The Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the university’s undergraduate governing body, discussed funding for the Students for Sustainability and also discussed with a representative of NextGen about on-campus voting initiatives at their senate meeting Wednesday, Oct. 30. 

Wildcat Events Board funding update 

The previously reported request made by WEB for $5,000 to go towards a guest speaker was not passed by the senate. The senators, who were unanimous in their vote, agreed that there were not enough concrete details for the amount of money that would be provided when it could go towards other things that would make a bigger difference . 

RELATED: Senators discuss depleted budget (ASUA Notebook 10/23/2019)

Students for Sustainability Request Funding 

The Students for Sustainability, an ASUA program that promotes sustainable living in the UA community, sent co-director Stanley Wong to attend the meeting to share a presentation that highlighted what the program would be focusing on this year and also request funding for a new garden shed. The funding for the new garden shed is being requested after the tools from the garden shed were robbed multiple times a year. 

“The robbing of the shed has resulted in over $1,500 in loss of property and have had to take time to call the police, so for the safety of our gardeners and the community during this renovation, we are trying to make it safer,” Wong said. 

The new shed would already have a lock installed inside, making it impossible to cut open and rob, ultimately saving the program money and time. 

Mental Health Select Committee 

The Mental Health Awareness Initiative passed earlier this year by ASUA has selected a standing committee to make sure the initiative is being seen to its full potential. 

The committee will include three senators: College of Education Senator Joseph Sturm, At-large Senator Ana Mendoza and Eller College of Management Senator Madison Smith. It will be headed by College of Public Health Senator Allie Schoenike. 

Removing Barriers to Voting Resolution 

The branch of NextGen Rising working out of Tucson and the UA came to the meeting as well to discuss the resolution of removing barriers to voting. The petition that has been circulating the university with three big initiatives has already received over 1,500 signatures. 

The three initiatives NextGen has been pushing is a $0 utility bill for students that live in the dorm for proof of residency, the cancellation of classes and exams on voting day and a polling location on campus. The main goal of this resolution would not instantly establish all these initiatives, but is a step in the right direction, pushing faculty and staff to not give repercussions for students trying to fulfill their civic duty in their limited schedule. 

“Voting does affect every student, and the policies that are voted or not voted will affect every student on campus,” Mendoza said. 

RELATED: ASUA Senate discusses Colleges of Letters, Arts and Sciences and funding (ASUA Notebook 10/16/2019)

 At-large Senator Rocque Perez expressed some reservations.

“Asking the university to cut classes for the day is not very tangible, but is creating a voice and narrative for professors to consider and pushing people to look in the right direction of voter involvement,“ Perez explained. 

Senator at-large Matt Hernandez brought up the possibility of a polling station on campus, which is very feasible and in the works of discussion and logistics according to the NextGen liaison. 

The resolution was moved to an action item for next week’s meeting. 

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