The Associated Students for the University of Arizona, the UA’s student governance body, met for the last time this semester on Dec. 5 to appoint a new senator for the College of Humanities, appropriate funding for Campus Closet and approve student regent finalists.
College of Humanities Senator
During ASUA’s 2018 Spring Senate election, a number of Senate seats were not contested, leaving some colleges without ASUA representation.
To fill this void, ASUA has appointed senators to these seats.
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With the Senate vote to appoint Madison Johnson as the senator for the College of Humanities on Dec. 5, ASUA now has a senator for every UA college.
“Madison has a lot of great plans for ASUA, and I am excited to get to know her,” said Kelly Dorney, an at-large senator speaking before Johnson’s appointment.
According to Matthew Rein, ASUA executive vice president, Johnson applied for the position at the beginning of the semester, but because of her double major in law and Spanish, which are housed in two different colleges, the ASUA Supreme Court had to be consulted regarding for which colleges she could legally serve as senator.
ASUA to open a Campus Closet
Campus Closet, an initiative spearheaded by Katie Christopher, senator for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received $500 in funding from the Senate.
“Campus Closet will be a fully functioning closet available to students who cannot afford professional clothing,” Christopher said.
With the funding, Christopher will purchase hanging racks, bins, lint rollers and steamers to be able to store and manage donated clothing. Christopher said she plans for students to drop clothing donations off at the ASUA office and access the closet for professional clothing every Friday or through email appointments.
Club Funding
The Senate approved funding for the UA’s Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research chapter that was allocated by ASUA’s Appropriations Board. The funding will help the club print promotional flyers to raise awareness about the cause.
According to Rein, 350 campus clubs have registered with ASUA this year, gaining access to the more than $100,000 remaining funds available to clubs through ASUA.
Next Semester Plans
ASUA tabled a planned vote on amendments to its elections code, which it planned to have approve during its first meeting next semester in preparation for March elections.
Kate Rosenstengel, ASUA administrative vice president, wished Students for Sustainability a happy 10th anniversary during the meeting and informed the senate that ASUA’s executive board is currently in talks with the Freshman Class Council to effectively plan the organization’s next steps following its revival by the ASUA Supreme Court last month.
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ASUA President Natalynn Masters announced that ASUA’s intern selection for next semester is almost complete.
“We are super excited to introduce this new intern program and figure out how to better connect our office and increase our outreach,” Masters said.
Masters told the Senate she looks forward to bringing the student voice into discussions on implementing the UA’s new Strategic Plan next semester, reforming general education at the university and welcoming a new Title IX director.
Check back to the Daily Wildcat next semester for more ASUA updates as the Senate reconvenes and campaigns begin to elect a new slate of student leaders.
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