AS Executive Board update graphic PJ Heusted // AS Review
By PJ Heusted
The Associated Students Executive Board met on Friday, Feb. 12 for their sixteenth meeting of the 2020-21 academic year.
Black Student Organization Demand Updates
VP for Governmental Affairs Nicole Ballard shared the items from the Western Intersectional Lobby Day agenda that address BSO demands including asking for recognition of Juneteenth as a legal holiday and asking for mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion trainings in higher education institutions.
Senate Pro-tempore Sargun Handa said that there will be a public forum to share information and receive feedback about the new Power, Liberation, Equity and Justice [PLEJ] curriculum on Tuesday, Feb. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. that is open to the board members and at-large students. She said there will be a survey sent out to students prior to the forum as well.
Racial Equity Core Committee
VP for Diversity Ranulfo Molina presented a proposed charge and charter for a Racial Equity Core Committee that would bring leaders from all AS offices together to work collaboratively to achieve the anti-racist goals the AS set as an organization.
Molina said that he hopes to create a system within the committee that allows for a new set of students to serve as the chair and vice chair each quarter to help create a more balanced distribution of power and give a wider variety of students the opportunity to work in a leadership role such as this one.
VP for Student Services Carson Brock asked for clarification about the non-voting specification for the VP for diversity and AS student senator positions on the committee. Molina said that those students would hold non-voting positions to help delegate some of the power that the board and senate have within the AS.
Ballard suggested including a spot on the committee for the VP for governmental affairs to add perspective and guidance on the topic of lobbying efforts.
Executive Director of Student Engagement Eric Alexander suggested several edits for the proposal including: drafting more specific language in the charge portion of the document that would outline precisely the type of work the committee would be doing, creating space for more than one adviser, including an at-large student or two on the committee, specifying term lengths and including language that would aid in the process of filling vacant positions on the committee.
Molina said that he plans to make edits that reflect the suggestions from the conversation and will bring the updated document back to the board as an action item to discuss and vote on at a future meeting.
Honors College Proposal
Handa brought up the proposal to create an Honors College at Western for the board to discuss. She said that students, specifically students of color, within the Honors Program feel frustrated and ignored by the administrators who are pushing this proposal forward with little to no input from them while also ignoring their current concerns about the curriculum.
Handa said she plans to send the formal proposal to the board members for them to review.
Student Tech Fee and the Senate Pro-tempore
Handa suggested changing the board member that sits on the Student Technology Fee Committee from the senate pro-tempore to the VP for student services.
Both Handa and Brock agree that the committee seems to fit better within the purview of the VP for student services than it does under the senate pro-tempore.
Alexander suggested that Handa create a formal proposal to move the committee to the VP for student services for the board to vote on before they change anything in the job descriptions.
Handa plans to start to involve Brock in the chairing process for this year so that he can more effectively train the VP for student services for 2021-22 and when the transition of the committee would be finalized.