On Friday, Feb. 23, the student senate met to discuss an intuitive way for the student body to connect and communicate with their representatives on the board, as well as several other notable discussions.

Following the regular meeting, eight of the 19 board members of the ASG held a meeting for their subgroup, the Bylaw Amendment Task Force.

“The original purpose of this committee was to amend the bylaws so that clubs only had to recharter every academic year, not every semester,” said Elena Fuentes, chair of the task force.

Bylaws are the rules and regulations surrounding the student government regarding their governing power and decision making.

Despite the group being predominantly focused on making club chartering more convenient for students, they covered a broad range of topics beyond this main focus. 

The task force dug deep into the bylaws surrounding stipends, as a follow up to the prior meeting’s discussion surrounding them. They acknowledged that they may have to shave off even more of their stipend budget for the sake of funding events in the spring semester.

The task force decided not to make any official amendments to the stipends without further discussion in the next meeting. However, Reemo Hooper, Isla Vista community representative, called for a complete reading of the bylaws in a future meeting, so board members could be refreshed on the rules surrounding their positions.

“Everyone should familiarize themselves with the governing documents, and next meeting we have to go over them together,” Hooper said to the group.

Following the discussion of bylaws and stipends, the task force brainstormed ideas to promote a more involved relationship between students and the ASG at City College. Ideas such as mandatory surveys, a student government canvas page and countless others were suggested.

“We’re representatives, it’s our job.” Hayden McBride, Vice President of Operations and Finance insisted, referring to the need for more interaction between student’s and the ASG.

During the regular meeting hours, Commissioner Fuentes acknowledged the new student resolutions of 2024.

Student resolutions are bills suggested by community college students for problems they would like to be solved, or ideas they may have to improve their campus. These resolutions are brought forth at the general assembly of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Any student can suggest a bill of any kind, and work with an ASG representative to help draft an official resolution.

Some brief examples of this year’s proposals are needs-based parking permits for students, as well as a resolution for increased LGBTQ+ awareness and representation on campus.

The prayer and meditation room committee assured that they would meet next week in order to establish a concrete location for the prayer room, likely in the Learning Resource Center at City College.

In his individual report, Commissioner of Academics Yonatan Libman stated that City College’s textbook provider, Follett, changed their contract with the school, and prices should be lowered by next fall’s semester.

An additional topic for students to be wary of is a proposed change of pricing for parking permits, by an extra $10 for an all-day pass, and an extra $5 for evening and summer passes. 

This proposal was submitted to the ASG by City College’s Assistant Superintendent and Vice President of Business Services Brian Fahnestock.

The next Associated Student Government meeting will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 1.