USAC defers most agenda items

Despite a packed agenda and a full house of councilmembers, the
undergraduate student government kicked off spring quarter with a
slow start Tuesday night, pushing almost all items on the agenda to
next week’s meeting.

Though only General Representative Michelle Styczynski was
missing from the table, the Undergraduate Students Association
Council made little progress. USAC tabled the majority of its
agenda due to a variety of reasons voiced by councilmembers.

President David Dahle said he preferred that the executive
director of ASUCLA be present for council’s scheduled
discussion on amending the USAC bylaws, while Financial Supports
Commissioner Andrew LaFlamme said it was his fault that council
couldn’t discuss the publication of resolutions as
scheduled.

“I was not able to talk to the people I wanted to … it
was an error on my part,” LaFlamme said.

If council had attempted discussion on the subject, it would
have been a waste of council’s time, he said.

Another action item was discussed but not voted on due to some
dispute on the table.

Some councilmembers disagreed with the language used on a
resolution to support coalition troops in Iraq.

Councilmembers with concerns said they would revise the
resolution and present it again next week.

Many councilmembers agreed that postponing decisions was a
setback.

“I kind of wish we could have done more … it just means
there will be a larger meeting next week,” Dahle said.

But some councilmembers said they felt there were some
advantages to the postponements.

The extra time will give council more time to prepare more
completely, LaFlamme said.

Though they didn’t make the progress they would have
liked, most councilmembers still said the meeting was a positive
start to the quarter.

“There was a unique atmosphere of cooperation …
especially in the contingency discussion,” LaFlamme said,
referring to council’s agreement to grant supplemental funds
to student groups that had applied.

Most of council also hoped to have a productive quarter.

As the end of the term approaches, it’s important that
council does not lag, said External Vice President Chris Neal.

“We have to continue working for students,” he
said.