Senate Briefings

Upcoming Senate Elections

The process for campaigning for a seat on next year’s Senate has begun. A timeline was announced including the due date for posting the candidate application form on OrgSync, March 28 at 5 p.m. Campaigning will occur April 2-19 and voting will take place between Monday, April 16 and Thursday, April 19. Winners will be announced by 5 p.m. on the last day of voting. Debates for executive positions on Senate will take place during activity hour on Thursday, April 12. The venue for those debates is to be determined.
Senate Organizes to Save Cal Grants

Senate discussed the transportation arrangements of USF students and the individual messages that were sent to the California state capitol on Wednesday, March 7.
That day, individual legislators heard testimonies from USF students who do not want to see the Cal Grant financial aid awards they receive cut nearly in half.

Senate Goals for the Academic Year 2012-2013

ASUSF Vice President of Finance, Amanda Lorenzen asked senators and executive board members to consider goals and initiatives that should be reflected in Senate’s budget proposal for the following year. Some of the goals discussed include:
“1) [Having] more senators work on senator initiatives
2) Be[ing] more visible on campus
3) Promoting and maintaining advocacy for students
4) Continu[ing] goals for the 2012-2013 year [these include greater transparency, increased outreach to student organizations, ease of access to financial resources for senate initiatives and self-evaluation of the Senate organization with respect to their impact on the student body.]
5) Facilitate collaboration between senate and funded accounts.”

New Senator Inducted as Management Representative

Justin Iselin was sworn into the position of School of Management representative after a very brief introduction and question and answer session. Iselin, 23, recently completed his service term in the Navy. He was “main commandant in North Carolina.”

Senate Considers Changes on Committee Codes

Procedural changes in the Senate Internal Affairs committee and the newly formed Gender Inclusive Facilities Task Force were explained to senators in preparation for future discussion and eventual approval. The Gender Inclusive Facilities Task Force was recently established to explore the possibility of gender neutral housing and other related issues related to campus facilities and accommodations.

Executive Reports:

Lex Wochner; ASUSF President:
The Cal Grant awareness campaign was discussed and senators were encouraged to email or otherwise reach out to their constituencies about this issue.
Shashi Aryal; VP of Public Relations:
Senators are reminded of an April 17 deadline to contact their assigned student organizations in order to promote collaboration and contact between Senate and USF clubs.
Caroline Christ; VP of Mission:
Senators were reminded to participate in the filming of an “I heart consent” video being produced by USFtv.