The Tempe Undergraduate Student Government confirmed its new executive and senate officers Tuesday, but an outburst by Sen. Nicolas Parra was the highlight of the meeting.
Sen. Ao Jiao proposed to the senate that, because Parra missed meetings and because he had proposed bills that weren't in line with USG's bylaws, his semesterly University stipend of $650 be taken away from him.
Parra furiously responded saying that he was tired of this and that he had been through this twice before. On March 18, senators called for him to step down as chairman of the University Affairs Committee.
He went on to say, "I am not going to put up with this s--t anymore," and left the meeting.
Tempe USG President Cassidy Possehl and Vice Presidents Nick VandenNieuwenhof and Brian Salerno were sworn in, as were all elected senators.
Senate election bylaws were suspended, allowing Sen. Tristian Trevino, Sen. Will Smith and Sen. Daniel Martin to be nominated for senate president.
The bylaws had to be suspended in order for the three candidates to be nominated by the current legislation because without the suspension the three senators would not be eligible for the position because of a timing issue within the bylaws.
The three candidates presented platforms and the senate then debated their qualifications through a pro, con, pro format.
After lengthy debates, the 2013-14 Senate recommended Smith for senate president of the Twelfth Legislature.
After the swearing in of the Twelfth Legislature, the senate nominated Trevino and Smith for senate president. Martin declined the nomination in order to advocate for Trevino and said he thought Trevino would make a better senate president than him because of his experience.
After another lengthy senate debate, Smith was elected as the senate president for the 2014-15 academic year.
The Eleventh Legislature's lone bill of the night, Senate Bill 79, The Water Bottle Bill, was presented by Parra and representatives of Devil's Advocates. The bill would appropriate $700 for tour guides to have water bottles while giving tours to future students.
The bill was passed following second read legislation.
Outgoing Undergraduate Student Government President Jordan Davis reported that he has been working on transitioning power to Possehl and has also been working with the athletic department as the athletic fee is starting to go into full force.
Davis also said the operations advisory board has been working on creating inferno.asu.edu, the website students will use to get tickets to sporting events next year.
Sen. Nathan Duell was presented with the Senator of the Year award by Senate President Alexis Gonzalez.
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @joey_hancock
