The ASASUD Senate voted down the proposed facilities fee 6 to 3 at its biweekly meeting Friday, which is the second time the Downtown campus student government has rejected a version of the fee this year.
The Senate also appointed journalism freshman Leonard Butingan as the new freshmen representative and sociology and psychology junior Christian Vasquez, a nonprofit administration minor, as the new director of parliamentary procedures.
Also the Senate voted to allow journalism junior Sen. Cameron Polom to leave his seat as University College senator and fill the recently vacated seat for Walter Cronkite School.
Sen. Andres Cano, freshmen representative, who voted against the fee, said he thinks the Senate represented the interests of the Downtown campus student body by voting it down.
“We had a vote that again denied this student fee for the third time (this year), and we are wanting to send a clear message that we are wanting to move forward so that we can work on other issues,” he said, noting the implementation of a laptop rental program and increasing M&G dining options at the Downtown campus as examples.
Vice President Beth Wischnia, who supports the facilities fee, said it was unfortunate the fee was voted down even after various student organizations attended the meeting and stressed the necessity of the fee.
“It’s disappointing that nothing is necessarily going to be done for them,” she said. “Their concerns are not going to be addressed or acted upon.”
During the meeting, the senators opposing the fee said that while some student organizations supported the fee, the majority of students did not because they feel the timing is not appropriate.
“Our constituents are not ATMs. They’re already facing a tuition increase in the fall. Our families back home are just beginning to recover from the poor economy and student jobs are still hard to find,” Cano said.
President Tania Mendes, who supports the fee, disagreed and said now is the best time to implement the fee.
“Dollar for dollar we can get more than we would five years down the road. Interests rates are low and now is the best time to buy,” she said.
Some members of the Senate are expecting Mendes to represent ASASUD’s decision regarding the fee at the Presidents’ Council.
“Whether the proposal is approved or denied, Downtown students expect their president to represent their interests, so I urge for President Mendes’s vote in the Presidents’ Council to reflect what the Senate will decide,” Cano said at the meeting before the vote. “Anything short of that would be a disgrace to the students who have elected us and would defeat the semester long efforts that we made as a Senate, especially with the facilities fee.”
However, other members of the Senate want the president to continue supporting the fee in the Presidents’ Council and Mendes said at the meeting that she represents ASU, not just the Downtown campus.
“We need to think of ASU as a whole, which is the position I am in,” Mendes said.
Currently, West and Polytechnic campus’ student governments have approved the facilities fee while Undergraduate Student Government, and the Graduate and Professional Student Association will vote on their fee proposals this week.
Senate Seats
Following the appointment of Sen. Butingan and Sen. Polom’s seat switch, Barrett, the Honors College, the College of Teacher Education and Leadership and University College each have one senate vacancy.
Butingan said ASASUD and his constituents do not have to worry about his commitment to student government because he is very dedicated in everything he does. He also said he will work to get on the same page as Cano, his fellow freshmen representative, and will serve his constituents by figuring out what they want in order to make their experience on the Downtown campus enjoyable.
“I’m opening my mind to everyone else,” said Butingan, who was appointed unanimously. “It’s not about me – it’s what everyone wants.”
Not all of ASASUD, however, supported Sen. Polom’s seat switch.
Vice President Wischnia said she disagreed with Polom switching seats because it’s difficult for University College senators to establish a good relationship with their constituents, something she said Polom had successfully done, and because Sen. Shannon Langford, also of University College, has a scheduling issue with the time of the Senate’s meetings.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re not going to have any physical representation from a University College senator,” she said. “It’s unfortunate for the constituents that he has been representing.”
Polom though, said he thinks his skills are better utilized representing the Walter Cronkite School than University College.
“It would be better for me to represent students that I am actually attending class with, I am involved with, I am communicating with,” he said.
Contact the reporter at salvador.rodriguez@asu.edu
