The Senate voted last Wednesday to pass a bill that changes the way presidential candidates campaign.
Campaigning Senate bill SB05-004 was passed by an 11-2 vote.
Other aspects of campaigning were set aside to be discussed at next weeks meeting.
The bill states that ¨ASCC elections are to promote more student involvement and are focused on promoting student issues and advocating students need to obtain votes.”
The ASCC also included a bylaw to the Election Code stating: ¨For campaigning, the use of personal or privately owned vendor machines (i.e. snow cone, popcorn, cotton candy) is permitted with proper authorization, however, they may not be used during election days, at all.
Upon reading the proposal ASCC President Paulo Amaral urged Senate members to deny the bill because “this (proposal) is vague.”
He added that with the bylaw code in place, there are ways to get around not having to have vending machines during the election.
Senator Victoria Aquino said that the way that the bylaw is written was contradicting because, “having personal and privately owned vending machines was unfair.”
“Why not have people who are campaigning pass out flyers,” she continued, “and T-shirts instead of incentives.”
Senator Karla Marquez and Senator Ahmed Waheed suggested that the election code be revised.
A five-minute informal meeting was called by ASCC Vice President Charlene Angusco to find a way to reword the election code.
Afterward, Holly Bogdanovich, director of student activities, proposed the revised resolution stating: ¨In case of presidential and senatorial elections, campaigners selling food (excluding candy sells) will be prohibited.”
With the revised code it was passed 14-0.
Afterward, the Senate read the proposals of the Model UN and SADHA for funding of their upcoming conferences.
The Model UN’s first conference will be held in San Francisco April 21 through April 25 in which students are exposed to politics.
The Model UN is requesting that the ASCC provide $1,713.50 and SADHA was asking the ASCC to cover $1,731.48 of the $5,194.44 for its June 2006 National Table Clinic competition, to be held in Orlando.
Party Whip Lexie Guerrero who is a club member of the Model UN said, “This (proposal) calls for a one-time fee,” she added, “but the goal of the (Model UN) is to have these conferences every year.”
In the end, the Senate voted to have an Appropriation Committee decide.
