Director of Finance Vahan Khodanian said that although the fiscal year does not end until the last day of June, the senate is safe in its finances.

“We’ve been pretty consistent,” he said.  “I’ve allocated  a lot but they’ll be fine to finish the year.”

Khodanian said the A.S. annual budget will earn an additional $120,000 in the fall due to an increase in the A.S. fee.

“We increased the A.S. fee by $2,” he said.  “It’s now $82.”

He added that over 200 clubs and organizations will be on the A.S. budget list next semester, based on those entities that submitted budget applications.

Elections, held on campus and online during April 13 – 14, garnered 2,509 votes for the presidential candidates and 2,220 votes for the constitutional amendment changing bi-yearly elections to annually.

The following positions are still available, according to the A.S. elections website:

-          Graduate Senator II

-          Education Senator II

-          Humanities Senator II

-          Science and Math Senator II

-          Director of Finance

-          Director of Finance Assistant

-          Director of Elections

-          Assistant Director of Clubs and Orgs

-          Chief of Staff

-          Attorney General

-          Personal Assistant to President/Vice President

Election officials are accepting applications and nominations by current senate members for possible candidates, said Paige Andrews, director of personnel.  She added her intent is to begin interviewing applicants as early as this Friday.

CSUN sent four representatives to the Vex Robotics World Championship in Kissimmee, Fla., in April, where they battled their way into the playoffs, losing to an undefeated team.

“It’s okay, because we will win next year,” said Aflie Gil, 25.

The mechanical engineering graduate student said she has been involved in robotics since high school and credits her future to her experiences with the team.

“Robotics put me on the path to engineering,” she said.  “We all use robots but we don’t know it.  They build our cars and our cell phones, we only see the end product.”

Teammate Robert Breyer, 25, said the industry presence of robots will not decrease in the future.

“They’re taking your jobs,” he said with a laugh.  “The focus is on efficiency.  The jobs don’t disappear, they just go elsewhere.”

Breyer, a junior mechanical engineering major, credited robots with allowing man to partake in more leisurely activities.  He and his teammates are in the process of programming their robots to pick up and move objects.

“Just knowing how to use a computer is not enough anymore,” Breyer said.

He noted his club is scheduled to visit a Simi Valley middle school in June to recruit students into the field of robotics, science and engineering.

Breyer and Gil presented the A.S. senate with a certificate of appreciation for funding the team’s trip.

The bill, which has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and was presented to the Senate in March, stipulates that any donation to a private non-profit student housing organization would now be considered tax deductible.

Donations to student organizations that provide housing to their members, such as sororities and fraternities, Hillel and national scholar associations are currently exempt from tax deductions.

Although CSUN does not have a large population of these associations that offer off-campus housing, Lansdale said it is important for the senate to draw up an official statement in support of the act.

These types of organizations generally have capital improvement funds which can be used to maintain the facilities provided to members, but increased incentives for community members to donate wouldn’t hurt, said Lansdale, member of the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

“By allowing donations to be tax-deductible, these groups will be able to create more affordable housing,” Lansdale said.

He also said students who choose to live in these off-campus facilities create openings in on-campus housing.  With increased donations to these properties, jobs may also be created in the communities in which they live.

“This money could be used to hire contractors and plumbers,” Lansdale said.

Many fraternity and sorority members sit on the A.S. senate.  In addition to Lansdale’s Phi Kappa Alpha, Greek organizations Zeta Beta Tau, Lambda Chi Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon are represented by sitting senators.

A.S. Attorney General Alex Samovitz and President Conor Lansdale listen to arguments regarding candidate appointment toward the end of debate that lasted an hour and a half. Photo Credit: Herber Lovato, Assistant Photo Editor

On Tuesday, the A.S. senate discussed at length an amendment to their proposed constitutional changes citing inadequate funds, centralized power and the preservation of democracy in campus elections.

Pending the approval of changing twice yearly elections to once, the senate debated to allow the next A.S. president power to appoint 11 vacant senate seats in the spring 2012 semester when those senators’ terms will expire without an official election to replace them.

Other alternatives included allowing senators elected in fall 2010 to serve an extra semester or conduct an election in fall 2011 to appoint senators to a six-month term.

Back and forth discussions lasted 90 minutes, even though A.S. policy already permits the president the ability to appoint representatives to vacant seats.

“The concern, if I understand correctly, is the president would have to make too many appointments,” A.S. President Conor Lansdale said.  “Depending on the situation, some presidents will have to appoint more.  I’ve already appointed more than that.”

The amendment put forth to the senate by Vice President Neil Sanchez stipulated that a two-thirds majority vote would be necessary to approve these senators for a single term.  This would allow colleges to be represented while correcting any overlapping terms that may occur due to the change in election cycles.

Senators became visibly frustrated during the debate: some rolled their eyes and others shook their heads, while few laughed at the redundancy in the arguments presented.

Senator Amanda Flavin led the charge to reinstate a second election for the 2011-12 academic year to allow students the chance to appoint their single-semester representatives.

“It speaks to a more democratic process,” she said.  “It would only cost more money for one semester.”

Theoretically, those funds were set aside for a fall election since the change had not been approved and A.S. typically factors them in to their annual budget, said Senator Sydni Powell.

Senator William Ryder supported his senior business and economics senator Flavin by citing democracy, fairness in allowing students to choose their representatives.

Sanchez disagreed with these arguments.  He said it was a significant stretch to assume CSUN would not be upholding its dedicated to democratic practices by approving his amendment.

“It’s not our place to define democracy,” Sanchez said.  “That is quite a bold statement to make.”

About one hour after the session convened, Lansdale made the decision to move on from the matter.

“The great thing about democracy is compromise, if you don’t want to compromise, the chair will,” he said.  “We are talking in circles and this is becoming an issue of people standing their ground.”

The senate tied twice before voting in favor of the amendment 12-7 with three abstentions.

Policy, procedures did not change as a result of this approval.  Elected senators will continue to be required to conduct candidate interviews with the A.S. president and approval of those candidates will still be dependent on a two-thirds majority vote.

A.S. Senator Sydni Powell presented her colleagues with ideas learned at the Annual Association of College Unions International in Chicago last week.

“Not every student can be involved,” said the lower division senator.  ”These students are underrepresented.”

Powell referenced commuters, transfers and older students as part of this non-traditional population that is often ignored.

“These students’ involvement might be finding another mom, or someone else who has the same 45 minute drive in the morning,” Powell said.

She emphasized the idea of creating commuter lounges where students who live far from campus may relax or study during long breaks between class.

In an effort to make commuting students feel welcome, Powell suggested setting up program tables near the parking garages.  These tables could pass out anything from breakfast bars to CSUN license plate frames in what Powell called “tokens of our appreciation.”

“These would be easy to implement over the next year or two,” she said.

Elections Director Brittney Hoogervorst said the elections committee will meet this week to vote on additions to CSUN’s procedure.

Hoogervorst said informational voter guides, presidential debates in lieu of candidate debates and an informational event are all on the agenda to be approved by the committee.

A.S. senate has a reputation of having empty senate seats, unrepresented colleges and thus unrepresented students.

Two months in, this semester’s senate still needs representatives for two education seats, one engineering and computer science seat and five seats on the finance committee.

Director of Personnel Paige Andrews said her goal is to fill every vacancy by mid-March.

Election codes were amended to make student involvement more accessible and these potential procedural changes may influence the student populace, which historically has a low turn out rate, to vote.

Acceptance of next semester’s senate applications began Feb. 22 and filing period ends April 15.

Among the changes, students will no longer have to post a participation bond to run in the student elections.  Prior to these changes, students were required to post $40 individually or $80 for a president-vice president ticket, said A.S. President Conor Lansdale.

“I had to deal with these fees in my own election,” Lansdale said.  “I don’t want other students to have to experience them.”

Business and Economics Senator Amanda Flavin promoted the legislation to the senate and said it was imperative that they approve the changes.

Flavin explained that the new rules would be less severe.

“The penalties have changed,” she said.  “If students violate the elections code, there will not be a hold placed on their registration.”

Rather, students in violation of elections code would have a formal complaint filed against them and be removed from the ballot.

This legislation will also allow for the inclusion of a constitutional amendment in upcoming elections.  The amendment will prompt students to vote for or against changing the elections cycle from twice a year to only once in the spring semester.

Flavin said CSUN will adopt an automated run-off election format, an electronic counting system that would require students to vote for their top two choices and, in the event of a tie, tally the runner-up in second-choice votes to determine a winner.

Lansdale said removing the financial burden associated with elections might increase student interest.

“We’re in the process of (removing any elements that may) dissuade students from participating,” he said.

ASO received $800 for a Black History Month benefit concert to supplement their $6,000 budget while LGTBA was granted an unofficial loan of $885 for Gay Prom.

Khodanian said despite looming budget cuts to the CSU, these supplemental allocations were equivalent to only one percent of A.S.’s budget for the remainder of the semester and were justifiable.

“Each club has gone through their budgets and the money has been well-spent,” Khodanian said.

Up to $885 of revenue generated from LGBTA’s Gay Prom, to be held April 15, will be given back to A.S. while any additional revenue may be retained by the group.

The funds ASO received, although less than they wanted, will support a benefit concert, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program, part of Project Africa, and to building a bridge in Swaziland, South Africa, said ASO Vice President Adaku Anyanwu, 28.

“We want to put CSUN on the map in terms of global action,” Anyanwu said.

The concert will be held Feb. 22.

Christopher Chavez, president of CSSA and CSU Long Beach student, said the Obama administration’s health care reform bill will have significant impact on those students who are insured through their university.

“Much of how campuses run their health care does not fit the definitions in the new bill,” said Chavez.

The reform bill, which will not take effect at the college level until 2014, stipulates that only employers are allowed to provide the kind of subsidized health care rates that college campuses offer.

“There is also a long term requirement,” said Chavez.  “We provide short term health care, students graduate and situations change.”

Chavez said CSSA will work with the federal government and the Department of Health to change the definitions in the bill as it applies to students.

“Although the changes do not go into effect for three years, we need to start now if we want to get anything done,” he said.

* * *

UPDATE:

A.S. approved the dual standing of two senate members who are also employed by Associated Students.

Senators Amanda Flavin for Business and Economics, seat I, and Christine Tchalikian for Health and Human Development, seat II, have been approved to continue their employment while serving on the voting board.

A.S. General Manager David Crandall said the change in policy is routine and usually happens about once a year.

“The senators are expected to abstain from voting on any financial or compensation matters that include their employers,”  said Crandall.

Flavin works for A.S. Recreation Sports, Tchalikian works for The Fitness Centre.