Student cohort critiques AS senate
Luke Garrett / Editor in Chief / The USD Vista
In the aftermath of a contentious executive veto, senate override, and eventual formal warning issued to the president, the senate and president sat at odds in regard to the College Readership Program (CRP), but also more fundamentally to their respective uses of power. In an email from President Natasha Salgado to The USD Vista, she warned of the community’s reaction to the senate’s actions. As she predicted, some members of the USD community went looking for answers.
A record 24 students filled the seats at last week’s Associated Student (AS) senate meeting – the first AS meeting since the censure of President Salgado. The meeting ran its usual course with the swearing in of a new senator, confirmation of student organizations, and a water fountain proposal. Although the senate’s agenda items were completed swiftly, the AS meeting was far from over. As the speaker of the senate, Tyler Warren called for “final business” – a time reserved for the public to voice their opinions to the governing body – the presence of 24 students was made known.
Alanah Winston, sophomore sociology major, was the first to speak on behalf of the student cohort, clearly stating the group’s concerns: the censure on Salgado and the priorities of AS. Beginning with critiques of the senate’s reasons for censure and The USD Vista’s coverage of it, Winston defended Salgado as the sole member of AS who listens to her community. To Winston, this juxtaposition of Salgado’s impact and the senate’s lack thereof delegitimized their censure of the AS president.
“The only person that actually gave us funding was Natasha, herself,” Winston said. “She took money out of her own grant. That is where we saw results. Someone in AS is listening to the needs and concerns of the students, and we feel as though the rest (of AS) is not necessarily doing so to that extent. (This) is why we find it hypocritical to accuse her of abuse of power.”
Supporting students snapped in agreement as Winston sat down. Soon after, senior Maya Ramirez stepped up to voice further complaints against the recent actions of the AS senate and their prioritization of the CRP over other important initiatives, including retention rates of people of color, parking rates, and the removal of Junipero Serra’s name from campus.
Following Winston and Ramirez’s expressions of discontent with the AS senate, a pattern of student grievance and senate response ensued for the remainder of the meeting. The group’s grievances were centered around the senate’s lack of engagement with the USD community and the need for senators to fulfill their respective roles. This was stated clearly by Black Student Union Co-President, Riley Lewis.
“You need to go outside of this room to find out what your constituents want and need,” Lewis said. “This is a paid position. If you are going to take the money they are paying you, then you also need to put in the hours where you can find out what your constituents want and need.”
Senators’ responses varied from being apologetic to defensive.Rowan Parmenter, senator of Alcala Vistas, acknowledged his own frustrations with of AS.
“I really apologize for you all thinking this is inefficient,” Parmenter said. “I am frustrated
with how things take a long time. We were held up because we didn’t have a finance chair, so we couldn’t make these decisions… Please reach out to AS and we will do our best to reach out to you.”
Alternatively, Warren defended the senate’s engagement and involvement on campus. He claimed it was unfair to say senators aren’t showing up to events when he stated that the majority of last year’s top Olé Point earners were AS and TPB members, meaning they are some of the most involved members of the USD community.
Salgado closed the meetings by thanking the senators and the members of the public, as well as encouraging the senators to better seek out their constituents.
“I hope that members of the public and senators are able to have that two-way communication,” Salgado said. “Not just having our members of the public come in and search us out, but having us search them out as well.”
At Salgado’s last words, Winston cheered, “Woo! Yes, Natasha!” and the group of students applauded as the meeting was adjourned.
Following the meeting, Winston shared her thoughts.
“I felt a lot more defensiveness…than I did willingness to receive critique,” Winston said. “We were not met with willingness to change from all of our senators. The speaker of the senate, within the first 10 minutes, was like ‘I’m here to defend the senate’ and that made it feel like we were attacking them and that is not our intention. It is only to voice our opinions.”
Warren, in an interview after the meeting adjourned, further defended the senate by pointing out the diversity of representation within the senate.
“There are a lot of people in this room that represent multiple different groups,” Warren said. “Like we have got veterans in here… Me personally, I might not got to their meetings. I definitely go to the International Student Organization meetings. I go to military program meetings. I go to Interfraternity Council meetings when I can.”
Senators and members of the public stayed long after the meeting to exchange contacts and further discuss the issues brought up.
Cheche Turrubiartez, senior political science major and one of the 24, reflected on the meeting.
“My hopes for the future is that the communication the constituents were asking for… gets granted,” Turrubiartez said. “The conversation was heated, but I think that maybe it was necessary. The senators are definitely here talking to their constituents after the meeting. So I think that there was something that changed and hopefully things get better.”
Regardless of the tension and conflict within AS, student involvement and participation is at an all-time high within recent memory. With the finance chair confirmed and energy within the senate high, eyes are on AS to see how they will act as the governing body of the University of San Diego.