The agenda was packed at this week’s Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting, but the council still made time to sing “Happy Birthday” to General Representative Christina Colosimo before getting down to business.
The board voted to approve Neilda Pacquing as chair of the Office Space Allocation Committee, a committee that was involved in controversy last year over some of the decisions that affected student groups.
Internal Vice President Dianne Tanjuaquio, who heads the Appointments Review Committee ““ which does preliminary evaluation of candidates before council votes on the positions ““ said the committee’s reaction to Pacquing was mixed and said there were some concerns about possible conflicts of interest, citing her involvement in the Facilities Commission as well as student group Samahang Pilipino.
But Tanjuaquio said Pacquing did have direct experience with space allocation and turned in the only application.
Cultural Affairs Comissioner Bernice Shaw, who also sits on the committee, noted that Pacquing listed the position as her third choice on the application and said she believes the position should be held by a nonpartisan individual.
President Gabe Rose said the position was difficult to recruit for and, with over 850 student groups, finding a nonpartisan person would be very difficult.
It was Rose who ended up breaking the tie vote of 5-5, confirming Pacquing as chair.
The lengthier issue discussed by the council during this meeting was about a consideration to recognize an appeal of a funding decision from the USAC Finance Committee.
The appeal was from Jeremiah Garcia, director of Queer Alliance. His group was denied funding to pay for tickets to “N.W.C: The Race Play,” and he said the request was denied because funding was not allowed for entertainment, but he said previous entertainment requests from other groups were accommodated.
Finance Committee Chair Parsa Sobhani said the entertainment debate was a gray area but that the appeal had no grounds because Garcia submitted the appeal weeks after the deadline dictated by the bylaws.
The debate made its way around the table and even resulted in Rose interjecting and calling for order. Some speakers said it was mainly an issue of timing and expressed concerns about setting the wrong precedent, while others who supported considering the appeal said the issue was whether the decision-making process was fair and balanced.
The issue was eventually tabled and the involved parties agreed to meet outside and return to the council next week.
The council also heard a presentation from a Teach for America representative and approved student group operations funds and contingency allocations.