Disclaimer: The weekly A.S. Council column is not meant to be a news story but rather an individualized account of what occurs at Council meetings. If the most interesting part of a three-hour meeting is President Suvonnasupa’s haircut or an outburst from Senator O’Neill, the writer has the stylistic freedom to mention that in his column.
The meeting began with public input, including an announcement from our very own editor and chief Vincent Pham. Pham announced that the UCSD Guardian will experiment with live streaming the A.S. Council meetings in the near future and thanks some of our most consistent quote contributors among Council members.
Next up came a special presentation from Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez, who took questions from Council members. Associate Vice President of Student Organizations Jeremy Snyder asked Gonzalez about food security and A.S. Senator Roger O’Neill asked about the housing crisis at UCSD. Gonzalez remarked that he is very concerned about it and would ideally like a four year housing guarantee but that it is not possible in the foreseeable future. But hey, it’s not like on-campus housing is the cheapest option around here.
Gonzalez also addressed educational concerns, including the time it takes to graduate and department requirements. He pointed that some departments require up to 160 units for graduation when the typical requirement is 120. In fact, as soon as students at UCLA hit 120 units in their department, they receive their diploma and are only allowed to continue as graduate students. This is hard to imagine for many of us here at UCSD.
The conversation with Gonzalez continued with topics ranging from Sun God harm reduction and prevention to Triton Day in China, which Gonzalez wasn’t aware existed.
AVP of Academic Affairs Rushil Patel brought up our unfortunate nickname of “UC Socially Dead” and asked Gonzalez what we can do to combat this notion, to which the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs responded, “D1.”
Gonzalez also responded to a question about the parking crisis, an issue which I and most of my fellow students struggle with Monday through Friday. Unfortunately it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
Next up came a lengthy presentation and discussion with Director of Student Conduct Ben White. Campus-wide Senator Thadeus Odom voiced his discontent with the policy of writing up sober underage students who in the company of students who are drinking because he himself encountered that issue twice. Odom also pointed out that it’s very helpful to have a sober supervisor. Based on what I witnessed during my freshman year, this is most definitely a valid statement.
After various announcements from Council members, the meeting adjourned at 8:32pm.
