By Joseph Barrios

Arizona Daily Wildcat

ASUA's newest members are looking to represent students with a new theme next year.

"Representing Students at a World Class Institution" will be the theme that T.J. Trujillo, president-elect of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, will use to run student government next year.

Trujillo, an accounting and finance junior, said ASUA will be more issue-oriented and focus on immediate student concerns.

"We have to try and do a few things and a few things well," he said.

Trujillo also said the three legislative branches Ä the Undergraduate Senate, the Graduate and Professional Student Council and the Central Governing Council Ä will be geared toward dealing directly with students and their concerns.

He is also creating six new student advocate positions and eliminating the current Arizona Students' Association Task Force director's position.

One advocate position, the "Students Are Voting Everywhere '94" advocate, will be charged with encouraging students to vote not only in ASUA elections, but also in the upcoming congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative races.

ASUA will focus on reaching out to the students, trying to show specific ways that student government can make use of resources for them, Trujillo said.

Anndi Kawamura, vice president-elect for programs and services, said one of her goals is to have programs and services "keep a high profile." She said students might not recognize the services ASUA offers and wants to increase awareness.

Kawamura said she hopes to expand the ASUA Helpline, which offers personal crisis advice to students. Helpline currently has about five members, and she hopes to increase that number.

Josh Becker, vice president-elect of clubs and organizations, said he will make a series of changes in his area in order to increase interaction between student clubs and organizations.

"I want students to lose that 'go to class, go home' syndrome," Becker said. "There's more to college then just going to class."

Joint activities between clubs and increased activities for the campus will be encouraged. The Appropriations Board also will gain two new members, increasing from five to seven members, he said.

Clubs advocates, students charged with helping clubs get ASUA fund ing, will reach out to all incoming freshmen by visiting as many orientation programs as possible, keeping in spirit with the outreach theme for next year.

Becker said the advocates will be required to spend a minimum of three hours per week attending club meetings.

Trujillo said his personal goals include lobbying for more financial aid on campus and being "fiscally conservative" with next year's budget.

"We're not just going to advocate financial aid, but to support it," Trujillo said. "That kind of underlies everything else. We're going to take it a step further."

He said an unspecified amount of ASUA money will be used to create some kind of scholarship or other financial aid for students.

ASUA's first issue to deal with is the imminent department cut recommendations, Trujillo said.

Derek Lewis, current ASUA president and a member of the campus-wide Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, which recommended which departments be cut, said dozens of letters have been sent to the ASUA offices opposing the proposed cuts, most of which address the recommended phase-outs of the Journalism department and the Communication graduate program.

The Senate and the GPSC both made resolutions last month to form a committee that would help ASUA develop a stance on the recommendations and look into the possibility of saving the threatened programs.

But Lewis said he has been asking for input from members of these legislative branches since last semester and has received none. He said there has been "absolutely no input from anybody at anytime."

"If somebody says 'Don't cut the Journalism department,' I say, 'Okay, then what do we cut?'" Lewis said.

Trujillo will now serve as a member of the committee. He said most ASUA members will need to settle into their new positions before any stance can be taken.

Next year's student government officials will be sworn in today at a 5:30 p.m. ceremony in front of the ASUA Bookstore. Read Next Article