ASUI Senators embraced the Halloween spirit at this week’s meeting, with two members dressed as hotdogs and one Lorax in appearance.
The senators were joined by Kathy Dawes, who is running for Idaho State Representative District 6 Seat B in the upcoming election.
Dawes attended the meeting to find out more about what ASUI is doing and to share her “sincere hope that every student who is eligible to vote on this campus will vote on Tuesday.” She stressed how important this election is and in turn, was thanked by the senators for all the work she has done in making voting possible for students.
Rebekah Boyd, ASUI Director of Public Relations, presented her report about how she has been actively posting key events on ASUI social media, with the continuous goal of increased outreach and student engagement. She recently highlighted all the senators on ASUI’s Instagram, which has now reached over 2,500 followers.
Josie Gaturutura, ASUI Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, helped create the bills that allowed ASUI members to attend Bangladesh Night and Africa Night. She was recently involved in multiple tabling events for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Emily Roberts, ASUI Director of Safety, Health and Wellness, spoke about her planned Alcohol 101 House Party, which would offer various resources and information for students about alcohol use. She has been working on changing the current set up of mental health services on campus to allow for online scheduling, and plans on conducting a sexual awareness resources tabling event.
Pro-Tempore Anya Zuercher has been working on a partnership with Petco to create beta fish sets that would be offered to students at a discounted rate. These fish could benefit mental health and save beta fish that might otherwise be disposed of.
The senate bill to allocate $100 to the International Students Intramural Tournament in order to promote cultural exchange was passed unanimously, as was the bill to spend $250 on tickets for ASUI members to attend Diwali Night.
Senator Lance Butikofer shared a resolution that presented ASUI’s support of Proposition 1. He described how the open primaries and ranked-choice voting would create true representation of Idaho voters, especially since minority parties and affiliated voters make up over half of Idaho citizens, according to Butikofer. The resolution was motioned to move to pre-discussion and passed unanimously.
Vice President Emma Johnston congratulated the Senator of the Month, Julissa McDowell and the Cabinet Member of the Month, Justin Carpenter, Director of Traditions and Alumni Engagement, on their extreme dedication and amazing leadership skills over the past month.
President Martha Smith has been working hard on making sure there are resources and manpower ready to go for Election Day on Nov. 5.
Rebekah Weaver can be reached at [email protected].