ASUW called their final meeting for the semester to order at 8:01 p.m. The senate approved the funding request for SparkTank.
The senate then welcomed Paula Medina to the floor to discuss their running for the new Director of Justice and Equity. Medina was explained as being well equipped for the role by numerous senators. Medina explained that they wanted to support immigrant students and promote financial responsibility relief for these students.
Media was confirmed by the senate.
Senator Ven Meester was also brought before the senate to discuss his application for becoming the new Director of Policy and Analysis. He was described as someone who cares more about policy than most people. It was explained that Meester was knowledgeable about the audit that ASUW is dealing with and would be instrumental in handling the issue.
Meester is currently working on an ASUW dictionary, which will be available to new senators, students and anyone who is not familiar with the technical terms used in government.
When asked how he would address conflict, Meester explained that, “Conflict is good … in mediation, in a professional setting.”
He elaborated on the fact that he was comfortable with conflict, and would confront administration if needed, but he was willing to take no for an answer, if the situation called for it.
He went on to say that, “I think that complexity in itself is sort of stigmatized because I don’t think any problem really is difficult. It is just a matter of how long a problem will take to fix.”
Senator Meester was accepted by the senate and confirmed into the new position with substantial support.
The senate then discussed Senate Bill #2927, which concerns the union fest collaboration proposal. One phrase in the bill explained that, “Events like Union Fest can be incredibly beneficial to student morale and help keep students engaged with their college campus.”
The senators spoke about how some of the funding could be put toward hosting a well-known singer or band at Union Fest to bring in more students and community members to support the University. This initiative could also prove to be a positive influence on enrollment rates.
Senate bill #2928, concerning ASUW’s newly edited Fee Description for the Fiscal Year of 2025, was then brought to the floor. Senator Gabe Saint spoke on behalf of the bill, explaining that, “[The fee description for FY25] was rejected by the Vice President of Student Affairs because it was not specific enough.”
The newly edited description includes everything that ASUW intends to fund with hyper specific fee descriptions. The bill was accepted by the chamber and will be sent to Student Affairs which will depend on the discretion of Student Affairs.
The senators selected Senator Paden Knull to be senator of the month.
During communications, the senators discussed that they were in a collaboration effort to increase ice safety on campus among other initiatives to improve student life, health and safety.
The chamber went into processing and Senator Peri Hennigar implored the senators to work on redundancy issues that have dominated this semester’s meetings.
“A lot of people just say the same things over and over. And we are being paid for our time,” Hennigar explained.
The senators were advised to utilize the colored cards that they are given to display their support with a statement that they agree with, instead of repeating what has already been said.
This was the last meeting of the semester; however, ASUW will begin their weekly meetings again during the spring semester in 2024.
