Bailee Abell

Associated Students Beat Reporter

Photos by Michelle Maldonado

Associated Students President Ali Guthy and External Vice President of Statewide Affairs Melvin Singh shared news of their upcoming projects in Isla Vista and on campus at the University of California, Santa Barbara meeting of the Associated Students Senate on Oct. 15.

During Executive Officers’ reports, Associated Students President Ali Guthy discussed current and upcoming projects for the Isla Vista community. This discussion included putting forth a proposal to create university-owned space offering support services in the already existing Isla Vista Community Center.

“We are looking to have two [Counseling and Psychological Services] counselors, one sexual assault advocate, and one mental health coordinator,” said Guthy. “The CAPS coordinators would not be open to the community, but [the University is] hoping to have the sexual assault coordinator and the mental health coordinator open to the community.”

Additionally, a proposal has been made for the University to occupy the Nest building, which includes the businesses South Coast Deli, Dublin’s, and Precious Slut. The developer of this project has approached UCSB offering to convert the Nest into a student and academic services center, which would possibly include a 24-hour cafe and a health and wellness center, among other resources.

External Vice President of Statewide Affairs Melvin Singh shared information regarding the development of UConsent, a UC-wide campaign for sexual assault education and prevention.

After attending the University of California Students Association board meeting, Singh stated that the students in attendance had similar objections and questions regarding the UConsent campaign.

“We haven’t really been receiving any information about what we are supposed to be doing at each campus, so we are moving the campaign to have it campus by campus,” said Singh, adding that this would be beneficial, as each UC campus has its own culture and way of handling sexual assault cases.

The Senate also entertained a discussion regarding Coastal Fund’s disagreement with the AS Food Bill. The bill declares that student groups may not use their AS funds to purchase food for standing meetings. Coastal Fund, an organization which provides Office of Student Life groups with opportunities to fundraise through beach clean-ups and restoration projects, holds meetings for several hours on Monday evenings. Due to this, in the past they have used 0.8% of their funds to pay for weekly catering, and they would like to continue to do so. However, after the debate of several senators over whether making an exception was in the best interest of the student body, the senate was unable to reach a consensus, and thus the discussion was closed.

During Public Forum, AS Food Bank coordinator Tuyen Nguyen and chair Katie Freeze gave a presentation on the Food Bank’s goals and resources for UCSB students.

“Our mission is to provide friendly, confidential service to students in need of non-perishable foods and toiletries,” said Freeze.

The Food Bank is working on integrating themselves into the “scope of the local community, the statewide community, as well as here in Santa Barbara,” said Nguyen. “Food insecurity not only happens on this campus; it happens all across the state and the nation.”

The Food Bank is funded by a $1.81 student lock-in fee, but due to their increasing number of clients, they are trying to fundraise and advocate for their services further in order to continue to provide for UCSB students.