Uath Intercollegiate Assembly selects delegates
After completing the application process, Executive Vice President Celestial Starr Bybee joined with Utah Intercollegiate Assembly (UIA) delegate chair Braden Jenkins to select the UIA delegates on Oct. 10.
The selection of delegates was approved by ASUSU executive council on Oct. 16, Bybee said.
“The ASUSU executive vice president and USU delegate chair work as a team to put out the applications, promote UIA, take the applications and interview all applicants. Then we also choose the delegates together. Everything that we do is together,” Bybee said.
Jenkins said, “We had about 30 applicants. We couldn’t just pick the best because they were all extremely well-qualified.”
As a solution to the selection process, personalities were selected on how well they would compliment one another within the group while providing diversity to the group. UIA has delegates ranging from art to biology majors, as well as with international background, Jenkins said.
He said, “It brings in diverse ideas, and more depth and background.”
The UIA is a statewide organization which has delegates in each school. The amount of delegates chosen are in direct proportion to the total student population of the individual schools. The delegates generate ideas by conducting student polls to grasp an idea on the pertinence of issues to students all over the state, Jenkins said.
Ideas become resolutions which will be lobbied to the state legislature and the Board of Regents. Delegates hold the power of the vote, have a seat on the floor during their statewide meetings in the capitol and hold the responsibility of sponsoring a resolution, Jenkins said.
“The thing I would most like students at USU to understand about UIA is that we really do make a difference. We lobby directly to people who decide our curriculum, course requirements and other things. This group really does have a powerful influence,” Jenkins said.
Last year three of the four resolutions that were accepted by the Utah Student Association (USA) came from USU, and UIA looks to have a successful year, Bybee said.
“I am excited to see them all work together and accomplish so much. I know our ideas can be taken seriously especially with the delegation we have picked. They are amazing people individually and will be uncomparable as a team,” she said.