The Associated Students (AS) Academic Affairs Committee and Finance Committee held their first meetings of the spring semester on Wednesday afternoon.
AS Academic Affairs Committee and Finance Committee both meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month, according to their SJSU webpages.
Each meeting started with a call to order, land acknowledgement, roll call and approval of the agenda and minutes before getting into business.
AS Academic Affairs reviews University Policies related to academic needs, implement academic programming and nurture positive interactions amongst faculty and students, and meet in Meeting Room 5, according to their website.
At the meeting there was no public forum, so Director of Academic Affairs Diya Doshi moved straight on to individual reports of Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering, College of Humanities and the Arts, and College of Science.
Their New Business Discussion Items included an Event with the Vice President of Research and Innovation Mohamed Abousalem and a survey for student input.
Doshi went over the agenda items and speakers for the event, and organized the set-up of the event. They agreed to put it on a 1-to-10 scale format.
AS intends to send the student input survey to the dean of each college at SJSU to relay to students next Monday.
The Academic Affairs committee went over coming up with and formatting questions based on input about what they are or aren’t liking about classes, low enrollment, which specific colleges are benign affected, availability per semester of classes, advising and availability of resources.
AS Director of Internal Affairs Katelyn Gambarin was curious to know about class cancellations, as more are cancelled before the start of the semester.
“Oftentimes, a student will have their class canceled so they’ll try to enroll in another class, and that class might get canceled,” Gambarin said. “Or the university doesn’t properly anticipate what students are going to act on.”
The committee ended with the announcement that there will be a new Leadership in Government Coordinator that will be taking over Advising of Academic Affairs formally at the next meeting. The meeting was then adjourned earlier than expected.
The AS Finance Committee reviews requests for over $1,000 up to a maximum of $3,000 for student organizations, according to their website.
GIS & Drone Society social chair Henri Brillon and treasurer Xiangyu Ren presented their inquiry for funding for two students leading their respective research projects to travel to a professional conference.
The organization aims to provide a platform for students to explore and discuss Geographical Information System, drone technology and their applications, and to connect with like-minded individuals, according to their LinkedIn.
“Undergraduate and graduate students get involved in this program, from five different diversified majors and we collaborate with 200 student organizations,” Ren said.
The goal of sending students to the conference will be business opportunities, connections, showcasing their work and visibility, Ren said.
Their request of $1416.58 was approved by the committee 4-0-0.
Ahlul-Bayt Student Association SJSU is the second Muslim club on campus for Shia Muslims.
The Association provides an academic hub for all Muslims, particularly Shia SJSU students to network, learn and contribute towards the efforts of Islamic faith, according to their Instagram.
The president presented that they began in response to Shia violence and discrimination in Spring 2023. She said that Shias are often facing genocide and persecution in most Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
“A big reason why we are a separate Muslim org (from the Muslim Student Organization), is we are focusing on the humanitarian aspect of these issues, and just generally issues around the world,” the president said.
The club requested funding for food, decor and printing for events and promotional materials.
“We are planning to host a ‘Sushi” night- a play on words between Sunni and Shia, the two sects that come together. We’re trying to host a unity banquet where people feel like there’s a safe space to have a dialogue and talk,” the president said.
The motion was approved 4-0-0 by the committee.
Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists SHPE & MAES Chapter @ SJSU empowers members to reach their full potential in STEM according to their Instagram.
President Jose Luiz Sarabia and Treasurer Dillan Hernandez presented their case for funding for travel to the SHPE regional convention this year held from March 7 to 9 in Costa Mesa, California.
They said last year, SOLE attended the national convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it was an opportunity to develop leadership skills.They asked for majority funding for 10 airfare tickets and convention tickets.
“The main goal of this conference is to invest and empower the upcoming board, since the majority of our board members are set to graduate,” Hernandez said.
The motion was approved unanimously.
There were announcements about reaching AS funding goals, then the meeting ended early.
“Since this semester we’ve actually seen an increase in membership, we want to keep that going for the next academic year,” Hernandez said.
