The Undergraduate Assembly is throwing their weight behind the proposal to start a Native American studies program.
Sunday night, the UA met for its penultimate meeting of the year. The body discussed a wealth of topics and a new academic initiative that culminated in the unanimous passage of the Native American Studies Resolution.
The resolution, co-authored by UA Secretary and College sophomore Joyce Kim and UA representative and College freshman Varun Menon, urges the administration to consider the establishment of a new academic program of study on Native American culture.
It last appeared on the floor in January, when Kim and Menon presented a progress report.
This time around, they urged an official vote of confidence from the body.
“This basically just calls on the University to support the establishment of this program,” Menon said.
During the discussion, Kim said, “I would advocate this specifically because the faculty we were working with asked us to pressure the administration in this way, to gain support.”
The measure passed unanimously.
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Kim also spoke about what’s next for the measure. “It really comes down to how the administration receives this. The whole point of this resolution is to show that the UA supports the institutionalization of a Native American studies minor,” she said.
Unfortunately, she added, “This can take a very long time.”
The other major point of discussion in the meeting was a contingency fund request from the Alcohol Policy Review Committee for the alcohol pilot program. The pilot program was a major initiative the UA undertook last semester and has been running since October. The program allows students to host on-campus parties in hopes of having safer events with alcohol.
UA President and College junior Dan Bernick introduced the committee’s request for $2,000 from the UA as part of the student contribution to a security subsidy. The subsidy allows student groups hosting events under the Pilot Program to obtain security, which the program claims leads to safer events.
The Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council said they would add a combined $3,000 to the Pilot Program to go towards the subsidy, and the University through the Vice Provost for University Life’s office would match the students’ total.
UA Treasurer and College senior Jake Shuster offered his support for the request. “The budget committee unanimously supports this contingency. It’s the only place where the committee can come for funds, and we already agreed to support this,” he said.
This request, too, passed unanimously.
On the hot topic of the SAC moratorium and facilities cost crisis, UA Technology Director and College junior Nikolai Zapertov brought a new committee to the body’s attention. “I’ll be meeting with [SAC Chair and College junior] Jen Chaquette about investigating what the UA can do to address student concerns about facilities costs. She wants to establish a committee to investigate it,” he said.
Several representatives expressed excitement about joining this committee, showing the priority of the issue.
