By The outgoing Associated Students Inc. Senate members proposed detailed recommendations to incoming senators for the 2019-20 academic year Wednesday.
The proposals offered a glimpse into the vision of the current Senate and the legacy they hope to pass on to their successors.
Vice President Leen Almahdi set aside a significant portion of the meeting to collect the senators’ recommendations, which covered a broad swath of issues facing the Long Beach State community.
Among the proposals were advocating for increased housing resources for homeless students, eliminating paper towel usage and increasing the number of hydration stations, bringing greater awareness to mental health issues, and making LBSU a designated polling location in elections.
Many of the ideas suggested by the senators focused on making the senate function more effectively, including one proposal for the Senate to collaborate with groups outside of ASI.
“We should do more in collaboration with Greek life, housing and other campus entities that fall outside of ASI, but are still within LBSU,” said Senator At-Large Imani McDonald. “If we could collaborate more with other organizations, it creates a less chaotic view of the university and would be beneficial across the board.”
The Senate also conducted its second reading of the proposed ASI budget for the 2019-20 academic year.
All of these senators, who were assigned to analyze a specific part of the budget, returned with the verdict that their assigned departments seemed to be managing their funding effectively. After further deliberation and some financial explanations from Executive Director Richard Haller, the Senate unanimously voted to move the budget to its final reading.
The meeting also served as a connection to LBSU’s storied history, as former Dean of Students and Professor Emeritus Stuart L. Farber visited to give a memorable invocation.
“You’ve earned this role through successful collaboration,” Farber said. “You understand the other’s position and work together for the common agreement. That’s positive leadership.”
As the meeting came to a close, a moment was taken in acknowledgement of Haller, who is retiring at the end of the academic year, after more than three decades of employment by the university.
“It feels kind of surreal to give my last report,” Haller said. “But don’t worry, you’ll see more of me. I only live a few miles from campus, and if I hear that you’re up to no good, I’ll be back.”
The next ASI Senate meeting will be held May 8 at 3:30 p.m. in USU 234.
