The Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate held its last meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Dec. 6 to take care of some final agenda items, including a letter to UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins regarding the university’s financial deficit. 

The senate reviewed a draft of a letter to Robbins, meant to criticize the current financial crisis and dissent to any potential cuts of financial aid or student programs. The senate then went into an executive session following their meeting to revise the message and decide what their specific requests would be.

The senate held a special vote and unanimously approved a new version of the letter on Friday, Dec. 8. This version was then sent to Robbins. 

Their final letter expressed the student leaders’ disappointment with the financial mishandling and urged that, “Financial aid, merit scholarships, guaranteed tuition, and student programs and services should not be cut.”

The senate further asked for a meeting with Robbins to address potential cuts and actions taken to prevent similar situations going forward, reminding the president of the importance of consulting the student body on such actions.

“The student body is not responsible for the deficit and should not be left to shelter the burden of the administration’s financial mismanagement,” the letter concluded. 

Additionally during Wednesday’s meeting, the senate unanimously approved changes to the election code which were presented at the previous meeting.

Then, a brief vote was held to elect a senate clerk, who records the senate’s meeting minutes and uploads them online. College of Pharmacy Sen. Megan Wong was nominated for the position and then unanimously approved. 

Finally, At Large Sen. Maya Kostov announced the timeline for the spring semester, including an earlier election cycle than in years past. This coming year, packets for potential candidates will be available on Jan. 12, 2024 and elections will be concluded by the end of February. 

“I’m looking forward to all the amazing work and the amazing things that we are going to do next semester,” said Executive Vice President Eddie Barrón.

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