In the wake of yesterday’s resignation of seven Appropriations Board members and the executive vice president’s resignation last month, the UA student government’s new leaders are looking to restructure the way clubs receive funding.
But before making any sweeping changes, Rhonda Tubbs, interim executive vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, said she is looking to find replacements for the board, which controls ASUA club funding.
Applications went out to campus clubs yesterday via e-mail, and Tubbs said she hopes to interview potential candidates Friday and make the final decisions soon after.
ASUA President Erin Hertzog said she wants to see the new board members take initiative and establish some lasting reforms, despite the time frame in which they have to work.
“”Six weeks seems like such a short amount of time, but it’s not,”” Hertzog said.
Among the changes Hertzog said she would like to see are a “”blind review””
process for funds that would not require club representatives to attend lengthy hearings, in addition to club endowment to provide a more consistent source of money to drained club funds.
Tommy Bruce, ASUA president-elect, said he is working with next year’s leadership to make some potentially drastic changes to the club-funding process.
“”That may be one of the areas (where) students see the most change,”” Bruce said. “”We’re going to be working on it all summer.””
Tubbs said replacement members on the board will be working on a volunteer basis until May 1, but if they are selected to continue on to next year, they will be added to the payroll.
Tubbs said she is working with Jessica Anderson, ASUA executive vice president-elect, to make sure she doesn’t make any big decisions Anderson disagrees with.
“”It’s a crazy time,”” Tubbs said. “”I hope I can just make her transition a little easier.””
Anderson said she plans to be very meticulous when she chooses board members for next year, hoping to avoid some of the recent controversy when some clubs, such as the Medical School Students for Choice, alleged an unfair decision-making process.
Anderson also said she hopes to have more pre-job training for the board and ASUA in general, to make sure everyone knows what their position means and what is expected of them.
For elected officials, Anderson said she wants to make sure everyone leaves any campaign rivalries behind because she said those rivalries became a problem last semester in the ASUA Senate.
Bruce said he is less worried about that sort of resentment surviving the announcement of election results.
“”It ends that night in, like, two seconds,”” Bruce said.
Bruce said he and Hertzog have synced their schedules and he now attends as many of her meetings and events as he possibly can.
“”This is the pass-off period,”” Hertzog said. “”Tommy is like a sponge.””
Jami Reinsch, ASUA administrative vice president, said doing well in the transition process is crucial to later success.
“”Getting respect in the beginning is important,”” Reinsch said.
Jen Dang, ASUA administrative vice president-elect, said she is looking forward to appointing new directors for the ASUA programs and services, which she will oversee.
“”I would love to see fresh new faces within ASUA,”” Dang said.
