The ASUU Senate passed a bill Thursday that will help fund ASUU candidate campaigns.
The joint bill aims to make it easier for students to run for ASUU offices. ASUU elections registrar Taylor Thompson said that by passing the bill a candidate would be able to receive half of the total funding they are allowed to spend campaigning in the beginning rather than getting reimbursed after elections like has been done in years past.
“[The bill will help] to make elections more financially feasible,” Thompson said before the senate.
After a debate between senators, the bill eventually passed almost unanimously. One concern raised over the bill was that by passing it, candidates would spend less time fund-raising and gain less experience
“Having money doesn’t make you a better leader,” said Taylor Thurman, a senator from Social Work in defense of the bill Thursday night.
The bill’s total of $15,000 would be able to cover 50 percent of the total cap spending for six full parties and six attorney general candidates for the upcoming elections. Thompson said having six full parties running is unlikely and the remaining funds can be used for independent candidates.
ASUU vice president, Sara Seastrand presented another bill which concerned the Pac-12 Leaders Summit. Seastrand said the summit will take place sometime in the middle of January, but exact dates have not been set and they will depend on the number of schools from the conference that are able to make it.
“It looks like we will get at least half the conference,” Seastrand said.
The bill passed unanimously through the senate after some senators raised concerns over the $12,000 price tag. Seastrand covered this issue by noting that the registration fees, which will be between $250 and $300, will go back into the general reserve, meaning that the bill will only amount to $12,000 in the end if no one from other universities attend the summit.
“This is historic for ASUU,” Seastrand said to the Senate. “It shows that the Pac-12 is not just about athletics.”
The ASUU Assembly passed the bill Tuesday night.
The Senate also passed 18 other bills allocating more than $10,000 total. These bills provide funding to graduate students who have taken a trip to present their research or plan on doing so soon.
While many of these bills tend to be a couple hundred dollars, one bill was for just over $2,700. This bill covered 50 percent of six students’ travel and hotel fares as opposed to most bills which cover these costs for a single student. These six students will receive the funding to go to one of the largest family medicine conferences in Kansas City for lectures and workshops.
In addition to the joint and Senate bill passed Thursday night, the Senate also voted in two directors and four associate directors for several ASUU boards.