The Associated Students of Colorado State University convened April 10 for the 26th session of the 53rd senate.
During executive reports, Director of Environmental Affairs Haydyn Deason reminded senate members of an upcoming Earth Day park cleanup event; Director of Governmental Affairs Michael Stella commented on the tuition town hall April 12; and President Nick DeSalvo spoke on the executive branch’s hiring process.
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Judicial reports followed, wherein Chief Justice Alayna Truxal issued the supreme court’s opinion on an ongoing case.
The court unanimously decided that legislative caucuses are not permitted to officially endorse a candidate in the ASCSU general election.
The ratification of the newest nominated member of the Legislative Strategic Advisory Board then took place.
LSAB is responsible for overseeing ASCSU’s lobbying efforts in the Colorado General Assembly as well as maintaining relationships with elected officials across the state.
Speaker of the Senate-elect Hayden Taylor was nominated for the open position and subsequently ratified with unanimous consent.
Senate also ratified the nominated members of the Board for Student Organization Funding.
BSOF works to distribute funds generated from student fees between registered student organizations. The board recently came under scrutiny after funding requests exceeded the board’s budget, prompting a hasty redistribution of funds in order to continue funding student organizations.
Seven students from across the student body, including DeSalvo, were nominated and ratified with unanimous consent.
Bill #5321, “El Centro SOMOS Latinx/e Graduation,” was then considered.
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The legislation requests funding totaling $10,000 from the Senate Discretionary Fund in order for El Centro to purchase graduation stoles for students ahead of May commencement. The legislation also allocates $1,000 each for the Native American Cultural Center, the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center, the Black/African American Cultural Center and the Pride Resource Center.
The bill will move to the legislative committees for further review.
Lex #5307, “Assisting Accounting with Legislative Spending,” was next to be considered.
The legislation intends to remedy ASCSU accounting efforts by collaborating with Lory Student Center and Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement accountants, ideally standardizing the financial record-keeping process. The bill comes as several ASCSU officials continue to pledge additional transparency initiatives, including making financial records more digitally accessible.
The lex will move to the legislative committees for further review.
Bill #5322, “The Humanity and Community Act,” was also considered.
The bill intends to bring awareness to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and denounce instances of hate directed toward Jewish and Muslim students on campus. The legislation also formally requests action on behalf of ASCSU and CSU administration in order to better support affected students.
The bill will move to the legislative committees for further review.
ASCSU senate will resume April 17.
Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Sam_Hut14.
