Post-Spring Break A.S. Meeting Preparing for Club Row Event Becomes Disorderly
The Associated Students Board of Director held their weekly A.S. meeting the day after spring break this Monday, April 16 to prepare the groundwork for the upcoming Club Row event on April 26, to vote on whether the annual internship fair would be held this year, and to approve an induction ceremony for students in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
However, the meeting became disorganized early in the proceedings. While the board was discussing a list of $1,000 or under consent items, a series of mistakes in funding requests from student clubs led to board members becoming confused, until Vice President Jorge Sandoval interjected a vote to say, "People don't know what they're voting for," then explained the issue at hand.
Discussion ensued, prompting faculty adviser Dr. Nancy Grass to remind the board of their operating procedures, particularly that discussion during a vote is prohibited. President Jennifer Chen continued the vote, although board members continued to laugh and joke while the vote was being conducted.
These issues were further exacerbated by the fact that the meeting's agenda was inaccurate, omitting three consent items and misrepresenting the price of one of the major action items: the ICC allotment for Club Row. These discrepancies led to a significant amount of confusion and prompted ICC Communications Officer Maritza Lopez to remark, "Maybe the person who makes these agendas should attend the finance meetings," in order to accurately represent budgetary items in the agenda.
The board found the proceedings very humorous, joking that this was "the most fun meeting ever," Dr. Grass appeared to grow increasingly concerned with the decorum of the meeting as it went on. Near the end of the meeting, when Dr. Grass made her advisor report, she pointed out that while there was no problem with having fun during a board meeting, it was important to maintain professionalism and keep the meeting moving along effectively.
The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society's induction ceremony was approved with all in favor except Secretary Ryan Ang, who abstained. Both Secretary Ang and Director of Budget Management Charlene Alex-Boyd are members of Phi Theta Kappa, and though Alex-Boyd disclosed this conflict of interest, she chose not to abstain from the vote.
Finally, President Chen also suggested adding an "A.S. Information" button to Corsair Connect in order to better communicate with students. The button would link to a page that would give students weekly updates on what A.S. meetings and sponsored meetings.
Chen said, "When students log into it, they can (see) if there's an event, if there's a meeting, just see whats going on.