In a special presentation on Monday, CSUN President Erika D. Beck made an appearance at the first Associated Students meeting this semester. She introduced herself, shared some of her and discussed one of her main focuses at CSUN — to eliminate the equity gap.

“One of the reasons why I’m so delighted to serve as your president is because CSUN is known far and wide for our commitment to facilitating equitable and inclusive education across a broad array of exceptional academic programs,” Beck said. “I am confident that working together we can continue to reach even higher, as we work to facilitate a thriving academic community rooted in equity and justice.”

AS President Rose Merida said she recently met with Beck, AS Vice President Deion Turner and Vice President for Student Affairs William Watkins to discuss the current state of the university and to plan ahead for the semester.

Beck has launched a 100-day listening tour on her first official day at CSUN, where she plans to learn more about the needs, interests and aspirations of the university community with the help of AS leadership.

“Even though this is a brief ‘hello,’ I look forward to engaging more fully in the weeks ahead,” Beck said. “I also want to thank all of you, most especially for your leadership, in these really challenging times. It inspires me and it’s greatly appreciated.”

Under the new business section of the meeting, the AS Senate appointed new chairs to three standing committees: External, Internal and University.

Senator Adriana Coronado, who represents the College of Humanities, and Senator Zachary Schmike, who represents the College of Engineering and Computer Science, were nominated for chair of the External Affairs Committee, which handles the campus community at large and outside of CSUN.

Coronado was appointed as External Affairs Committee chair by a majority vote.

Senator of Business and Economics Jonathan Hay and Senator of Arts, Media and Communication Liseth Ceja both nominated themselves for chair of the Internal Affairs Committee, which deals with Associated Students business such as senate codes and policies. Through a majority vote, the senate appointed Hay as the Internal Affairs chair.

AS Productions Producer Ronald Medrano was appointed by majority vote as the new senator for the College of Humanities. He also nominated himself for chair of University Affairs, which handles referrals for the campus itself and its students.

Medrano’s nomination was seconded by Turner and through a majority vote, Medrano was appointed as chair of University Affairs.

There was also a motion on the agenda to suspend Section IV. A of the 2020-2021 Standing Rules of the Associated Students so that Medrano can continue his employment with AS Productions.

The reason for this motion was for the conflict of interest for Medrano if AS Productions issues came to the senate. It was agreed before voting took place that Medrano will abstain from voting when it comes to voting on AS Production issues.

According to the Standing Rules of the Associated Students, a two-thirds vote is required in order to suspend the policy. The motion was presented before the senate and passed with a majority vote.

Andrew Diaz was appointed chair of Diversity and Inclusion and Lizbeth Perez was appointed as Chief Justice of the AS Judicial Court.

The next AS meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Feb. 1.