ASG Asks Administration to Listen

Senators want a voice in selection of next presidentAnthony AlegreteAssociate ReporterOctober 11, 2018For many students, having their voices heard concerning university issues is vital. That is exactly what a proposal put forth by three Associated Student Government (ASG) senators hopes to accomplish.The week three meeting laid out a proposal drafted by senators to help get students’ concerns addressed by university administration. It also highlighted the increasing opportunities and support for student involvement and Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) on Santa Clara’s campus.Sophomore Senator Kyle Andrews authored the proposal to have presidential finalists meet with the student senate, with help from ASG members senior Rory Pannkuk and senior Rachel Wiggins.Their proposal comes in light of the retirement announcement University President Michael Engh S.J., made. He will step down at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. A search committee to find the next president was put together by the university in September.The committee consists of 15 faculty and staff members, but no current or recent Santa Clara students.ASG senators like Andrews are concerned that without a student on the search committee, or at least student input, Santa Clara’s next president may not have current students’ interests in mind.As a result, Andrews’ proposal, which will go directly to university administration for approval, plans to have finalists for the position of president appear before senate.Senators will conduct a question and answer session, allowing student elected officials to ask the finalists their perspectives on various issues and represent the needs of those they are tasked with serving.Sophomore Senator Nicholas Niehaus echoed this sentiment of fostering a positive environment between faculty and the student body.“Dialogue between the administration and Santa Clara students is critical to bringing about change and fostering a positive campus culture,” Niehaus said. “This resolution jump-starts that process with the finalists and allows for some student involvement in the university presidential selection process.”Although this proposal was passed at the senate meeting, it still has to make its way through the school’s administration before coming to fruition.Senators also voted on four clubs that had petitioned for RSO status the week before. All four of the proposed RSOs were approved by ASG senators.The new clubs include VRoncos, a virtual reality club; Santa Clara Investment Banking Club (SCIB) and the Santa Clara Investing Club, which will be approved pending a name change due to its similarity to SCIB.In addition to approving the RSOs that pitched last week, three new clubs petitioned for RSO status. These include SCU Jams, an organization that aims to offer student musicians a community at Santa Clara; SCU Climbing, a club that is attempting to bring both competitive and recreational rock climbing to campus and SCU Pokemon Go, a group that will bring organization to the pre-existing players on campus. ASG senators will vote to approve or deny these clubs’ requests for RSO status at next week’s meeting.ASG senators also listened to requests for funding from already existing clubs. The RSOs gave presentations detailing why they should receive grants from the senate for their upcoming national or regional conferences.These clubs included the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Engineers Without Borders and the National Society of Black Engineers. Approval or rejection of these proposals will occur at the next meeting.The next ASG senate meeting will be held on Thursday Oct.11 at 7 p.m.in Casa Italiana Residence Hall.Contact Anthony Alegrete at aalegrete@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.