The Associated Students of Colorado State University convened Feb. 7 for the 18th session of the 53rd senate.
The meeting began with the ratification of the remaining members of the elections committee, which works to oversee ASCSU elections processes, including campaign guidelines and voting accessibility.
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The majority of the committee consists of student volunteers, thus preventing conflicts of interest and allowing for diverse student participation in the elections process.
Senate approved all six candidates with unanimous consent.
Moving into executive reports, Director of Finance Ashton Duffield, Director of Health Jorja Whyte and Vice President Alex Silverhart updated senate on upcoming RamRide funding events, continuing pregnancy test distribution events and Student Fee Review Board budget discussions.
Judicial reports followed, with Chief Justice Alayna Truxal updating senate on several ongoing supreme court cases.
Moving into confidence business, Bill #5312, “Funding WGAC’s Survivor Support Fund,” was decided.
The bill requests $21,000 from the ASCSU Senate Discretionary Fund in order to further support the Women and Gender Advocacy Center’s Survivor Support Fund.
The fund works to provide resources, treatment and counseling for CSU students who are victims of interpersonal violence, with the legislative authors detailing the disproportionately high risk of sexual violence among college students.
“While (the WGAC) continues to hand out support to survivors and allows those survivors to live their lives following some of the most traumatic events a person can go through, they can continue to bolster their endowment fund,” Senator Claire Pickerel said during the Nov. 15 session when the bill was first introduced.
The bill also addresses concerns surrounding the university endowment process, concluding that the allocated amount from the Senate Discretionary Fund would be placed in a separate WGAC account, as funds generated from student fees cannot be used in the endowment process.
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Senate approved the bill with unanimous consent.
Bill #5315, “Term Limits Bill,” was also discussed.
The legislation intends to implement term limits for elected ASCSU positions, keeping the president, vice president and speaker of the senate from serving multiple terms in office.
The bill’s author, Associate Senator Madeleine Kamberg, said she believes the passage of the bill would protect against “power hoarding” and allow for the consistent inclusion of diverse perspectives within ASCSU.
“It does a disservice to our students if we’re not having multiple voices and ideologies in this space,” Kamberg said.
Kamberg then decided to pull the bill from consideration, believing legislative measures are not immediately necessary but also emphasizing her interest in potential future pieces of term-limiting legislation.
Senate also considered Bill #5315, “Spring Budget Reallocation.”
The legislation seeks to transfer $23,000 from the fund labeled “Financial Advisor Salary Savings” into existing ASCSU funding opportunities.
In the absence of a staff ASCSU financial advisor, the legislative authors believe the funds reserved for advisors’ salaries can be better utilized to support ASCSU initiatives, including diversity and inclusion programs and the Board for Student Organization Funding.
The bill will be sent to the legislative committees for further review.
Senate also discussed Bill #5316, “Funding for RHA,” to conclude the session.
The legislation requests $10,000 from the Senate Discretionary Fund to provide additional funding opportunities through the Residence Hall Association, which oversees residence hall policy initiatives.
Speaker of the Senate Ava Ayala, the legislative author, said she believes additional funding is required to allow resident assistants and registered student organizations to continue improving the quality of experience in CSU residential halls.
The bill will be sent to the legislative committees for further review.
Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Sam_Hut14.
