Undergraduate Student Government is asking students to vote to approve recent bills on nondiscrimination and online students.
USG along with other campus organizations introduced a bill to include a nondiscrimination statement to its constitution following instructions given by the University. The nondiscrimination bill declares leadership and membership will not be determined by age, ethnicity, gender, disability, national origin, race, sexual orientation or veteran status.
Students are asked to vote on the bills in a voting period that will be open on Oct. 13 and 14.
The new bills that are up for vote to students can be accessed via Sun Devil Sync. The form submission consists of just the two bills with clear replies of favor, against or abstain.
All ASU organizations are required to have a nondiscrimination statement clearly written in their constitution for funding and to be considered an officially registered organization, said former USG Tempe Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Senator Zak Gutzwiler.
"It's important students vote on them because it cements them into the constitution which … cements the rights to be in USG and different student organizations as a whole," said Gutzwiler, a senior studying film and theatre.
USG and the Graduate and Professional Student Association must renew themselves as an official ASU student organization every year in order to maintain their status on campus. Without the nondiscrimination amendment in place, the organization would not be able to continue functioning in the same way.
"This language was handed down (from University administration)," Gutzwiler said. "It's a way to protect student organizations' back."
USG and GPSA were instructed by University administration that they had to introduce the bill if they wanted to continue in the 2022 school year.
USG also introduced a new bill of its own to include online students throughout its constitution. The bill was approved by the USG Senate in September.
Last fall USG Tempe passed a referendum to recognize an Online Student Government body. The body has since been dissolved because it wasn't voted on for approval by the student body.
READ MORE: USGT unanimously passes referendum recognizing online student government
"Online students will feel much more involved and integrated into the ASU community," said USGT intern Hailey Boiarsky, a freshman studying political science. "They'll have a say on some campus initiatives, and they'll be able to voice their own opinions about how we can better reach other online students."
USG's plan to include students from all campuses and online is to support students who may have nontraditional circumstances surrounding their learning at ASU. Anyone looking to join USG must be enrolled in at least one in-person credit hour.
"Online students should be included in USG leadership because they deserve the chance to feel like they are part of campus and have their voices heard," Boiarsky said.
Around the ASU campuses, USG serves the undergraduate student body, hence the push to add online students into the language present throughout the constitution and bylaws.
There are 61,572 registered online students at ASU who are not currently included in USG leadership or membership.
"It's important to keep up with USG initiatives and vote to help them change their bylaws," said Alan Bernal, a freshman studying business with a focus in law.
Edited by Reagan Priest, David Rodish, Sophia Balasubramanian, and Piper Hansen.
Reach the reporter at alysa.horton@gmail.com and follow @alysa_horton on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
Alysa is a senior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in political science. This is her fifth semester with The State Press. She has also worked at The Arizona Republic.
