Bill S26-R04, commemorating those who were impacted by ICE raids, was passed during this week’s ASUI senate meeting on March 25. This bill was sponsored by Sens. Andrea Leal and Preston Hardcastle and was introduced at the previous meeting
“This is what you see when you get an organization that is both untrained and overfunded. People! We know they’re snagging people off the street. It’s crazy,” said Hardcastle during deliberation. “For the immigration department, there should be a legal process that should be set there, right? But we’ve got a paramilitary running around here, a guy who’s [probably] doing a lot off camera, because what they are doing on camera is insane.”
Leal commented more directly about those affected by ICE.
“This resolution is not only about recognition, but solidarity. It affirms that we see those who are hurting, we hear their concerns and we stand by them. By supporting this measure, we are reinforcing that every student deserves to pursue their education free from fear and intimidation,” Leal said.
Club funding bills were also introduced to the senate, including bill S26-B10, which would give $2,000 to the National Association of Music Educators for their recent conference travel costs to Nampa, Idaho. This bill was debated by senators due to the finance committee of ASUI not submitting a ‘do pass’ recommendation on the bill.
“We all recognize that NAfME provides invaluable opportunities for students, especially in commercial development and networking… in any way, shape o form, I do not want to discredit the members of the organization or Senator Hardcastle’s work in any way… Our concerns were more about the impact and use of the funds,” said head of the finance committee, Sen. Frances Camilli.
Camilli continued to explain that the lack of finance committee support was due to the broad impact of the funding, stating that as the semester winds down, other clubs need funding as well, and this large amount of funding could be halved and still have a positive impact on the club. She also stated that other large clubs have asked for smaller amounts of money and were still able to fund their large events and travel costs. After this, she proposed an amount of $1,000 to be awarded to the club, saying that instead of the original $40 per student traveler, it would be more logical to give $20 per student.
“With lots of talk in the [Idaho] legislature about cutting budgets and whatnot, they are most likely to cut ASUI’s budget possibly next year as well. So, I don’t think that we should be so restrictive while we have that budget leniency. We have that budget now, and we might not have that budget later,” said Sen. Logan Romans in support of the original $2,000 funding amount.
The bill was amended to Camilli’s recommended $1,000 dollars, and discussion continued.
“When I’m evaluating a club, I look at the importance of the club to the university, which it [NAfME] is. We are known for it, and I would like to disclose that it’s about the arts, which is something that is inherently human, and I think that is more and more valuable every single day that AI progresses,” said Sen. Gunner Cavender.
“Groups like the Bangladesh Student Association puts on events for hundreds of people, with a little funding from ASUI. Again, they are going out. They are doing their own funding. They’re getting their own money, and I also do believe that the arts should be celebrated. [But] I also think that participating in extracurriculars unfortunately is something you end up paying for individually,” said Camilli.
Camilli continued to say that the amendment would be helpful to compensate those who really did not have the money to attend and stated that the NAfME website has scholarships for travel costs for organization members.
“Pertaining to questions of impact, recently, we spent nearly $1,200 with the soil judging team, which I personally supported wholeheartedly, and I don’t even know how many people were on [the] soil judging team. And I feel to say that $2,000 dollars must be for a massive event. I think it has a wide enough impact to justify it… I personally think $2,000 is great, but if $1,600 is a compromise, great,” said Romans in response.
Vice President Bryant Sitts interjected at this point, speaking on the large difference between the amount ASUI is usually asked for from clubs, and how much they are able to give, due to their budget.
“The number was about $19,000 of requests. We can’t make that, right, so we have to make sure we are dividing it up. So, I greatly appreciate the debate, and continue the debate because it truly is momentous in this process,” said Sitts.
“I would also like to say, when we’re talking about the soil judging team in comparison, they were requesting funding specifically for equipment and things that can be used in the long term, and had only requested the funding because they said their previous equipment had been damaged,” said Sen. Charlie Peacock in response to Romans. “It is great that we would be helping them towards this trip, but also, $40 for a hotel room for multiple nights per student for an extra-curricular. I’d be like, ‘Great, I’ll pay $40 for that trip.’ So, I’m not trying to say that different students don’t have different needs, or not trying to negate the importance of that, but from my understanding of what the bill said, that was the situation.”
The bill was additionally amended to Romans’ recommendation of $1,600 and was passed. During senator communications, the senators de-briefed on their debate.
“A lot of my debate today was motivated by the fact that I felt I had an obligation to advocate for the budget, and I respect everyone’s opinions. I loved our debate I had a lot of fun talking, and I still love working with all of you,” said Camilli.
“I think it’s a moment to understand ourselves, and what we stand for. I love the fact that we talked about something that you stand for, and then you don’t want to change it, because we’re not talking about something some people can’t get,” said Sen. Sonny Cobinah.
S26-B02, celebrating the revival of the UI mock trial team, was unanimously passed during this week’s meeting.
ASUI Senate meetings are open to the public and are held on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Clearwater-Whitewater room of the ISUB.
Josie Adjanohoun can be reached at [email protected].