The Undergraduate Student Government senate approved senate bill 144-08, 10-2, Tuesday, which updated the USG bylaws to include an executive cabinet vote in the programming assembly approval process. Senators John Breitfelder and Brandon Tavakoli dissented.

To pass the vote, a proposed assembly must write a letter to the executive cabinet proving they represent an underrepresented community on campus, demonstrate the lack of sufficient resources or support currently on campus and explain how their mission differs from existing programs in USG.

This new process is in addition to an existing process that includes a programming department vote of confidence, signature-gathering requirements, an initial senate vote and a trial period followed by another senate vote to create permanent funding for the assembly.

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Previously, the bill was rejected, 9-3, Oct. 8, with senators Jeremiah Boisrond, Patrick Nguyen and Tavakoli voting nay after concerns about new assemblies being shut out by an additional approval process.

In response to previous concerns, chief programming officer and author of SB 144-08 Hunter Black said the bill includes two checks on the cabinet vote: a public vote reveal and a judicial council appeal process where the assembly can move from the cabinet to the programming department’s vote of confidence if the council finds the proposal met the requirements. Black also said the bill had a 90% approval rate in a programming assembly vote of confidence.

Senator Heydy Vasquez, who was the advocacy liaison for the Undocumented Trojan Success Assembly when it was incorporated last semester, said feedback from the executive cabinet is “crucial” for new assemblies to understand how to succeed.

“We at senate don’t fully understand the funding department [and] the programming department, so it shouldn’t be for us to vote on something that isn’t necessarily in our department,” Vasquez said at the meeting. “Let the people who know that handle it, and we decide on that once we hear them.”

Abonie Blount, a co-executive director of the Black Student Assembly, also said most of the senators didn’t understand how to run a programming assembly.

During the meeting, the senate heard two USG bylaw amendments — which require a one-week grace period before a vote. Due to SB 144-06, which gives USG the entirety of Nov. 5 — a normal senate meeting night — off for the presidential election, the bills will not be heard again until Nov. 12.

SB 144-15 — written by senators Dane Sprague and Vasquez — would allow committees to create temporary commissions to bring students not currently involved in USG into projects and get their perspectives. Vasquez said the proposed temporary commissions allow for a more organized approach.

“This bylaws amendment is to allow committees to make use of students at-large in a more low commitment and organized manner,” Sprague said. “It might be more enticing to students at-large to get involved in USG [in a] … lower commitment [or] barrier to entry to start their involvement in USG.”

SB 144-16 would amend the bylaws to allow the speaker of the senate to remain a senator after removal as speaker, in accordance with the senate meeting rules.

“Judicial council works to ensure the integrity and the continuity of our governing,” said Ryan Tung, USG’s chief justice pro tempore. “It’s not any malice [toward speaker of the senate Diana Carpio] or anybody, we just noticed that there was a disconnect in our bylaws with how the speaker of the senate’s removal process works.”

The senate also heard a report from chief diversity officer Yasmeen ElFarra, where she talked about the new Land & Labor Acknowledgment that is read before every senate meeting — written by Native American Student Assembly advocacy liaison Zidane Zamorano, ElFarra and Blount.

The new language, which premiered Tuesday, replaced the previous Land Acknowledgment.

“In expanding from a land acknowledgment to a land and labor acknowledgment, we recognize a broader and interconnected history and struggle,” ElFarra said. “I sincerely hope that this new acknowledgment allows these communities to feel more seen, understood and uplifted.”

ElFarra said she hopes to continue uplifting Native American voices on campus.

“This acknowledgment is not, and will never be, enough,” ElFarra said. “It is a small part of our organizational commitment to respecting and uplifting communities that have thrived here for thousands of years.”

Chief of staff Sofia Coen reported on her goal of establishing a five-year plan for USG to establish continuity between years.

“It’s been a huge problem for this organization, in every year that it’s existed, that pretty much everyone … changes positions, and then there’s [no] continuity,” Coen said. “Having a five-year, strategic plan where we outline specific goals that we want for the organization as a whole … could be really helpful in keeping the organization on track in the future.”

Chief communications officer Faiz Ahmed gave a report about USG’s pressroom and their work promoting projects through press releases and Instagram posts.

During the meeting, Boisrond presented his projects, including a legal aid resource guide, an after-hours food initiative and a student feedback form for campus access.

External affairs committee chair Karen Borglund presented a South Central-inspired mural that she hopes will be displayed at Cafe Dulce by February, a U-Pass brochure project and a labor relations commission.

The senate also heard a presentation from academic affairs committee chair Emma Fallon about wanting to create an Academic Inclusion Board.

“Many of us are pre-law and [political science], and we very rarely see other majors [in USG],” Fallon said. “Creating a council where we can meet with representatives from other schools to hear directly from them what issues are impacting them [allows USG to] have more purposeful work.”

Disclaimer: Heydy Vasquez is an opinion columnist at the Daily Trojan. She is not involved in any coverage of USG meetings.