Clarification: This post has been updated to make it clear that the group within ASCSU would have been titled CSU’s Diversity Advocacy Council, as well as specify the Supreme Court decision that the ASCSU deputy chief justice referenced. It was also changed to reflect that the bill has been up for debate since October, not January.
Senator Kwon Yearby was not present to see his controversial diversity bill voted down. In a surprise move Wednesday night the Associated Students of Colorado State University Senate decided to vote against Bill #4405: The Diversity Bill.
The bill would have created a group within ASCSU focused on diversity called CSU’s Diversity Advocacy Council.
“I think there are a lot of misconceptions that came about from the bill,” said Senator Yearby while ASCSU discussed the bill earlier this month.
Some version of this bill has been up for debate since last October and has been hotly contested. The bill is considered controversial because it would have created a quota system for diversity representation. ASCSU Deputy Chief Justice Rioux Jordan referenced the affirmative action Supreme Court decision regarding racial quotas in university applications.
“I worry about the legality of this bill,” Jordan said.
Senator Yearby’s bill was voted down after little debate.
“We’ve had discussion on this bill for the better part of seven weeks,” said Senator Andrew Bondi. “We’ve seen very little improvement on the bill so far.”
According to Senator Bondi, a new bill will be introduced to senate on Oct. 29 that will take a different approach to diversity within ASCSU.
Collegian ASCSU Beat Reporter Jonathan Matheny can be reached online at news@collegian.com or on twitter @jonathanmathen2
