ASUCR has selected Simon Ho, a third-year political science major, to fill the final justice position for the judicial branch during their most recent meeting. In addition, the senate has approved a clock-in software that will allow students involved with ASUCR to verify hours spent at the office.
Ho, a transfer student, has previous experience as an associate student justice and as the head of an advertising committee at Pasadena City College. These professional experiences and his responses to the application encouraged the senate to approve Ho.
The application process for the position included a form and an interview with Personnel Director Ashley Harano. Interviews were granted to those President Nafi Karim described as “top candidates” for the position based on their prior experiences and skillsets displayed on their application.
An important role of the judicial branch is to review legislation passed by the senate to ensure it abides by the ASUCR constitution and bylaws. Due to the importance of this branch, there are a variety of qualities, such as integrity, that affect the evaluation of a justice nomination, according to Karim.
Karim described integrity as “not being influenced by the identity, race, gender, political status, wealth or relationship of the party.” Certain external factors such as biases may affect senate decisions that affect the student body negatively, therefore Karim says it is important for judges to not have any biases that will affect their decision making.
To prove that he met the criteria, Ho emphasized that a person’s background and identities would not cloud his judgement when performing the duties of a justice. His nomination was accepted by a closed ballot vote of 11-2-0.
After the meeting, Ho recalled some challenges that he faced in his former justice position. “In my previous college, each council of the justice branch always left behind a myriad of unfinished assignments for the succeeding council to finish — from addressing loopholes to drafting policies,” Ho stated.
“If this is the case (here), I look forward to these challenges and hope to complete these tasks to the best of my ability,” Ho concluded.
After the appointment, funds were approved for a new clock-in software for ASUCR student employees who are paid by the hour to verify their timesheet at the office. According to Vice President of Finance Iris Jiang, students will be able to log on using their student ID, as opposed to having ASUCR Payroll and Budget Accountant Amy Carrizosa log in the students’ hours on the old software.
Due to technical issues associated with the old software, Jiang stated that the new system would allow students to clock in more effectively. Problems with the old software included requiring multiple login attempts.
This discussion prompted Senator Jackie Jacoby to ask if it was possible to use the software for ASUCR senators. Currently, the bylaws require members of ASUCR to log four work hours per week onto an online database. Members of the senate are paid a biweekly stipend, so the new system would not affect their salaries.
“I think it would be a great idea for senators to use this system instead of the (online) drive, because it shows when people are coming into the office to do their work,” Jacoby proposed. Her proposition was to make use of this software voluntary, however.
Senator Jason Ramirez stated that, while he wasn’t against the idea, the software may still be unreliable because students clocking in at the office may still not be working.
“I know that some people go into the office not to do work and just to hang out sometimes. I don’t think that this will be an accurate representation of work,” Ramirez explained.
Highlights:
-
Akeem Brown proposes opening up the entrance to the Bytes lounge to the entire campus on days where it is only accessible by BCOE students, such as on weekends.
-
Members of ASUCR will host a meet-and-greet event on the anniversary of the grand opening of the Bear’s Den on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Full video coverage of ASUCR senate meetings is available online at youtube.com/UCRChannelH.
