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This week in ASCSU: Constitutional amendments, changes to job descriptions

Laila Shekarchian, Staff Reporter

October 4, 2024

Collegian | Cait Mckinzie

Speaker of the Senate Hayden Taylor listens to speakers at the second session of the 54th senate Aug. 22.

The Associated Students of Colorado State University convened Oct. 2 for the eighth session of the 54th senate.

Following the swearing-in of new senators and associates along with executive, legislative and judicial reports, during which each branch provided updates on their respective work, initiatives and upcoming events, Lex #5414, “Update to LSAB Bylaws,” was confirmed. The lex will adjust the Legislative Strategy Advisory Board bylaws and make technical edits, which will be reflected in the ASCSU Constitution. The legislation was approved with unanimous consent.

Moving into old business, senate discussed Lex #5412, “Amending the Terms of Office for ASCSU Officials.” The lex will adjust the start and end dates of ASCSU terms to maintain consistency in the ASCSU Constitution. The legislation passed by way of a 15-2-8 placard vote.

Senate then discussed Lex #5413, “Amending the Method of Appointing LSAB Members.” The lex will alter the way members of the Legislative Strategic Advisory Board are appointed to maintain consistency in the ASCSU Constitution. The legislation was passed with unanimous consent.

Next, Resolution #5402, “Calling for an Establishment of a School of Law & Policy within the CSU System,” was confirmed. The resolution calls on the Board of Governors of the CSU System to create a task force to establish an American Bar Association-accredited School of Law & Policy on CSU campuses, as well as build up current programs. The resolution passed by way of a 20-0-5 placard vote.

Lex #5408, “Bylaw Transparency Act,” was considered. The lex will require all ASCSU branches, committees and boards to post their bylaws on the ASCSU website and add them to the ASCSU archives. The legislation was approved with unanimous consent and will be sent to the University Affairs Committee for further review.

Senate then moved to discuss Lex #5409, “Internship Transparency Act.” The lex aims to codify ASCSU Supreme Court Opinion #5102, which will require a job description to be created for ASCSU Executive Branch interns. The legislation will require interns to go through the Senate Ratification Process as well. The lex was approved with unanimous consent and will be sent to legislative committees for further review.

Moving into new business, Bill #5405, “A Change to the Executive and Legislative Job Descriptions,” was proposed. If passed, the legislation would change the job requirements for all executive members of ASCSU and require them to attend at least one senate committee or caucus meeting each semester. The bill will also require all legislative members to attend at least one executive cabinet meeting per semester.

The goal of this piece of legislation is to foster transparency among ASCSU members and get a greater understanding of pieces of legislation and conversations among members.

“I think it adds a lot of new voices and opinions, everyone in executive has a lot of experience that’s different from ours,” said Lauren Davis, a senator for the Survivor Advocacy and Feminist Education Center and chair of the Housing Caucus. “I think it gives them a place to implement that and to have new opinions and new ideas that would be beneficial to any piece of legislation that goes through committees.”

The bill will be sent to legislative committees for further review.

ASCSU Senate will resume Oct. 9.

Reach Laila Shekarchian at news@collegian.com or on Instagram @CSUCollegian.

About the Contributor

Cait Mckinzie, Photo Director

Cait Mckinzie is a second-year student double majoring in art and journalism and media communication. She is one of two photo directors for the 2024-25 school year. Despite growing up in Renton, Washington, Mckinzie knew she wanted to go to Colorado State University since middle school. She had only ever been to Colorado twice, but she visited campus once, and that was all it took. At first, there wasn’t much in Fort Collins that Mckinzie was familiar with. But in high school, she was the co-head of visuals for her school newspaper, so she applied to The Collegian as a photographer to get back into a similar environment. Mckinzie was first introduced to photography by her grandfather, who has been a photographer most of his life. After he gifted Mckinzie her first camera in her junior year of high school, she began to take any assignment she could for her high school paper to improve her skills. Of all the memories made in her first year at CSU, most of the interesting ones came from The Collegian. One Halloween drag show assignment, a lot of mentorship and a few months of practice later, Mckinzie found herself being offered the position of photo director for the next academic school year. Mckinzie is excited for another year at The Collegian and aims to continue learning and growing during her time as one of the photo directors.

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