At the A.S. Council’s Week 4 meeting on Feb. 1, senators discussed A.S. Senator updates, as well as changes to Triton Lobby Corps’ bylaws.

Vice President of External Affairs Nikki Saito encouraged senators to apply for the Student Lobby Conference 2023. The conference, hosted by the University of California Student Association at the State Capitol, is fully funded and welcomes applications from all UC students. According to the UCSA website, it provides students the unique opportunity to “directly engage elected officials on [issues affecting students and California higher education].” The deadline for the conference application is this Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Rhianen Callahan also reported to the Senate that their office was made aware of a professor in the UC San Diego physics department who had liked a tweet that stated that “YouTube Kids is grooming kids with LGBTQ+ propaganda.” They state that they had informed the physics department, the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the UCSD Chancellor via email. 

Additionally, in response to a question from Senator Ariana Esparza regarding updates on Lecturer Robert Ternansky, who was temporarily replaced last quarter following a widely-shared video of him making racist comments during his Oct. 11 CHEM43A lecture, Callahan said that nothing substantial had been done. However, Callahan reassured senators they would persist in following up with Ternansky’s case. 

“Absolutely nothing [has been done],” Callahan said. “He’s currently restricted from teaching, as far as I know … I’m not going to stop asking ….”

Lastly, senators also discussed changes to Triton Lobby Corps’ Bylaws. The TLC is the UCSD A.S.’s official legislative advocacy body. VP Saito proposed that TLC should be led by the current Legislative Director for the A.S. Office of External Affairs, instead of a separate Executive Director. This would facilitate seamless communication between A.S. External Affairs and TLC. The change was well-received and was passed with 22 Senators voting for the change. 

 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