Gifts were the first order of business at last night’s monumental budget-oriented A.S. Council meeting, where the A.S. Graphic Studio presented all councilmembers with complimentary T-shirts.
Two former employees of the UCSD Marketplace visited the forum to talk to the council about the grounds of their dismissal, which they attributed to unfair practices exercised by their supervisor. They hoped to have the council take a definitive stance on fair labor practices by passing a resolution that was tacked to the order of business for the evening.
Resolutions aside, the bulk of the meeting was devoted to poking and prodding the 2009-10 executive budget.
Most line items were left alone, but stipends became a well-worn topic. Campuswide Senator Katie Hall moved to strike the line item for an office stipend for the Office of the President staff, which turned into a long and cyclical discussion of whether office staff merit stipends, and then how much.
Campuswide Senator Bryant Pena said that student fees should be used to fund student activities, rather than go to office stipends. His sentiment was echoed by several other councilmembers throughout the discussion.
‘We found [Advocate General Chris Rebert], he is awesome, he was not paid,’ Hall said. ‘It’s our jobs as a council to get initiatives done, not to have to pay people to get them done.’
The motion to strike the line item failed, but the stipend talk continued, though the budget will undoubtedly be revisited Fall Quarter.
The council finished with the individual line items a quarter after eleven, and indulged in a self-congratulatory cheering and applause.
According to Director of Student Life Business Services John Hughes, this was the best he had seen the A.S. Council handle its budget allocations in the three years he has worked at the university.
As for the resolution calling for fair labor practices at the UCSD Marketplace, significant changes were made in terms of the language of the document in an effort to make it more pertinent to students. Nevertheless, councilmembers took issue with the use of the term ‘fair labor’ and what constitute ‘unfair labor practices’ before approving the tweaked document.
The council then scrutinized the standing rules regarding finance and resources. The section pertaining to Mandate Reserves was heavily debated and was finally tabled with pending amendments for discussion and voting until next week.
During new business Marshall College Senator Brian McEuen requested an additional $400 for the inaugural Freshman Pool Party that will take place this Saturday. The money was allocated, but not before McEuen received a slew of stern reprimands from his colleagues.
‘I actually think this meeting went really well,’ President Utsav Gupta said. ‘Thanks for staying so long. So props.’
The council ended its meeting with a spirited rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ in honor of Gupta turning 21.