The ASSU Undergraduate Senate kicked off its first meeting of the winter quarter in the upstairs lounge of the Nitery at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night with an update from the Publications Board. The Senate passed all the spending bills suggested by the Board.
Next, the ASSU Executive Michael Cruz ‘12 and Vice-President Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ‘13 updated the Senate on recent developments within the executive branch.
The duo informed the Senate of their selection for a new chief of staff, Lina Hidalgo ‘13, who was the chair of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) under the previous administration. The previous chief of staff, Emma Ogiemwanye ‘12, decided to go abroad this quarter.
The Executive also scheduled a meeting for the senators and the Community Action Board to help foster relationships. Senators have previously complained that they have not met their counterparts in the Executive branch, and both groups sought increased communication.
The Senate also struggled to find a new meeting time for their weekly meetings. Many senators had class in the afternoon and night, and several are Alternative Spring Break leaders. They resolved to either schedule the meetings at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, pushing the meeting back over an hour from last quarter, or meet on the weekends.
Several senators objected to the weekend meetings; however, Senators Samar Alqatari ‘14 and Tara Trujillo ‘14 noted that finding a time where everyone could meet was a priority. Senate Chair Rafael Vazquez ‘12 will send out a Doodle to find what times work best for the senators.
The Senate also spent time trying to organize a private dinner — a retreat-like meeting where they can discuss the upcoming quarter. They are still planning on having a retreat later in the year, and a time has not been set for the dinner yet.
Dan Ashton ’14 gave updates on the Leadership Development Program (LDP), the mentoring program that pairs freshmen with ASSU senators. Ashton said that the expectation for senators is to meet with their mentee at least once a week. Senators will then give updates in their meetings and help the mentees form projects of their own design.
The LDP has been a contentious issue in the past, as several senators have noted they have not had any contact with their mentee, and others questioned the involvement level of the mentees. These new additions to the program, if they work, would increase the activity level of the LDP mentees.
The Academic Affairs Committee had several updates regarding programs they are targeting towards freshmen; however the Appropriations and Advocacy Committees are still working on finding meeting times for the new quarter.
Contact Brendan O’Byrne at [email protected].