The first official convening of the newly elected A.S. Council proved to be a unique mix of old and new debates, proving that even in the midst of change, some things still stay the same.
Showing that the best way to start off any new working relationship is through a popularity contest, one of the council’s first orders of business was electing a president pro tempore, who will fill in for Vice President Internal Janine Dellomes in the event she is unable to lead a future meeting.
While six councilmembers were nominated for the position, two declined, leaving four candidates — Eleanor Roosevelt College Senior Senator Erik Rodriguez-Palacios, Vice President External Eddie Herrera, Eleanor Roosevelt College Sophomore Senator Alan Roof and Commissioner of Athletics Kari Gohd.
The candidates were given one minute each to plead the case for why they should be chosen, and a brief question-and-answer session rounded off each makeshift interview.
“I’m Eddie Herrera and welcome back to public input,” Herrera joked, in reference to his frequent and occasionally dramatic appearances in the prior council meetings. Herrera is the only person representing the Tritons United! slate in an executive position.
After the candidates made their cases, debate was taken to the floor, where support seemed split between Herrera and Gohd. However, Gohd’s popularity among councilmembers seemed to trump the mixed feelings regarding Herrera’s council experience in the secret-ballot voting, and the scales tipped in her favor.
Returning to business seemed to be a slight flashback as some senators engaged in debate over issues that, on the surface, did not appear to be at all controversial.
For example, three senators voted to abstain and one voted against an item that would confirm a uniform location and time for all future council meetings.
With regards to the Student-Run Television issue that caused many a headache in the era of the last council, President Harry Khanna said that the station signal should be returning between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. within the next few days.
He said that he hopes to convince university administrators that the council intends to remain loyal to the controversial “acceptable use policy,” which will hopefully return the signal to 24-hour broadcasting.
Khanna also announced the upcoming release of the council’s executive budget, which will be considered for approval later in the quarter.
With the upcoming budget proposal, the current deliberations of the Student Organizations Funding Advisory Board, and the promise of more finance-related items on the agenda next week, it should prove interesting to see how tight a grip this new council has on its purse strings.
