The November 20 meeting found UC Merced’s senators in a generous mood as they approved three bills that were put up to a vote tonight with limited opposition.
“Be transformative,” bellowed temporary ASUCM adviser Dr. Charles Nies during his report in the second hour of the meeting.
The senators held Dr. Nies’ words with them while they considered a bill to fund the African Diaspora Club to host a conference at UC Merced, another bill to fund two prominent Latino figures in politics and news to speak at an event hosted by College Republicans at UC Merced, and lastly a modest bill for fuel money for the Pre-Veterinary club at UC Merced to travel to a deer refuge.
The promise of repayment for the two heft bills played a role in cushioning the initial sticker shock for the conference and the speakers.
After repayment, the African Diaspora Club’s sure-to-be impressive conference will cost ASUCM $7,000 from an initial allocation of $40,000. The conference is slated to have 11 speakers, some of whom are the original minds behind the black arts movement.
Senators and guests in the public forum to support the African Diaspora noted that some of the expected speakers are advanced in age and may not be willing to participate in future events of this scale.
Senator Adam Brown was a fervent supporter of the African Diaspora bill. The bill’s introducers, Senators Jared Zisser and Brian Hernandez, however, let the implications of the bill sink in with the few reluctant senators who were already unwilling to drop such a large sum on one event.
Senator Brown vocalized his excitement over the bill, “It’s worth more than I think anyone here realizes.”
“The amount you could get out of this is more than priceless…Is money not well spent when it provides such a massive benefit? This is exactly what people thought that they would be funding,” Senator Brown continued enthusiastically.
After the bill to fund the African Diaspora Club passed with all but one affirmative vote, discussion began on Bill 26, “Bring Julian Castro and Ruben Navarrette to UC Merced,” introduced by Senator Agnes Wong.
Ruben Navarrette introduced himself through a custom video addressing ASUCM as the most widely read Latino columnist and cited his roots in nearby Sanger, CA. Navarrette introduced the other speaker for the event, an Arizona politician, Julián Castro, as a good friend of 12 years. Castro is the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas and is affiliated with the Democratic party in a majority Republican state.
ASUCM senators voted to give to the College Republicans Club at UC Merced $28,000 of which $18,000 is expected to be repaid.
President Jaron Brandon was the only person at the table to attempt to dissuade senators from an affirmative vote on this bill, saying that a high-profile, high-cost speaker doesn’t necessarily mean students will be better off.
“Is it $28,000 worth of learning?” President Brandon prodded.
Adviser Dr. Nies shook his head at some of President Brandon’s comments and addressed his concerns when he had the table.
“We see a huge spike in our applications from having high profile speakers on campus,” stated Dr. Nies. He explained a domino effect of indirect benefits to UC Merced as a result of high profile guests, one including increased student retention, that might not be considered a “learning outcome.”
The bill to bring Navarrette and Castro to UC Merced passed with, again, all but one affirmative vote, as well as one senator’s abstention from the vote due to his involvement in the College Republicans club (presenting a direct conflict of interest).
Remarkably, the ASUCM senators and president found yet another topic to agree on at the meeting: the troubled ASUCM judicial branch.
“This is going to be a very large internal structure change…it was a very hard decision,” stated Internal Vice President Ivan Flores about the plan to ask a whopping six court justices for their resignation.
The only justice whose resignation will not be sought by President Brandon is the recent appointee, Jalen Siler, who will likely replace current Chief Justice Ana Zivanovic for the highest position in court.