The AS Board poses on Friday, Sept. 27. Joe Addison // AS Review
By Stella Harvey
Yesugen Battsengel, VP for diversity, was absent at the Associated Students Executive Board meeting on Friday, Nov. 15.
During the public comment period, Sargun Handa, a newly elected senator at-large, shared some of their goals for the year. Handa said they want to focus on improving access to mental health resources on campus, bring back the ethnic studies college and work with Shred the Contract.
Finance Council
The board discussed the charter for the proposed Finance Council. The council would act as a consolidated body to manage AS funds, according to the budget process document.
According to the budget process document, as a result of the AS restructure, the board and student senate now represent student needs within university structures and there is no board directly in charge of managing AS funds.
The Finance Council is proposed to ethically and responsibly manage funds, and would have voting members from the board, senate and AS offices, as well as a student at-large.
Lani Defiesta, AS president, noted that Nate Jo, AS business director, who has led the development of the finance council, was not present at the meeting. Defiesta acknowledged the work Jo put into the proposed council, and the board agreed to collect questions and ideas for Jo to review before the next meeting.
Selome Zerai, VP for activities, and Trever Mullins, VP for sustainability, said they were concerned about putting a new budget system in place before the AS restructure is complete. Grace Drechsel, VP for governmental affairs, also wondered why the finance committee needs to be passed before restructure. Mullins wondered if instead of passing the council, the board could improve the current budget process.
Defiesta agreed, and wondered if instead of passing the council now, the restructure committee could consider what a new budget process could look like during the AS restructure. She said that in the new budget process, student representatives should receive financial literacy training and the council should strive to be transparent about where student money is going.
Defiesta said she and Battsengel previously discussed concerns that the chair of the proposed finance council would be the AS business director, which is a hired position, and not someone who has been elected by the student body.
The board collected their questions and concerns to send to Jo before the next meeting, where they will vote on the proposed council.