Students dissatisfied with treatment of disabled students, seek resource center
UC San Diego students and members of the University’s undergraduate Student Civil Liberties Union spoke during the Associated Student Senate meeting’s initial public comment section to express concern over the University’s treatment of disabled students. Public comments advocated for establishing a disabled student center, with one commenter claiming that disabled students make up one-third of the student population.
Aryan Dixit, the A.S. associate vice president of equity, diversity, and inclusion, concurred with the request for a new center, stating that the mistreatment of disabled students is a “problem [that] has persisted for over a decade.”
SCLU and the Blind Snakes Co-op, a disability rights student organization, have been advocating for the establishment of a disabled student resource center. In their comments, the students requested $10,000 from A.S. to cover the center’s cost and a physical on-campus space.
A motion regarding this issue has been brought to the A.S. Senate and is expected to be on the agenda for Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Triton Television presents budget request and updates
Representatives from Triton Television, UCSD’s student-run film studio, presented a budget request of $39,000 for the year to the A.S. Senate. Many student organizations, including TTV, are waiting in anticipation for the A.S. budget to be voted on in the upcoming weeks.
Last Fall Quarter, A.S. proposed cuts to the part of its budget allocated for student organizations. Student organizations protested the decision, leading A.S. to restore the funds and make cuts elsewhere.
A.S. has been balancing its deficit and cuts to its yearly budget from the University with allocating enough funding for student organizations. In past years, TTV has generally received less than what it has requested from A.S.
To recoup the costs A.S. does not cover, TTV representatives spoke on the organization’s quarterly growth and introduced its new system for earning revenue by offering paid projects to individuals or organizations. TTV members also stated that they are currently working on introducing merchandise for sale to the general public in the future.
AS Senate fills remaining vacancies
The A.S. Senate appointed three new senators to fill the remaining vacant positions. They are the following:
- Kaleb Truchan — Campuswide Senator
- Sadha Bhinder — First-year Senator
- Miranda Grimberg — First-year Senator
- Isabella Guzman — Transfer Senator
At the start of every school year, the two first-year senators and a transfer senator are appointed by A.S., not voted on by the student community.
Campuswide senators are normally voted on by the public during an A.S.-wide election in the Spring Quarter. One elected campuswide senator, Mohammed Zaid, did not return to his position this academic year. He no longer attends UCSD.
A.S. posted public applications for the vacant positions on Sept. 30 and Oct. 9 in an announcement on its Instagram. Candidates were then chosen via an internal selection process.
