Introduced by the Sunrise Palouse President, Riya Kumar, a resolution requesting improvements to student worker wages was passed at this week’s ASUI meeting on April 22. Kumar originally brought this concept to the ASUI Senate during public forum in the March 25 senate meeting. After this initial meeting, Sen. Preston Hardcastle worked with Kumar to create S26-R08.
There were multiple speakers from the club, including Benjamin James, affiliate faculty in the UI film and television program, Sam, a current student worker, Finn, a student who had an international student worker as a roommate and Caitlin Denning, who was in attendance for the Vandal K-Crew who also had a bill on the floor.
“I was hired to do a job that I didn’t even end up having to do, because another co-worker who worked full time for much more than I did ended up quitting, and they made me fill their position at my wage, and I still do that now. And I was never compensated for that,” said Sam.
“I can’t even afford my rent right now without financial help from veterans affairs It is honestly so hard to afford anything with how much students are being paid right now,” said Denning.
“My roommate last year… ended up leaving campus just because he couldn’t afford it because the only jobs he could get were on campus, and they don’t pay very well,” said Finn.
This resolution was passed unanimously, and Vice President Bryant Sitts introduced a new committee to focus on the measuring and growth of student wages called the Student Wage Analysis committee, which would be formalized further in the future. Hardcastle also urged senators to place Resolution S26-R08 on their transition documents to make sure the work of the resolution is completed.
The President of the Management Information System Club, Joey Mektakul, spoke during public forum to ask senators to help him promote his clubs’ efforts to consolidate the university’s data and information into a simple, searchable data base, in contrast to the current system. The club is currently working with the UI Office of Information Technology but is looking for student voices to see what information students want to have simplified or reorganized.
“Through this project, we hope and we will build out what they call a ‘data lake house,’ where the single source of all the information will be all in one place, regardless of where you are, where you’re from, from a different department, different organization,” said Mektakul.
To participate in the Management Information System Club’s Student Voice Survey, click here. Those interested in participating in a focus group can do so here.
Bill S26-B19, giving $150 of funding to the Vandal K-Crew for renting out the Hartung Theater, was also passed with some debate. During discussion on the bill, Vice President Sitts stated that ASUI currently has $1,500 remaining for club funding this semester, causing some slight concerns about being able to give all of the clubs the funding they have requested.
“I do agree that we need to be more conscious with our funding, but I think we can be generous with this bill specifically, and there are more bills with more funding, and perhaps with those bills, we can be a bit more flexible,” said Sen. Andrea Leal.
This bill has been moved to the finance committee for review.
Senate Bill S26-B21, giving $1,000 to the UI Black Student Union, was also introduced this meeting, hoping to gain support after last year’s closure of the Black African American Cultural Center on campus.
“BSU attends an event called the family gathering, which is hosted by a wider organization… It brings together other BSUs within the region, and we come together, support each other, and have an event that fosters leadership and growth, as students in this region and students of color. What this funding could do is it would allow for us to bring more people to that event, so they can help support out club and foster that community,” said President of the BSU, Brielle Bradford.
“If you enjoy the Black Student Union in any way, you become a part of this family, and that is very important to know. This funding bill is an investment in students, inclusion and the kind of campus we should all be working towards,” said Sen. Envee Carter.
This bill will be sent to the finance committee and discussed next meeting.
The chapter president of Multi-Cultural Greek Chapter, Kappa Delta Chi, Annai Aguilera Gonzalez, spoke at public forum to introduce their funding bill S26-B23, requesting $1,500 to help refund costs of taking two thirds of their active chapter to a required conference in Chini, Washington.
“We did have fundraising events to help and contribute to the funds, but any support is apricated, especially because of our sisters who come from low income backgrounds,” said Aguilera-Gonzalez.
In debate on the bill, Sen. Emilee Guardado said, “I believe that the MGC community is underappreciated. When I first got here, this was going to be the first year when I didn’t have Dia De Los Muertos with my friends and family. The Kappa Chi sisters held it as an event and that was really close to my heart.”
This bill has been sent to the finance committee and will be voted on next meeting.
During public forum, Chris Sanchez, funding lead for the Humanitarian Engineering Corps, returned to thank the ASUI senators for passing their bill, S23-B13, so they can assist in installing a Clean Water Source, including distribution to homes, in a small community in Peru.
“They are ecstatic about welcoming us into their community, and so I just wanted to say that you for helping us get there, and helping us with our cause,” said Sanchez.
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].