Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Alan Fullmer ASUA Administrative Vice President Jen Dang, center, laughs along with President Tommy Bruce and A-Town director Geni Flagello to remarks during ASUA's last meeting of the year.

ASUA's "soiled reputation" from previous years forced its Senate to go beyond university expectations this year to actually become a student-focused organization, rather than a scandalous one, Sen. Dustin Cox said yesterday.

"Voices that weren't heard in the past were heard this year," he said. "We've grown leaps and bounds."

The agenda was thin for the final Associated Students of the University of Arizona Senate meeting of the school year.

Senators instead reflected on personal friendships and an increased level of student advocacy on campus.

Wildcat World Fair, UA Pride Alliance, A-Town and the Women's Resource Center are just a few organizations and events that received additional ASUA support this year, said Sen. Seema Patel.

"We've represented new ideas," she said.

Patel read from a prepared statement, addressing the senators and executives individually on their strengths and character.

"I could never ask for a better Senate family than the one I got this year," she said. "You have all made me think, made me mad, but most of all, you all made me grow."

Patel commended Sen. Jared Cohen on his ability to put complex problems into simple perspectives and called him "a real voice of the students."

Cohen's advocacy of the student population would not have been possible without the cooperation of the rest of the senate working toward the same goal, Cohen said.

"I've learned a lot," he said. "And I've grown a lot over the past year."

ASUA has successfully spent the past year restoring its reputation from previous student government controversies, said executive vice president Jessica Anderson.

Anderson cited the controversy surrounding David Reece as harmful to ASUA's reputation. Reece resigned as executive vice president Feb. 21, 2007, after being accused of falsifying clubs to funnel money to ASUA candidates during the election season.

Continued...

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