By ANELA MIKI-HAN & JOANNE GUINTU
Staff Writers
On March 5, the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors discussed the recommendations from the ASI rules and policies focused on addressing basic needs and insecurities of the student population.
ASI Attorney General Mansaan Singh, a third-year environment biology student, presented the changes and addition to the bylaws of three committee codes. Singh first introduced the new committee code — the Basic Needs Committee Code.
“The ASI Basic Needs Committee (is established) to uphold fulfillment for students’ basic needs to the campus community and empower them to identify the needs of students as it pertains to food, housing, transportation and financial insecurities,” Singh said. “The committee is to coordinate with the university and federal resources to improve development basic health, safety and environment.”
During the discussion of this new committee, ASI Vice President Rachel Hunter, a fourth-year political science student, pushed the board to address any concerns or add suggestions to the Basic Needs Committee Code to possibly enhance it.
ASI Environmental Senator and fourth-year visual communication design student Amit Hatzor proposed to specify “basic health” by changing the bylaws to “basic mental and physical health.” Hatzor believes the distinction should be made between the two types of health for the committee to be more efficient in improving resources.
With the addition of the Basic Needs Committee, Singh also suggested the position of secretary of basic needs into proposed changes of the cabinet code. The role of this secretary is to explore student needs on campus and inform students of resources available to help ease those needs. The secretary will also work with ASI to improve resources throughout campus.
With the proposed cabinet code, Singh made a few recommendations to take out some positions, change some roles and include new secretary positions.
During the discussion of the cabinet code, the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences Senator Alexis Ramirez Ruiz, a fourth-year political science student, presented some concerns about whether the secretary of basic needs or officer of sustainability has the responsibility of improving transportation needs.
“I feel that transportation should be under basic needs,” Ruiz said. “It is a basic need for thousands of students on our campus. By doing that, we put a special emphasis on that instead of just being another task for the officer of sustainability.”
Singh clarified that both positions will work to improve transportation resources on campus. He added that the officer of sustainability’s duty will be to find sustainable solutions for transportation in order to differentiate that role from the secretary of basic needs.
The Board of Directors also discussed the proposal of a few changes to the Facilities and Operations Committee Code. The recommended change to this committee is for the senator pro-tempore to chair this committee instead of the secretary of programs and services. The Board of Directors will vote to approve these committees at a meeting in two weeks.
Following the discussion of the three new committee codes, the board moved onto the recommendations of ASI election committee members.
The ASI Board of Directors moved to approve three members to join the ASI election committee to a discussion action. With the 2020 ASI elections coming up, the Board of Directors wanted to help prepare and organize the ASI election committee in a timely matter.
ASI’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
