ASU finance agenda

The Associated Student Union votes on how to spend its budget

By Milan Rafaelov, editor-in-chief

(L-R) Commissioner of Campus & Environmental Affairs Jazmin Balbuena, ASU Vice President Trang Vu and ASU President Christopher Robles-Garay convene for a semi-monthly budget committee meeting held in the Skybox conference room on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (Jeremy Ruiz | Valley Star)

The ASU held its bi-weekly committee meeting to vote on how funds would be distributed to upcoming events, approving about $45,000 on the day. After the meeting, an interview was conducted to fill a vacant seat for the executive council treasurer position.

ASU members gathered In the Skybox conference room and reviewed its $360,229 budget.

First was a request to fund a CSU trip to Northern California for $27,100.00. The tour would allow anyone within student life or the Dream Resource Center departments to sign up and visit CSU campuses in the state. The funds would cover the cost of travel, hotel, transportation, food, and entry to different activities for each member. Participating members are scheduled to visit multiple colleges and universities in Northern California to learn about resources to help them pursue higher education. Funds for the trip were approved for the original requested price. ASU members also look forward to purchasing custom-made jackets with their embroidered names and years served as ASU constitutes for the approved budget of $4,500.

They continued down the list, approving $2,872.90 to feed an estimated 200 students at The National Hunger and Homelessness Resource Fair on Nov.15. They also approved $310 for the upcoming STEM Internship and Research Symposium hosted by the MESA program.

A donation of $1000 was approved to be sent to CARE 4 Kids, an organization that helps low-income families. The donation will be used to buy around 20 children gifts during the holiday season.

Other ASU-run events like the ACC Movie Night, Loteria Night and Dance-A-Thon were granted a total of $4,150.

The board moved to interview a student interested in filling the position of executive council treasurer. The applicant answered questions but failed to give basic examples of qualifying experience for the position and failed to read the Bylaws required to understand the duties and responsibilities of the role. The ASU did not fill the position and is looking for more student applicants.