The Associated Students of the University of Arizona, UA’s student governing body, passed a resolution committing to campus sustainability efforts, discussed UA’s Strategic Plan and opened applications for ASUA internships and director positions in their Oct. 17 meeting in the Pima Room of the Student Union Memorial Center. 

Sustainability Resolution Passes

After discussing the sustainability resolution created by UA’s Students for Sustainability and introduced to the Senate by Madeline Melichar, senator for the College of Engineering, and Tara Singleton, an at-large senator, the Senate voted to adopt the resolution. 

“With the passage of this resolution, we hope to achieve a united voice for our sustainability goals throughout ASUA,” said Amy Stalkfleet, co-director of Students for Sustainability, an ASUA-affiliated program. 

SFS is currently working to put together a strategic plan for campus sustainability, one which will help empower students and advertise their initiatives. 

Last academic year, SFS and ASUA pushed to see the creation of a campus-wide Sustainability Council to centralize sustainability planning and increase authority by directly advising UA President Dr. Robert Robbins. 

          RELATED: UA’s Sustainability efforts hampered by decentralization

While such a council was agreed to, it has not yet come to fruition with new leadership in both SFS and ASUA as well as in the Office of Sustainability. 

UA Strategic Planning 

UA’s new campus-wide Strategic Plan is nearly complete. 

Rocque Perez, an at-large senator, plans to meet with Robbins to discuss his ideas for the Strategic Plan, which involve merging the Bursar’s Office and the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to streamline the process of receiving and communicating about scholarships and aid for UA students. 

ASUA is also working closely with the administration to ensure that when UA presents its new Strategic Plan to the Arizona Board of Regents, its governing body, in November on campus, the plan represents the student voice. 

UA is continuing to accept feedback on its Strategic Plan from students and faculty through its website portal and a series of open meetings at every college on campus. For more information visit their website here. 

Beyond the Strategic Plan, ASUA hopes to inject the student voice into every big decision on campus. 

To this end, Michelle Mendoza, senator for the Eller College of Management, and Matthew Rein, ASUA executive vice president, attended a meeting where UA discussed renewing its banking agreement with Wells Fargo. 

          RELATED: UA community protests Wells Fargo, DAPL on UA Mall

Last year on campus students called on UA to divest from, or end its relationship with, Wells Fargo over its association with organizations involved in the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in a protest on the UA Mall. 

Upcoming Events and ASUA internships 

The annual SlutWalk sponsored by UA’s FORCE, or Feminists Organized to Resist, Create and Empower, will take place in November. 

“FORCE was able to rent out the entire Rialto Theater to host this year’s event,” said Kate Rosenstengel, ASUA administrative vice president. 

Sedona Lynch, senator for the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, encouraged her peers to volunteer at the event, which will also serve as a platform for increasing voter turnout. 

ASUA intern applications are now open on UA’s Handshake until Oct. 31. ASUA is also looking to fill its director of public relations and marketing positions. 

Rein asked senators to encourage any student on campus that is interested to apply. 

Club Funding 

Bennett Adamson, senator for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, asked the Senate to approve the appropriation of close to $20,000, given out to campus clubs by ASUA’s Appropriations Board. 

Some of this funding will help UA’s Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics club, which supports the LGBTQ community in STEM fields, to attend a national conference in Houston, Texas. 

ASUA has over $150,000 remaining to support campus clubs and organizations. 

ASUA will meet again at 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 in the Pima Room of the SUMC. Check the Daily Wildcat to keep up with ASUA and its meetings.

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