The Associated Students of the University of Arizona, UA’s student governing body, met on Halloween night, some in costume, to pass a resolution in support of transgender students and faculty, approve funding for a number of club activities and discuss outreach for their upcoming election.
Supporting Transgender Community on Campus
In the wake of federal efforts to redefine the government definition of gender to exclude transgender Americans’ identities, ASUA voted unanimously to adopt a resolution introduced last week by Tara Singleton, an at-large senator, promising to support UA’s transgender students and faculty.
“[ASUA] will still recognize all gender identities despite the statements and potential actions taken by the federal government. ASUA will continue to offer resources for each and every student on our campus and act as a pillar of inclusivity and diversity,” the statement read.
The statement, reviewed by the Senate and UA’s Pride Alliance co-directors last week, outlined ASUA’s duty to protect the civil rights of and be a voice for all UA students.
Earlier this semester, ASUA passed a resolution affirming its support for sustainability efforts on campus and vowing to pressure UA President Dr. Robert Robbins to make UA a more geo-friendly campus.
Rethinking Club Funding
“This week ASUA’s Appropriations Board gave out funding to a lot of really excellent clubs,” said Bennett Adamson, senator for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The Senate approved over $4,000 in club funding, which will help UA’s Marine Awareness and Conservation Society preserve a shark for future display and send UA’s Arizona Autonomous Vehicles club to a competition in Virginia, among other things.
RELATED: ASUA discusses transgender rights, access to hygiene products (Notebook 10/24)
The ASUA Appropriations Board has over $140,000 left to distribute to ASUA recognized clubs.
Over the course of this semester, Adamson has noticed that 54 percent of clubs asking for funding from ASUA only received half of the funds they requested, 23 percent received less than one third and 11 percent received less than one fourth.
“I feel like some clubs are getting [treated unfairly] by the system and ambiguous bylaws,” Adamson said.
Adamson said he is working to reform this system with ASUA’s help in order to ensure clubs are funding as fairly and fully as possible.
Coming from a different financial angle, Matthew Rein, ASUA executive vice president, is working to help clubs by attempting to convince Wells Fargo to waive the $10 monthly fee for UA clubs with a bank account balance of less than $500 at the UA-affiliated institution.
ASUA Outreach and Elections
On Nov. 28, ASUA will host an informational session about running for ASUA Senate from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Copper Room of the Student Union Memorial Center.
“Our ASUA Elections Director, Marlon Freeman, wants us to stir up excitement about our ASUA elections,” said Kelly Dorney, an at-large senator.
UA’s student body will vote on their next college or at-large senators as well as a new president and two vice presidents in a primary Feb. 19 and 20 and in a general election Feb. 26 and 27, as a tentative timeline.
RELATED: ASUA commits to sustainability, opens internship opportunities (Notebook 10/17/18)
After a number of Senate seats were not contested during the last ASUA elections, forcing the Senate to appoint members to fill the empty seats, ASUA is making a strong effort to increase its presence among the student body and to encourage students to get to know their senators and to get involved in ASUA by running for office.
ASUA is also looking forward to participating in a number of events on campus, such as the SlutWalk, hosted by the Women’s Resource Center, and FORCE which will take place Monday, Nov. 5.
The Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for Arizona’s three public universities, will be hosting meetings on campus Nov. 15 and 16.
Brennen Feder, senator for the College of Education, met last week with the regents alongside representatives of the student governments at all three of Arizona public universities. Feder said he discussed with the regents the impact of continual increases in tuition and fees on UA students and hopeful students.
When the regents are on campus, ASUA’s leaders will have a chance to address the regents as well as see the debut of UA’s new Strategic Plan, which ASUA has played a small part in crafting.
ASUA will meet next Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. in the Pima Room of the SUMC. Check back to the Daily Wildcat next week for more coverage of ASUA and their meetings.
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