Hired secretary eliminates need for second vice-president post on legislative council
As UCSU Legislative Council enters its 68th session, the formerly two vice-presidential positions have been consolidated into one.
A bill introduced last session is altering Legislative Council policy that establishes offices of a first and second vice president to one with a singular vice president position.
Legislative Council president Boyce Postma sponsored the bill and presented it as a special order bill between the 67th and current sessions.
“For all the time that I’ve been on the council, (the position of second vice president) hasn’t been utilized as originally intended,” Postma said. “The second vice president was acting as a secretary, which isn’t the role.”
Daniel Ramos, who was nominated for the position of vice president but lost, said the recent change is a good one.
“I think it’s important that we hired a secretary, because the second vice president in the last session was basically omitted from speaking because she was so tied into the minute taking,” Ramos said. “It took away from her role in the process.”
Dustin Farivar, the newly elected vice president, also believes the new structure will benefit UCSU.
“We have eliminated the cost spent on a salary for that position and have hired a secretary to take minutes during meetings which allows an opportunity for all Legislative Council members to engage in the meeting without being distracted,” Farivar said. “In addition, it provides an opportunity for the student (in the role of secretary) to learn more about UCSU and Legislative Council by being present and taking minutes at meetings.”
Farivar plans to use his role to “further engage with campus administration.”
Ramos, whose term as Representative at large doesn’t end until April, has worked with Farivar in the past.
“I think he’s going to be great,” Ramos said. “I’m excited about the leadership of our council and we are preparing ourselves well to have a pretty successful and more efficient budget process this year.”
In describing Farivar, Ramos emphasized his ability to listen well.
“He’ll be active in the council as he has been the last session,” Ramos said. “I think he is a great listener and will be a responsive member of the council.”
In respect to the role previous First Vice President Medhat Ahmed played and the one Farivar will take over, Postma said that the two are very different people.
“Ahmed worked with the Muslim Student Alliance and brings that aspect to the council,” Postma said. “I guess he works more with the student aspect whereas Farivar works more with administration aspect of the student campus.”
Postma said he is looking forward to working with Farivar.
“[Farivar] is very qualified to operate the meetings when I have to step out of the room for a moment,” Postma said. “We’re going to work together really well. We both have our own causes we are working on. He works more on the administration side, and I work more on the student side of things. So I think when we work together we can probably pull those together really well.”
Ahmed, who lost the student elections to the ACTION ticket member ahead of him by two votes, plans to take some time off from his extensive tenure in UCSU.
“I’ve been pretty busy for the past few years,” Ahmed said. “I might take the time to relax, or I might find a new avenue to find new leadership roles on campus.”
Contact Campus Press Writer Alyssa Shapiro at alyssa.shapiro@thecampuspress.com
