The University of Arizona Student Associates came together this week to hear from on-campus clubs and organizations that needed funding for different campus activities and to address recent Daily Wildcat editions. The meeting is opened at 6:01 p.m. and closes at 7:20 p.m.

The first organization to apply for funding was Fostering Success, “a campus community based on peer mentorship for students who are or have been in foster care, are struggling with homelessness or job insecurity. housing and those who are considered unaccompanied youth,” according to their website. .

They asked for $5,000 for their annual milestone event, which would cover food, decorations and a venue for the event. Josh Castellitto, the representative of the organization, added that they had no other sources of funding, after which Senator-at-large Lady Elli recommended that they also seek other resources on campus that would be in able to provide additional support.

College of Fine Arts Senator Jack Haskins also asked for possible funding for this year’s Earth Day events, which he led. It has been in the works since November of last year and is a collaborative initiative between Students for Sustainability, the College of Fine Arts, Arizona student unions, student government, and many other organizations.

“This is a week-long event that is accessible to the entire student body,” Haskins said. “Everything is free.”

Fundraising items would be $4,700 for Student Union food and services and $5,000 for Student Sustainability to purchase merchandise and for the event to be held on Earth Day, although that Haskins thinks he could get the funding elsewhere.

“It’s kind of a failsafe,” Haskins said, “I should know by the next meeting [whether we will get funding]there could therefore be a possibility of voting on these points.

The amount of money available to the Senate to fund projects is between $13,000 and $14,000 of the $20,000 it initially had.

Some of the money was used to fund things like Thanksgiving and final winter meals for students, something senators hope to bring back this spring semester. In fact, College of Nursing Senator Paige Campbell will lead the budgeting and planning efforts.

Another funding request was submitted by Elli for Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American Heritage Month, which kicks off in April and will feature a week filled with activities such as a potluck and games night, a arts and crafts, a movie night at the Mall and dance performances.

Elli requested $800 from the student senate, as she will also receive funds from other organizations.

“It will also be a big help for APIDA in terms of funding, as cultural centers like us and others around the student center are underfunded,” Elli said. “This will showcase the Senate’s support and sponsorship of events related to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

No funding request was approved.

Constitution and regulations

The final amendment to the Constitution passed with 11 yeses from the Senate after a year-long review of the language. A notable change was the removal of the House of Representatives.

“We believe that the House of Representatives, as it currently stands, is an extractive body and essentially forces marginalized student communities on campus to pay for access to student government, which is the opposite of what home was supposed to do,” Vice President Kyle Kline said.

It will morph into a presidential campus council that will meet with the president every two weeks to pass legislation more quickly, as opposed to the average four-week process it takes to pass legislation with the House of Representatives.

Other than that, the language was changed, but there was no other attack on the integrity of the Constitution.

Additionally, Kline noted that ASUA’s bylaws “do not erase current standards” and are also being updated.

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Addressing the wildcat of the day Recent Articles

President Noah Vega addressed the Daily Wildcat directly regarding a discrepancy in the latest ASUA logbook in which the Wild cat assigned impeachment proceedings to the bylaws, not the constitution. the Daily Wildcat attributes true and accurate information and that the correction has been made.

Vega also called the Daily Wildcat on the lack of coverage during two meetings.

“I was just wondering where you two were at those two meetings,” Vega said. “Because these were things that we discussed that weren’t communicated to the student body, so I was wondering if you had anything to say or why aren’t you at these two meetings?”

As an independent newspaper, the Daily Wildcat is not required to post anything about ASUA meetings but does so out of obligation to the students. Members of the Senate are more than welcome to reach out to the Daily Wildcat with concerns about coverage.

Vega then launched into a tirade, listing other criticisms he had on the Daily Wildcat and another ASUA article that took an in-depth look at senate events, written by Kristijan Barnjak, as well as the Daily Wildcatlack of positive coverage from the student senate.

Kline quickly went on to acknowledge that the Daily Wildcat has freedom of speech and is an independent organization.

“I think there may have been hurt feelings from the articles that have come out recently,” Kline said. “But it’s our job as government officials to make sure we perform our duties to the best of our abilities.”

Barnjak invited Vega, and any other senators present, to contact him with concerns about factual errors or anything else.

“We are an independent student newspaper,” Barnjak replied. “We have nothing to publish and we are more than willing to work with you. Since the beginning of last year, we have been delighted to work with you.

Honorable Mentions

The Student Success District will hold a grand opening on April 13, with a soft opening beginning April 6.

Vega spoke with the University of Arizona Police Department to strengthen jaywalking amid rising student pedestrian crashes.

Executive Vice President Alexandra Devereux also announced the unfilled seats for the next student senate. Empty ASUA seats include one senator for the College of Applied Science and Technology, College of Education, College of Humanities, College of Nursing, WA Franke Honors College, as well as two senators at large, one Executive Vice President Chief of Staff, two ASUA Club Advocates and four Appropriations Board Directors.

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