ASUO Vice President Johnny Delashaw and a number of senators missed Monday night’s low-key ASUO Senate meeting, in which a new senator was appointed and the Student Bar Association received funding.
The new senator, sophomore Ryan Castro, will occupy the previously vacant 20th Senate seat. Castro has no experience in student government and admitted he knows little about the ASUO. However, he did insist his experience as a fraternity officer and a Holden Leadership Center employee has prepared him for the position.
Seat 20 on the ASUO Senate has been vacant since last year’s election. The seat is reserved for a student in the College of Education. Castro is entering the field of family and student services, which falls into the required category.
Castro said his greatest strength is that he is “very accountable” and he repeatedly stressed his ability to make unbiased decisions.
“I’ll bring a fair judgement and a fair vote,” Castro said when asked what he would contribute to the body.
Castro admitted that he has not yet read the Green Tape Notebook, which explains how the ASUO works and what senators’ duties are. He said he is also unfamiliar with the K-12 Teacher Licensing Program and the High School Equivalency Program, which other senators said are programs important to education students.
Nevertheless, 13 of the 15 senators at the meeting voted to appoint Castro. Sens. Alex McCafferty and Nick Gower abstained from the vote.
After his appointment, Castro remained quiet until the end of the meeting when he made the closing motions.
Aside from Castro’s appointment, there were few items on the agenda at the rare Monday meeting – moved from Wednesday to allow members of the body to get home in time for Thanksgiving. Four senators – Suzie Giacomelli, Michael Latteri, Noor Rajabzadeh and Jordan Schenck – did not attend. Delashaw was absent and sent senior David Griffin to the meeting to represent him.
The Senate’s only surplus allocation was $410 to the Student Bar Association. Law student Jumane Redway requested the funds and asked that the Senate reimburse him for attending October’s Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association Conference in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Following is a detailed breakdown of the Senate’s decisions.
Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee
? The request: permission to hire an administrative assistant for the ACFC using funds in its budget that were previously reserved for a fan behavior campaign and distribution for football and basketball tickets.
? The decision: approved
Student Bar Association
? The request: $410 from the Senate to reimburse the costs of attending the BESLA Conference, not paid by the School of Law.
? The decision: Request granted by a margin of seven senators for, four against, and four abstaining.
? Total allocation: $410
Appointments
? Ryan Castro appointed to the 20th seat.
? Appointees for the Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee and the Constitution Court did not attend the meeting.
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