AS Senate Recap – 6/4/25
The AS Senate is a group of elected student representatives which serves as the policy-making body of Associated Students. Every Wednesday at 6:30 PM, the AS Senate convenes to pass bills and resolutions, hear reports from Boards, Committees/Commissions, and Units (BCUs), and hold public forum.
KCSB’s Joyce Chi summarizes their most recent meeting on June 4, 2025.
The Senate approves Kamaya Jackson’s appointment as co-chair of SCORE for this current term.
At their last meeting of the year, the Senate reviewed a litany of legislation. Much of it was referred to relevant Senate committees for further deliberation. Here’s some of what the Senate got up to:
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- Granted honoraria bonuses for members of BCUs recognized under the Outstanding BCU Award. UCIV won in the student wellbeing category, Investment Advisory Committee in professional and academic development, and the Isla Vista Tenants Union in representation of marginalized communities. The bonus comes from the Senate’s Undesignated account.
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- Established formal support and funding for the Black Heritage Cultural Experience, a ten-day trip for Black students to visit historical sites in the South related to slavery and civil rights. The proposal was led by former Senator Alexa Butler, who introduced the proposal in the previous Senate term. The Senate approved $25,000 to fund the trip next year.
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- Considered overhauling the confirmation process for BCU chairs. The proposed standing policy would require the Senate Liaison Committee to hold hearings on each student nominated for BCU chairship by the AS President, though the Internal Vice President could instead hold the hearing at a Senate meeting instead. The committee would then issue a written and “objective…opinion on the nominee’s suitability.” Before officially voting on the nominee, the Senate would “first conduct an unofficial, consultative vote,” and if this vote indicates the nominee wouldn’t be approved, the Senate has to table their appointment and promptly issue a statement why. (This proposal was referred to the Liaison Committee for further input from BCU chairs.)
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- Differing opinions on the policy emerged. Parliamentarian and former Senator Mingjun Zha supported the proposal: “We should trust each other…but we should also do our own due diligence…and that’s what the standing policy is about.” Former Commission on Student Wellbeing co-chair and current AS President Le Anh Metzger said the proposal was “wholly unnecessary,” since each BCU has their own nomination process outlined in the AS Legal Code. While she acknowledged the importance of a close relationship between BCUs and the Senate, “I do not believe this is the most effective way to accomplish this.”
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- This proposal was prompted by the contentious confirmations of Ephraim Shalunov as chair of the AS Jewish Commission and Kamaya Jackson as chair of the Student Commission on Racial Equity (SCORE); the Judicial Council previously ruled that the Senate improperly tailored the confirmation process for Shalunov and Jackson, violating their membership rights.
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- Speaking of Jackson’s SCORE appointment, the Senate finalized the necessary amendments to the minutes and agenda from the March 5 meeting to retroactively approve Jackson as co-chair of SCORE.
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- Considered requiring Senators to upload their legislation to a standardized tracker. Senator Neo Harter, who brought the bill, explained the tracker would exist on Google Sheets and contain information like potential stakeholders, relevant dates, etc. Harter said the tracker was “advantageous for a plurality of reasons: principally, transparency.” (This bill was referred to the Liaison Committee.)
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- Requested the Chancellor to cancel a duplicate lock-in fee. The fee in question is for IV Arts, which oversees programming like Word Magazine and Magic Lantern Films. The Senate sought to cancel IV Arts’ AS lock-in fee; they still have a separate one from the Campus Elections Commission.
You can see last week’s agenda here. Meetings are typically held each week at the Flying A Room of the University Center (Main Floor) throughout the quarter, aside from Week 10. You can also watch live and past meetings on the ASUCSB YouTube here.
Find all our previous KCSB News Senate Recaps here.