The Associated Students of the University of Arizona approved a senate resolution opposing Senate Bill 1070, Arizona’s new immigration law.
The senate only approved it after several amendments to the wording and language.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 on April 23 and there has since been a national and local outcry of strong opposition to this decision.
The resolution, drafted by Sen. Dominick San Angelo, states at the bottom, “”Be it resolved that the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate would like to express the strongest possible opposition to SB 1070. University of Arizona students should not be subject to unwarranted police action, particularly in an institute of higher education.””
“”I think we’ve come up with a strong resolution that shows how UA students feel,”” said Sen. Deanna Mariner.
Sen. Scott Rising said he was proud of the senate for taking a stance on Senate Bill 1070.
“”We’ve found a stance that we believe represents the most students possible,”” Rising said. “”We’re still not going to make those in favor of the bill happy.””
The resolution states, “”Passage of the bill by the state legislature has resulted in negative repercussions towards the state of Arizona, and therefore, The University of Arizona. Future enforcement of SB1070 will likely result in further boycotts and negative perceptions of The University of Arizona that hinder efforts to recruit and retain quality students … The state of Arizona has attempted to address the issue of illegal immigration by passing a bill that promotes racial profiling as a viable law enforcement technique.””
San Angelo was pleased with the way the resolution was adjusted by other senate members.
“”We started off our senate class with a very serious topic rather than just discussing what kind of polo’s to buy,”” San Angelo said.
ASUA President Emily Fritze thanked the senate for making a resolution.
“”You didn’t just pass it for the sake of expediency, you actually thought about it, “”Fritze said. “”You’ve only been in office a week and you’ve already passed a resolution.””
San Angelo presented his resolution draft at Tuesday’s meeting, but many senators felt that it needed additions, adjustments, and more incorporation of and attention to the needs of students. The senate reviewed the draft and approved changes to the wording of the resolution and added stanzas.
“”Essentially, the new material basically adds more specificity in our language,”” Rising said.
San Angelo moved to approve the resolution wording of “”police presence”” to “”police action”” in the last line of the resolution. The senate passed this amendment.
“”I think ‘action’ is a more specific word,”” San Angelo said.
Senator Garrett Voge was curious about the wording “”the strongest possible opposition.””
“”Although some people may not be vocal, they should still be represented,”” Voge said.