The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) senate deliberated and decided on funding motions, position restructuring and university finances at their Wednesday meeting. 

ASI Operations Manager Frederick Lisitsa said it was their longest meeting in five years, adjourning 15 minutes past their usual allocated two hours. 

Position restructuring

To start the meeting, Cody Jarvis, an ASI external affairs committee member, stepped up for public comment and addressed action item 7.3, a proposal to restructure the vice president of external affairs position.

If passed, the proposal, presented by Parker Hill, chair of ASI’s legal committee, would have turned the position into an appointed delegate of external affairs. 

Later in the meeting, Hill said the proposition is not a reflection of the current vice president of external affairs, Danielle Vu, but is instead a possible remedy for a systemic issue.

Jarvis strongly encouraged the senate to vote no on the motion.

“There is no better way to ensure that the legislative priorities of this body are representative of the students than to let the students vote on who will advocate on behalf of them,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis also said that, in his years of working with student governments, he has never seen a position such as vice president of external affairs that was not elected by the students. 

Part of Vu’s job is to represent the needs of Fresno State to outside entities.

Later, the motion brought on hefty discussion amongst the senate.

Hill mentioned the primary issues with the current structure of the position:

• The vice president of external affairs does not have enough core responsibility, yet receives executive privileges.
• Conflict between the vice president of external affairs and the ASI president may lead to dysfunctional representation.

Some senators, like Nellie Chobanyan, senator of parking and transportation, suggested changing the expectations of the position, instead of the position altogether. 

“Has it been considered to up the responsibilities of this position?” Chobanyan said. 

Senator of Sustainability Alexandra Durham proposed a similar solution.

“Rather than taking this position away from the senate and turning it into a delegate position, why not change the bylaws so that there is still some sort of hierarchy between the president and the VPEX?” Durham said. 

Hill maintained that the vice president of external affairs position has unclear expectations, and to “up” them would be difficult, because it may involve taking responsibilities from another ASI position.

Lisitsa also countered this idea of implementing a stronger hierarchy.

“If any of you got elected and any of them told you what to do, how would you feel?” Lisitsa said. 

Vu also weighed in, emphasizing the immense time commitment that comes with being vice president of external affairs. 

She pointed to city council meetings that she sits in on, which take a large amount of time away from the day.

“I would like to mention that whether we keep the position as VPEX or we move it to delegate, that also has to be outlined,” Vu said. “And the amount of work that goes into sitting in on those meetings as well.”

In the end, the motion to restructure the vice president of external affairs failed with three yes votes and 15 no votes. 

Finances

The senate heard presentations from Chief Financial Officer Matt Hawkins and Vice Provost Alam Hasson about the university and the Division of Academic Affairs’ budget. 

Hawkins mentioned statistics that considered 100 students at Fresno State over four years and found that 42% would no longer be with the university, 30% would still be enrolled and 28% would be set to graduate in four years, or on time.

He said that students should aim to take 15 credit units a semester, since it is the same price as taking 12, and they would likely graduate on time.

“The more credit hours a student can take a semester, the more cost-effective it is,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins also said that funding goes from the legislature, to the chancellor then to the different California State University campuses. ASI President Camalah Saleh asked how the chancellor decides to distribute the funding.

“They’re taking enrollment into account heavily,” Hawkins said.

He added that, if a campus’s enrollment is higher, it’s likely to get a higher allocation.

However, Hawkins said that this isn’t always black and white. In some cases, universities have seen a sharp decrease in enrollment but have been provided the same level of funding as before. 

Likewise, if a campus sees higher enrollment, it may not get as much funding as it thinks.

Hawkins said that, this year, Fresno State has more expenses than revenue, so it is using reserves to balance its budget.

“That is obviously concerning,” Hawkins said.

So, the university is currently devising a plan to avoid using reserves to balance the budget in the future, which would involve reducing general fund expenses, planning to have a 0% operating margin and monthly check-ins with the divisions.

Other key points in Hawkin’s presentation were:

• Fresno State owes $47 million to the Resnick Student Union (RSU), and it will be paid off in 2053.
• University debt is decreasing; there have been no major add-ons.

After Hawkins concluded, Hasson began his presentation, focusing on Academic Affairs.

Notably, Hasson said a large majority of the Academic Affairs funding goes toward salaries. He also addressed the enrollment demand and course offering issue at Fresno State.

Saleh, circling back to a point Hawkins made, said that, for each student to be able to take 15 units, the university would have to increase course sections by over 100.

“My question is, is there any steps that are going to be taken toward that?” Saleh said. 

Hasson said if there is a high demand for classes, then the university will figure out a way to offer them. 

This means that, for course sections with a smaller demand, those sections might be thin on luck.

Hasson also said Fresno State is trying to push for more online classes to be made available, in order to keep students on track to graduate in four years. 

“We’re also looking at more online degrees as well,” Hasson said. 

Vending machines and 24/7 library hours

The senate, in a hasty effort to conclude the extended meeting, also approved funding for two projects, each presented by Saleh.

Funding was requested for stocking a second Wellness Vending Machine, like the one in the RSU. Saleh said that this vending machine alone receives 300-500 students and 1,000 transactions per month.

The senate voted unanimously to allocate $6,000 toward this project, which is set to go out in February or March. 

Saleh also requested $5,000 for funding 24/7 study hours during finals week in the library, which would be from Dec. 14-18. The money would go toward ASI-provided snacks, and parking and traffic operations security each night.

“It would be a small portion of the library due to how big it is,” Saleh said.

The funding was approved by the senate, and the meeting moved to adjournment following each senator and executive’s reports.

ASI meets every other Wednesday in the RSU Room 207 from 4-6 p.m. Meetings are recorded and open to the public.