Cait Mckinzie
April Gonzalez speaks to the dozens of students gathered in the Associated Students of Colorado State University senate chambers Feb. 19. "My family immigrated from Mexico to beat corruption so I could get an education," Gonzalez said. "Just to come here to the United States to see the same things that we ran from happening again."
The Associated Students of Colorado State University convened Oct. 15 for the ninth session of the 55th Senate.
Following the swearing in of new senators and associates, guest speaker Amy Hoeven, a District 5 candidate for Fort Collins City Council, discussed her platform and fielded questions from students about her campaign and plans for Fort Collins.
“My connection to the university is what really solidified my decision to run because I know exactly how valuable students are to the overall wealth or health and wellbeing of our community,” Hoeven said.
Following the guest speaker’s presentation, the legislative, judicial and executive branches provided updates on their respective work and initiatives.
Following reports, general members of the Student Fee Review Board were ratified by the senate.
SFRB, chaired by ASCSU Vice President Joseph Godshall, oversees over $50 million in student fees. The board is responsible for allocating the funds to 16 different areas on campus, including the Lory Student Center, Campus Recreation, Athletics and SLiCE.
Following Q&A and discussion and debate, all members were approved and ratified by voice vote.
Moving into old business, Bill #5508, “Approval of the Intern Job Descriptions,” was confirmed, approving the ASCSU executive interns job descriptions. Following discussion and debate, the bill was approved via voice vote.
Senate then continued Lex #5511, “Amending the BSOF Composition.” The lex aims to maintain consistency between the language discussing The Board for Student Organization Funding’s composition in both the ASCSU Constitution and the BSOF bylaws.
Following discussion and debate, the legislation was approved with unanimous consent and sent to the Internal Affairs and University Affairs Committees for further review.
Moving into new business, Bill #5516, “Supporting the 2026 Autism Resource Fair,” was introduced. The bill aims to increase accessibility for Supporting Autistic Individuals across the Lifespan’s Autism Research Fair, allocating $6,500 to the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery to allow free entry into the fair.
Following Q&A, the legislation was sent to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University Affairs and Budgetary Affairs committees for review.
Lastly, senate read Bill #5517, “Emergency Housing for Rams Pilot Program.” If passed, $37,000 from the Senate Discretionary Fund and ASCSU General Fund will be used to provide funding for emergency housing for students operated by the CSU Office for Basic Needs.
Following Q&A, the legislation was sent to the University Affairs, DEI and Budgetary Affairs committees for review.
ASCSU Senate will resume Oct. 22.
Reach Laila Shekarchian at news@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.