ASUCR conducted their second meeting of the 2017-2018 academic year on Wednesday night, Oct. 11 beginning at 6:30 pm.

To start the meeting, ASUCR president Aram Ayra presented Peter Haddad, Starla Carrillo and Rume Diamreyan as the three new nominees to serve as justices, while explaining that the fourth spot will remain temporarily vacant. The senate went on to approve all candidates with Haddad voted in at 14-1-0, Carrillo at 13-2-0 and Diamreyan at 15-0-0. In addition, Ayra presented a new service director, and executive secretary to the ASUCR senate, who would later be approved by the Senate.

Prior to their presentation, Ayra expressed his confidence in the newly appointed justices, citing each of their unique skillsets and qualifications for the position. Carrillo is an active police officer in the U.S. Navy and is studying political science with a minor in economics at UCR. Peter Haddad is a political science and economics administrative studies major, focusing on managerial accounting and taxation. Through prior experience as a judicial fellow, Haddad claims to have developed a deep understanding for the procedural rules. Rume Diamreyan is a third-year transfer student from UC Santa Cruz, majoring in psychology, whose background includes involvement with the Nigerian Student Association, as well as serving on the UC Student Conduct Committee.

Another highlight from Wednesday’s meeting was the 13-0-2 passing of CHASS Senator Mariam Alkhalili’s bill to broaden the connection between ASUCR and Costo Hall. Costo Hall is the home of ethnic and gender support programs for UCR students. This bill was proposed in response to ongoing concerns about the lack of collaboration between the two departments, as well as the strong potential in collaborative efforts between ASUCR and Costo Hall programs.

To increase collaboration between the two departments, Alkhalili’s bill calls for each ASUCR senator to sponsor a Costo Hall department, meet their representatives at the beginning of each quarter and attend events hosted by their program. In an interview following Wednesday’s meeting, Alkhalili said, “I believe that this bill will strengthen the abilities of ASUCR and the various ethnic and gender programs to provide, advocate and represent the students here on campus.” If passed, this bill will expand ASUCR’s outreach to UCR’s student body, as well as increasing the student body’s understanding the importance of the role ASUCR plays on our campus.

ASUCR will be holding their second senate meeting of the quarter this Wednesday, Oct. 18 inside the senate chambers (HUB 221) beginning at 6:30 pm.