ASUSU tabels eight items of legislation
As the last meeting of the year commenced on Tuesday for Associated Students of Utah State University, eight items of legislation were either tabled until Jan. 8 or left unmentioned due to heated discussions revolving around the Extensions vice president position.
A third-reading item granting a request for Capital and Support to help fund the remodeling and furnishing of the Cisco Room for Clubs and Organizations was unanimously agreed to by all members of the council.
The bill will allow all clubs and organizations on campus to have a meeting place located in a room attached to the Fieldhouse. Capital and Support will fund $4,185. Some of the funds will go towards remodeling costs and the remainder will supply adequate furniture for the room. Campus recreation and Assistant Vice President for Student Services Gary Chambers will also help fund the expenditure, said Karmann Clements, organizations and traditions vice president of ASUSU.
“The clubs are very excited about this. They [currently] don’t have anywhere to meet. I hope they take this opportunity to use the room. It’s there for them, Clements said. I hope five years from now I can come back and see the room has been expanded and the clubs have gone with it.”
Extensions Vice President Tad Thornton’s bill concerning Extension senators was tabled after a lengthy discussion in which little could be agreed upon.
“I’ve been working on what we can do to increase the position of Extensions and I’ve come to the conclusion that this position should be eliminated from ASUSU. I just feel that there is not the interest from Extension students and I have [proof] to back that up,” he said.
Thornton said the Extension vice president position is funded by student fees from students on campus. Students at Extension sites do not pay for their representative and it seems unfair to him that on-campus students are paying for a service that does not apply to them. Further, Thornton said relationships with the Extension representatives are uncooperative.
“They’ve made absolutely no effort. Because of the distance, it’s not worth the money and it’s not worth the time. I’m not saying Extension students don’t need representatives, I’m just saying that [the Extension vice president] position is not effective,” Thornton said.
ASUSU President Steve Palmer disagreed.
“Are there problems? Yes, there are problems. Is this representation the most effective representation? No, probably not. But I don’t think we should cut out representation of 6,000 students. I think this is a really rash decision to jump into. I’m just asking you to think about this,” Palmer said.
At last week’s ASUSU meeting, Thornton had asked ASUSU to consider appointing the five extension representatives to the council and now, “one week later, you want to eliminate the [vice president] position,” Palmer said, “cutting ties completely.”
“The main problem has been a problem in administration. With that in mind, why are we punishing the students?” Palmer asked.
Thornton countered by saying, “I don’t think this is going to cut the extension students out. They have desires for programs that are specific to their own area. Let’s let them do it in their own area,” Thornton said.
If the bill passes when executive council picks it up again in January, the extension sites would have their own representation specific to their region, Thornton said.