Tuesday night’s USG Senate meeting saw the introduction of a funding proposal for fentanyl testing strips, and two approvals — a resolution to make election day a non-instructional holiday and funding for ROTC scholarships so students can get flight training.
The meeting began with a presentation by Chief Financial Officer Adenike Makinde on updates on USG funding. Makinde’s presentation showed the green engagement fund and the social innovation fund are being largely used. She also called for senators to propose funding for the last time this semester, as the process can be quite lengthy, that way they will have sufficient time to execute any projects before the semester ends.
Speaker of the Senate Tommy Nguyen also held a short presentation, where he informed the senators of the updates in his work so far. Nguyen has been working with the Middle Eastern North African Student Assembly (MENASA) and Military Associated Student Assembly (MASA) to officially establish them as official student assemblies, and he collaborated on resolutions to make election day a holiday and also to help Ukrainian students affected by the Russian invasion of their home country. He is also using the USG budget for internal purposes, such as obtaining banners, name tags, office decorations and renovations among other things of that nature.
Last week’s USG meeting saw the proposal of the ROTC Aviation Career Opportunity, where Senator Brian Stowe asked the USG Senate to fund five $1500 scholarships. The money would allow five ROTC students to receive 6 to 7 hours of flight training for free, an opportunity which would allow them to have an advantage in the Air Force’s Pilot Candidate Selection process. After a brief discussion, the Senate voted to unanimously pass the funding proposal.
A resolution introduced last week, VoteSC’s effort for USC to designate Election Day a non-instructional day or holiday was unanimously approved by the Senate. VoteSC noted the difficulties marginalized communities face when voting and also how college-aged students have low turnouts at the polls. They used this information to explain the importance of USC designating Election Day as a holiday along with creating a permanent voting place on campus for students and community members. The Senate voted to approve the resolution, which will soon be placed on Carol Folt’s desk for final approval.
Finally, Senator Arie Abija introduced a resolution in order to help Ukrainian students on and off-campus. Abija said she plans for USG to push USC to provide tangible support to the USC Ukrainian community by demanding expanded accommodations, additional financial and emergency aid, expedited mental health services, and more for Ukrainian students. The Senator also expressed that USC needs to explicitly condemn Russia’s invasion and make public all ties the University has with the country. The Senate will vote on this resolution next week.
Toward the end of the meeting, a Senator introduced a funding proposal for a fentanyl strip testing program in collaboration with TACO Inc, a South LA grassroots non-profit that began as a USC organization that is working to combat accidental overdose deaths among young adults. The proposal would help address drug-related deaths in the USC community after data reported nine USC students died in 2019 due to drug-related issues. The project will buy 3,500 test strips to be distributed through USC channels such as Residential Education, student assemblies and cultural centers, and other mediums. The Senate will vote on this funding proposal next week.
USG Senate meetings take place every Tuesday evening in TCC 350.