I am writing about the decision three undergraduate student leaders of ASU recently made to resign their Arizona Students Association seats. As you probably know, ASA represents all 140,000 students in the state of Arizona, not just for the students of NAU, UA or ASU. The most important thing for ASU students to realize is that elected students leaders from ASU, NAU and the UA make ASA decisions. The undergraduate student leaders from ASU who decided to resign helped make the very decisions about which they are now complaining. When someone asks, “Who is ASA?” the answer is, “I am ASA.” As one director, I am responsible for the decisions that ASA makes along with the other ASA directors. If you are unhappy with ASA, you contact me … or other ASA directors because we are responsible for the decisions made on behalf of all 140,000 Arizona university students. The people who decided to resign are, in essence, upset decisions about they made in June as directors of ASA.
The undergraduate and graduate and professional student governments of UA, the graduate and professional student government of ASU, and the undergraduate and graduate student governments of NAU fully support ASA. It is only a few ASU students who have decided to resign. Meanwhile, the ASA will continue to work on behalf of all Arizona university students.
Some of the conversation is about the decisions made by student leaders at ASU, NAU and UA to support Proposition 204. If passed, the act will continue the 1-cent sales tax passed by almost two-thirds of voters in 2010 as Proposition 100. When we say “ASA,” we say that ASU student leaders, NAU student leaders and UA student leaders make decisions together. This past June, ASU, NAU and UA student leaders, also called the ASA unanimously decided to support Proposition 204, “The Quality Education and Jobs Initiative.” That means that the ASU student leaders who resigned actually supported Proposition 204 in June.
As one student leader, I personally believe it is important to invest in the students of the state of Arizona and I am confident that my voice is stronger with 140,000 fellow students than not.
Zachary Brooks, Ph.D. student
President of the Graduate Professional Student Council – UA
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