Sonoma State University

Senate Special Meeting Minutes 08/30/23

Minutes

Sonoma State University
AS Senate Meeting
Associated Students
7:00 pm- Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Erin Fisher Room – 2nd Floor Student Center

Special Meeting Minutes

  1. Call to Order & reading of the Land acknowledgement- The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m.
  2. Roll Call- Vanessa Sanchez, Taylor Frickman, Cassandra Garcia, Greta Fast, Clayton Trent are here. AS Executive Vice President Angelina Lopez is absent but it is excused;
  3. Public Comment – pursuant to California Education Code 89306, the AS Senate provides this time for any member of the public to address the AS Senate on any item affecting higher education. Pursuant to California Education Code 89306(b), each speaker will be allowed no more than three (3) minutes to address the AS Senate.
  4. Business
    1. Approving a Government Resolution Opposing the 6% Multi-Year Tuition Increase Proposal (ACTION)

      1. Discussion- Senator Sanchez is giving a brief description of the discussion from last Senate meeting and the resolution itself; It is interpreting and explaining the opposition of the 6% tuition increase and holding the CSU system accountable for the declarations they have made off of claiming to be affordable, so in the resolution, it is essentially saying by having this 6% tuition increase, school is not affordable anymore; At the end, there is an action plan and have it sent to the CSU Board of Trustees and distributed to the cabinet of SSU, state assembly members and posted on all AS social media channels ; Director Dickson is suggesting to change the wording since some of it is a bit odd worded on the last whereas
        statements; Senator Sanchez moved to amend the title of our Government Resolution opposing the 6% multi- year tuition increase proposal; The amended motion passed unanimously; Vice President of Finance moved to change any mention of the 6% tuition increase in the government resolution specifically in the third whereas and the fourth whereas and therefore statement to the state 6% multi-year tuition increase proposal; Senator Fast seconded the motion; The motion passed unanimously; Senator Fast amend to move the therefore statement to say investigate more better affordable options for the CSU; Vice President of Finance Trent seconded the motion; Discussion of the amended motion is that Senator Sanchez and Senator Frickman feel the word “investigate” in that context in the motion is odd and offputting a bit; The motion passes unanimously; The goal is to be say most affordable and most effective; President Garcia is discussing the wording media channels to social media; However, Director Dickson says you don’t have to change because it means the same thing unless if you were talking about a tv station; Senator Sanchez moves to amend the fourth part of the action plan to display appropiately on Associated Students’ media channels to display appropriately on Associated Students’ social media. Vice President of Finance Trent seconded the motion; The motion passes unanimously; Senator Fast was thinking of the wording of the changed statement; VPF Trent does like the wording of affordable and effective; Senator Fast thought the statement was supposed to be like it is the CSU’s goal to be the most affordable and effective; Senator Frickman agrees that the statement should stand out that it is the CSU’s goal to be affordable and effective, whereas with the increase being voted on, it is contradictory to that goal; VPF Trent suggested that additional to that, more option of funding to CSU of the goal of being one of the most affordable and effective or something on the lines of that; Senator Fast suggested: not our goal, but the CSU’s goal; Senator Sanchez move to amend the therefore statement by saying everything up to the third line: has to investigate more options for funding the CSU and amended to say: that funding the CSU’s goals of being one of the most affordable and effective in the country; Senator Frickman feels like the most affordable and most effective feels a bit generalized in that statement; The word does not captivate what the resolution is trying to get the point across; President Garcia agrees with that wording is not capturing the whole message of the resolution; Since no one seconded the motion, the motion died; The executives are back to discussion of the wording; The main focus is that we are voting opposing to the tuition increase and making sure the students of SSU understand what the
        resolution stands for; Senator Fast move to amend the current resolution to read as: therefore let it hereby be resolved the Associated Students of Sonoma State University strong opposition to the proposed CSU 6% multi year tuition increase and let it therefore for hereby further resolved the Associated Students of Sonoma State University recon on the members of the CSU Board of Trustees investigate options for funding the CSU making it affordable for the current and future students of the university and therefore let it hereby further be resolved the Associated Students of Sonoma State University encourage the members of the Board of Trustees to vote against the CSU 6% multi year tuition increase proposal; Vice President of Finance Trent seconded the motion; The motion passes unanimously;

      2. Action- Vice President of Finance Trent moved to approve the amended resolution; Senator Frickman seconded the motion; The motion passed unanimously;

  5. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 pm;

Posted in accordance with the Gloria Romero Open Meeting Law of 2000 by: President Cassandra Garcia

 

The Associated Students of Sonoma State University acknowledges Indigenous Peoples as the traditional stewards of the land. Let it be acknowledged that the Associated Students and Sonoma State University is located within the traditional homelands of the indigenous peoples collectively known as Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo.