting. 

The Senate then went into unit reports and heard from the Chief Compliance Officer and third-year political science and philosophy double major Baden Rosales, who spoke about the Trans and Queer Commission (TQC) holding their internal elections outside of the designated time. Rosales advised the Senate to retroactively extend the election cycle for TQC. 

The Senate passed a motion to seek an advisory opinion from the JC on the legality of retroactively extending the TQC election before taking any action. 

Off Campus Senator and second-year political science major Evan Sussman presented a new bill to clean up A.S. legal code by “getting rid of redundant, inactive and very red tape bureaucratic measures.”

“I’m really excited for this because it can make our association much more accessible in the future for students,” Sussman said.