For the second week in a row, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate tabled approval for its constitution, citing inconsistencies in language after they received their budget from the university over a month later than usual.
In November 2023, the UA financial status report revealed an alarming $177 million deficit due to a miscalculation of cash on hand. Since then, the university has been continuously working to balance its budget, leading to inconsistencies and questions from clubs, organizations, students and faculty across campus.
On Aug. 26, the UA announced that its fiscal year 2026 budget is balanced, with no deficit, leading to a “new chapter in the university’s history.” These adjustments, however, have led many on-campus organizations to feel at a standstill with the university’s financial status.
These inconsistencies bled into the ASUA budget over the summer. In the proposed ASUA Senate constitution, it states that senators are supposed to approve the body’s budget by July 1 before the school year begins.
At-large Senator Eddie Barrón pointed this out in a discussion on whether or not to approve the language of the constitution. Associate Dean of Students and Director Talia Myrick said that this has been an “odd year.”
Myrick pointed out this discrepancy’s connection with the university’s past deficit issues. “We didn’t get budget approvals until a week ago — this is because of everything that has happened with the university debt situation, and all the changes to its budget system,” Myrick said.
In terms of the language of the Senate’s constitution, Myrick still wanted to incorporate the July 1 deadline for future classes of senators. “I think holding the university accountable and holding us accountable to make sure that gets done in the summer will be ideal, which is why we kept that July 1 date in the constitution,” Myrick said.
College of Science Senator Elizabeth Ghartey moved to table the discussion of the constitution to their next meeting, which College of Nursing Senator Emma Stanek seconded.
ASUA Executive Vice President Benjamin Huffman mentioned slight concerns with the Senate’s decision to table the constitution approval. “The sooner we get it adopted and passed, the sooner we can get started on a lot of things,” Huffman said.
In addition to the constitution’s stall on approval, the Senate reviewed a special order to fill a vacancy for the seat of the College of Fine Arts Senator. Through an application process, Huffman and W.A. Franke Honors College Senator Aparna Chandrasekar selected Joclyn Flynn to fill this seat.
After the ASUA Senate’s election in March, an application process began in order to fill empty seats. “We were able to do our due diligence to make sure the applicants met the GPA requirements, that they were actually majors in their college,” Huffman said.
Flynn still had one last hurdle to ensure her position as the new College of Fine Arts Senator: an approval from the Senate, to which she was confirmed unanimously.
This ensured that the ASUA Senate had no vacancies left. “This should mean that the university is accurately represented in our student body,” Huffman said.
In an update from the chair of the Projects and Outreach Committee, Senator Ghartey expressed plans to bring in more student representatives from clubs and organizations across campus to present at the Senate’s weekly meetings. She hopes for more groups on campus to be heard and express their concerns and hopes for the university.
College of Medicine Senator Alexander Jauregui Galarza highlighted the Pre-Health Club Fair, set for Sept. 15. He announced that there will be 36 clubs and organizations present, and that registration will be open through the week of Sept. 8.
Huffman shared that the ASUA Open House, an event for students across campus to come meet their college senators and representatives, will be held on Sept. 18 at the ASUA office. The open house is for students to express their visions for this school year and for leadership to share ways to get involved.
During ASUA President Privileges on behalf of Adriana Grijalva, senators were reminded of an upcoming listening session with Provost Patricia Prelock on Sept. 22. There will be 10 ASUA seats available for the listening session to connect and collaborate with university administrators.
