The Undergraduate Student Government Downtown Senate voted to override vetoes on senate bills 15 and 16 dealing with senator event attendance and office hour requirements and confirmed the appointment of a new public relations director on Friday.
The Senate overrode President Frank Smith’s vetoes of both Senate Bill 15 and Senate Bill 16. SB15 passed seven for, one against, with one abstaining. SB16 passed eight for, one against. Barrett, the Honors College Sen. Hattie Hayes voted against SB15 and Nursing Sen. Steve Rhee voted against SB16.
During discussion of SB15, which would decrease senators’ Taylor Mall office hours from four per month to two, the senators argued that they would continue to perform duties, such as organizing Dinner with the Dean, even if those duties were removed from the bylaws. Additionally, College of Public Programs Sen. Frank Vasquez said the bill would not change the total office hours requirement but rather would increase flexibility regarding where those office hours could occur and allow for a more efficient, effective use of time.
“Our bylaws and Constitution are living documents and there’s a reason for that,” Cronkite Sen. Erika Tuerr said. “I know that we can still represent our constituents well, if not better.”
Smith first used his update time to bring in students as outside voices against the bill, a move Hayes called inappropriate because there was specified time in the agenda to discuss the bill and his update time was for new information. USGD continued to discuss the bill afterward at its set time in the agenda.
The bylaws on discussions allow officers to speak for two minutes twice per discussion. During the discussion, Smith added arguments that were not included in his justification statements.
“You don’t know what the senators will be like next year,” Smith told the Senate during the discussion. “What if they’re not as ambitious as you?”
Tuerr pointed out that in his original justification statement for vetoing the bill, Smith did not use future Senates as a reason.
Debate continued without either side conceding. Eventually, Vice President of Services Marcus Dudas asked the Senate to end discussion and vote.
“I think it’s a simple issue and it doesn’t need to be blown up,” Dudas said. “We don’t need to be biting each other’s ears off.”
Discussion on SB16 was skipped, though Smith and others attempted to use “points of clarification,” where a senator pauses proceedings to explain something, to express their opinions and support their cases.
Daiyaan Colbert received the nomination for the public relations director and the Senate confirmed his appointment unanimously.
“He’s a really good worker, and he churns out content like no other,” Dudas said.
Colbert has served as web-content editor for the university and named website improvement as one of his goals. He plans to update the website using Drupal, a publishing platform that will allow all USGD members to edit the site’s content.
He also cited increased transparency as a major goal and announced an initiative to publish a student-government newsletter.
“It’s our job to be our own sort of news outlet and provide students with constant updates,” Colbert said. “I want to make (transparency) a reality, not just throw it around as a buzzword.”
Vice President of Policy Melber Macainan said professors have been sent textbook pledges, in which professors pledge to keep the same book for more than one year to make it easier for students to save money by buying books secondhand. USGD is awaiting responses.
USGD approved a total amount of $2,560.99 in funding requests.
The USGD-sponsored Food Truck Fiesta, which included Short Leash Hot Dogs and Burgers Amore, was retroactively funded $914.71. Although Mamma Toledo’s pie truck broke down on its way and couldn’t make it, Local Affairs Director Becca Smouse described the event as a “success.”
Downtown Honors Devils, an organization that recruits students to Barrett, the Honors College on the Downtown campus received $393.60 to host a thank-you dinner at Hanny’s for its members.
The Exercise and Wellness Organization received $520 to send 13 Downtown students to the Tempe Color Run.
USGD-sponsored Dinner with the Dean was funded $369.13.
DPC Aware received $207.01 to host the World’s AIDS Fair. The funding will cover supplies and incentives for the students.
The Senate approved Student Nurses’ Association for $156.54 to be used for providing food at an appreciation ceremony for its members.
All funding request votes were unanimous.
Contact the reporter at noah.b.briggs@asu.edu
