Meeting #4
May 26, 2004
Special Presentation
Revelle College Senior Senator Ted McCombs announced that the A.S. Ad-Hoc Task Force to Compare and Evaluate Marriage and Domestic Partnership Benefits/Policies at UCSD has finished its report and will distribute it to the council on June 2. Though the committee found that the university provides equal benefits for both married couples and domestic partners, McCombs said the report concludes that same-sex pairs lose out on substantial federal tax benefits. In addition, children of domestic partners are not currently eligible for exemptions that allow selected out-of-state students to pay in-state tuition.
Reports
Commissioner of Enterprise Operations Angela Fornero
Fornero reported that Grove Caffe increased its profits by more than ten percent in a single week after the eatery began accepting meal points. In addition, A.S. Lecture Notes will provide notes during the summer session for the first time this year.
Earl Warren College Interim Freshman Senator Todd Tolin
Tolin announced that statistics recently reported to the Academic Senate’s Representative Assembly show more than 4,100 admitted students confirmed their intention to attend UCSD in the fall. The number is 17 percent more than the 3,500 yield campus administrators had anticipated.
Council Caucus
Commissioner of Student Services Kian Maleki explained that his analysis of data from the Triton Taxi program showed evidence of “abuse” by selected individuals. A single student used the service 11 times in winter quarter and some users gave false names to drivers, including “Seymour Butts,” Maleki said. In two straw polls, more than two-thirds of councilmembers expressed support for limiting the service to no more than three shuttles in a single night and to increase the maximum wait time for students, which is currently capped at 40 minutes, to help cut down operation costs.
Old Business
Item A
The council voted by consensus to amend its media allocations by apportioning $800 to student publication “Future & Finance,” on the condition that the organization promises to reduce the amount of advertisements and increase the amount of student input on the paper.
Item D
Senators voted by consensus to allocate $165 for the purchase of an Xbox video game system for former student Evan Rowley. Rowley had won an Xbox more than two years earlier at an event hosted by Associated Students but the system was stolen before Rowley received it, according to A.S. advisor Lauren Weiner.
Item Q
Deciding by consensus, the council adopted a resolution calling on textbook publishers to lower the cost of educational materials by providing online versions of textbooks, allowing access to older editions of books and selling them without bundling the books with other “bells and whistles.” The resolution followed a CalPIRG report on the same subject.
