At their Week 2 meeting on Oct. 5, A.S. Council heard special presentations from the alumni board and discussed resolutions for a four-year housing guarantee as well as revisions to the A.S. constitution regarding the powers of the Executive Vice President.

The meeting began with a student giving public input urging senators to vote against an upcoming constitutional change that would allow the Executive Vice President to share their opinion on matters after a debate has been brought to a close and there are no other speakers. The student warned that the change could tip the balance between the branches of the student government.

Next, senators heard a special presentation from the UC San Diego Alumni board on UCSD Alumni Student Engagement Program, a mentorship program available to all UCSD students that pairs students with an alumni mentor. The presenters encouraged A.S. senators to partake in the program to better serve their roles in student government, although the conversations do not have to be Associated Students specific. Sign-ups for the program are due by Nov. 4 for all students.

Following the presentation, the senators took a five minute recess. After which, the microphone was muted for approximately 20 minutes while they discussed ongoing projects. 

They then moved on to discuss the constitutional change mentioned earlier during public input on expanding the powers of the Executive Vice President, and, after discussion, they voted not to amend the constitution.

For the remainder of the meeting, senators discussed a resolution for a four-year housing guarantee. During a tense two hour discussion, the senators went back and forth on the effects of the resolution. While some believed the resolution is urgent and should be passed so that A.S. President Sky Yang could bring up the matter in his future meeting with UC President Michael V. Drake, others believed that there was no need to pass the resolution as it would not result in any university action and acts only as a statement of support.

After much deliberation the senators took a roll call vote and passed the four-year housing guarantee resolution, after which the meeting was adjourned.

A.S. Council meetings take place at 6 p.m. every Wednesday and are open to students. Students can participate in these meetings by joining their Zoom link or tuning in on Facebook Live.

Art by Ava Bayley for the UCSD Guardian.