Government uses summer months to prepare for next year
ASUA doesn't take a summer vacation. While the rest of us are enjoying our summer out of school, ASUA officials are in their offices preparing for next year.
All of the officers and senators have their own agendas. Large projects are being planned for multi-cultural awareness, getting clubs more involved and expanding the representation of ASUA.
Alistair Chapman, ASUA president, says that getting students registered to vote is one of the largest projects the organization is working on.
"With the presidential election in November, we want to get students excited about voting and inform them about the candidates," he said.
Chapman said that they will have tables outside the residence halls at check-in and have voter registration forms in all the rooms for incoming freshmen to register to vote.
"We plan to hand out 6,083 voter registration forms along with letters from the Secretary of State and FAQs to get students informed," he said.
ASUA is also planning a Rock the Vote concert where students with voter registration cards will be admitted free of charge.
Steven Eddy, a senator, said that a band cannot be named at this time, but he is working on getting one of a few very good bands.
Chapman said that the committee is bidding on bands and hopes to get one big name band to attract a lot of students.
"We don't know who it will be yet, but it will be before October 4, because that is that last day to register to vote," Eddy said.
The concert will either be held in Centennial Hall or on Bear Down Field.
ASUA is also working on various ways of getting campus clubs funded and organized.
There is $15,000 allocated to fund clubs during the summer and a meeting is held every two weeks to discuss possible funding, said Sara Birnbaum, executive vice-president.
"We have already given more than $1000 this summer," she said.
Birnbaum is also working on a four-tract summit training conference to help club presidents, treasurers and advisors become better leaders for their clubs.
Birnbaum is also working on ASUA collaboration with the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.
"We are making sure that all of our programs collaborate with CSIL and we are making sure that we can all work together," she said.
ASUA is also planning Bear Down Camp, a three-day retreat in the middle of August for incoming freshmen. The camp teaches students about UA traditions and history and gets them excited about becoming involved on campus.
Students that attend the camp usually become involved in the ASUA freshman council or other committees within ASUA, said Jordan Miller, administrative vice president.
"We are working on recruiting and planning right now. It's a pretty exciting weekend, so it takes big plans," Miller said.
The camp is first-come, first-served, and can accept up to 150 campers.
"We have about double what we had at this time last year, so we are confident that we will get at least 60 students," she said.
Miller is also working on getting a new car for the SafeRide nighttime shuttle service so it can serve more students.
"This year there was a huge demand for SafeRide; hopefully this will decrease the wait," she said.
Projects in other areas, such as disability resources and multicultural issues, are also being planned for more specific groups.
Senator Prashant Raj is working on a multicultural weekend that could complement the multicultural awareness week being organized by one of the directors appointed by Miller.
"I hope to make it like a mini-Spring Fling on the Mall, rather than a table on the Mall," said Raj.
He is also working on devising more strict safety measures in the library.
"There have been a lot of incidents on the third and fourth floors. I want to put in at least one emergency phone and encourage students to report what they see to police," he said.
ASUA is also planning its annual ASUA Fall Fair on Sept. 8 on the Mall to get students more informed about ASUA and how they can get involved.