There was no new business at the Oct. 4 meeting of the Association Student Government. Instead, President Ben Linzey and other senators used the time to discuss committee membership.
All senators in ASG are required to serve on at least one committee, as well as attend at least one committee meeting a week. Senators who have so far not been a part of a committee were given a chance to sign up for one, including some of the newly formed committees which were discussed last week.
In addition, senators were given the option to be a non-voting member on a few of the faculty senate committees, such as the recently formed committee to evaluate the performance of Integrated Resources for Information and Solutions (IRIS).
Senator Shelby Cerise, the coordinator of the Cultural Diversity Board and chair of the diversity committee, updated senators on her committee’s progress during senate discussion. The committee, formerly dedicated solely to serving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students, will now work closely will all six diversity alliances at Colorado Mesa University.
Most of the committee’s recent work still focused on DACA students, however. Cerise said that a campus-wide email with information for dreamers will go out soon. This email will include information on how to get in touch with Latino Student Alliance for further support and the waived fees and co-pays at the Student Health Center for anyone affected by DACA.
Committee members have also been working closely with President Foster to help DACA students retain an in-state tuition status if they have one, and to expand TRIO student support services to help these students succeed in school despite all their external stress. Finally, the committee will be purchasing buttons that read “I stand with DACA” or “Ask me about DACA” so that any students who need additional help can easily find a representative on ASG.
Both Cerise and Linzey encouraged senators to come to the Nov. 2 gathering of all the cultural diversity alliances to lend their support. This “mega-meeting,” as Cerise called it, occurs the first Thursday of every month.
ASG also held their first press conference of the year, in compliance with the Transparency Act, on Oct. 5 in the Escalante Hall studio.
