ASUI voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling on the university to invest in an equity and diversity building on campus following debate in the previous week. New resolutions concerning Open Access textbooks and protections for non-citizens were also introduced.
After its merits were debated in the prior week, ASUI moved forward with closing comments on the value that a central building dedicated to equity and diversity would bring to many organizations that have outgrown their respective offices.
“There are many departments and offices that need more space, I’ve seen that personally while serving on the ISUB board,” Sen. Brianna Navarro said. “This resolution is simply trying to bring the needs of equity and diversity to the attention of university administration.”
The goal is to bring the College Assistance Migrant Program, the LGBTQA Office, the Native American Student Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Black and African American Cultural Center and the Women’s Center into a consolidated space.
Navarro added that to continue to foster the recruitment of students from diverse backgrounds, a show of support for the further development of diversity programs could be important in showing potential students where the university’s values lie.
Sen. Kaiya Sanchez added that the benefits of a dedicated equity and diversity building would be felt by the students as well as the wider university. A centralized building would allow for easier inter-program connection for students and enable outside offices to have an easier time reaching out to multiple programs at once, Sanchez said.
In terms of new legislation, a resolution encouraging university faculty to use Open Access textbooks was introduced to the senate floor Wednesday. To help reduce the financial burden of attending university, the resolution calls for university faculty to use Open Access or free textbooks and supplemental material whenever possible to foster a more inclusive learning environment.
“With the ever-increasing costs of higher education, we need to be moving in a direction that allows for more equitable access to (textbooks),” Sen. Martha Smith said. “This (resolution) will allow students from low-income backgrounds to have more access to educational material that is necessary for their academic success.”
Legislation encouraging the City of Moscow to adopt the Safe Communities Resolution was also introduced Wednesday. The resolution, which has already been passed in three other Idaho municipalities, seeks to protect non-citizens by barring the use of city resources for the enforcement of federal immigration law and preventing city officials from requesting proof of citizenship except when required by law.
“I think that the Safe Communities Resolution would fit in perfectly with our mission and our goals,” Navarro said. “The ability for all people, regardless of citizenship status, to create healthy relationships with law enforcement is so important and this resolution would allow for that to happen.”
Navarro added that this resolution would ensure that the city’s limited resources would not be expended on and reserved for the federal government. It would also bring positive benefits to Moscow residents by helping to alleviate non-citizens’ fears of requesting law enforcement or medical assistance whenever those services are needed.
The two pieces of legislation are expected to be voted on in ASUI Senate’s final meeting in the coming week.
Royce McCandless can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @roycemccandless