During their final meeting for the semester, the Associated Students of Colorado State University held two sessions in order to transition to the new Senate for next year.
Legislation from the first session was slated, meaning they were all voted on at the same time.
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Because of this, bills about the student fee package, keeping student government offices for students, Indigenous People’s Day and accessibility were passed. The 2019-20 ASCSU budget was also approved.
To see the full coverage of the second ASCSU session of Wednesday and the first of the forty-ninth Senate, including the full list of the newly ratified officers, check out collegian.com later this week.
In last week’s session, President-elect Ben Amundson presented the proposed budget for the upcoming academic year. The proposal was then sent to the Budgetary Affairs Committee and required two votes to pass. According to the ASCSU Account Status Report sent last week, the total allocated budget for ASCSU would be $1,499,738.
Amundson said in last week’s presentation the new budget had to cut roughly 24% of spending.
Previously, Vice President Kevin Sullivan said that the student fee package met the Syron-Sullivan administration’s goal of remaining beneath a 3% increase.
Areas seeing fee increases for next year will be counseling services from the Health Network, Student Resolution Center, Lory Student Center, Ram Events, SLICE, Campus Recreation, Career Center, Student Legal Centers, Ram Ride, Off-Campus Life, Interpersonal Violence and Adult Learner and Veteran Services.
Proposed student fees for 2019-2020 academic year
- ASCSU – $24.45 (no change)
- Athletics – $114.92 (no change)
- CSU Health Medical Network – $201.59 (no change)
- CSU Health Network (Counseling) – $52.15 (Increase of $3.90)
- UFFAB – $311.25 (no change)
- UTFAB – $25 (no change)
- Student Disability Center – $2.72
- UCA – $15.90 (increase of $0.29)
- Student Resolution Center – $7.52 (increase of $0.18)
- LSC – $192.62 (increase of $5.34)
- Ram Events – $9.83 (increase of $0.06)
- SLICE – $19.18 (increase of $0.52)
- Campus Recreation – $129.31 (increase of $3.50)
- Career Center – $34.02 (Increase of $1.47)
- Student Legal Services – $8.23 (Increase of $0.74)
- Ram Ride – $6.85 (Increase of $0.78)
- Off-Campus Life – $6.51 (Increase of $0.97)
- WGAC (Interpersonal Violence) – $6.51 (Increase of $1.39)
- ALVS – $19.92 (Increase of $12.43)
Goodbyes and pass-downs
2018-19 President Tristan Syron and Vice President Kevin Sullivan offered farewell speeches before transitioning the positions to President-elect Ben Amundson and Vice President-elect Alexandra Farias.
In his speech, Syron emphasized the importance of recognizing failures with success. He said he doesn’t believe it’s appropriate to talk about success on the way out.
He said he’s proud of his team but recognizes that there’s a lot more work to be done.
Syron passed the position on to Amundson by presenting him with a suitcase and sword, a tradition within ASCSU.
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“You, sir, are the defender of the students,” Syron said. “Never forget that.”
Sullivan’s speech focused on sharing stories leading up to his decision to run as vice president. In his speech, he showed gratitude to the Senate for being enjoyable.
“Thank you for not being like some of the people last year,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said that when he and Syron decided to run, they knew they were going to win because people started to tell them they wouldn’t. Sullivan passed the position to Farias and presented her with the vice president box and dagger, another tradition in ASCSU.
Amundson also gave a speech about his time as speaker of the Senate.
“I got an incredible senate. I was served a lucky plate,” Amundson said. “It has been an absolute honor to be your Speaker this year.”
Other leaving officers were able to give speeches about their time in ASCSU.
Chief of Staff Zack Vaishampayan encouraged members to work on legislation that will affect students outside of the Senate.
Senator Josh Lindell said that being in ASCSU has taught him more than any classroom has because it has taught him about people.
Speaker Pro Tempore Connor Hendrick said that he has appreciated his time in ASCSU and that it has been the most welcoming community he’s been part of.
Charlotte Lang can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @chartrickwrites.
