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While the Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Task Force gears up for its final revisions to close the looming budget gap, Associated Students, Inc. is assembling its own recommendation to present in hopes of making a difference.

In any sort of election, be it for student government positions, City Council or Congress, a lot of attention is focused on the political party of the candidate.  Are they Republican or Democrat? Are they radical or moderate? A lot of the concern regarding an individual’s political party is focused on fiscal issues.

Six days following an Associated Students, Inc. Senate meeting, a meeting President Selena Farnesi called an “embarrassment,” an updated bylaw that includes the new position of Vice President of External Affairs passed with a 15-1 vote.

As The Collegian reported on Friday, Fresno State students passed a referendum creating the position of Vice President of External Affairs by a vote of 268-202.

Associated Students, Inc. failed to pass an updated election code, which would recognize the new position students passed in the recent referendum, in a move President Selena Farnesi called an “embarrassment.”

As students are welcomed back to school this week, they are bombarded with several realities: classes have filled up, more students have enrolled, old budget cuts are permanent, new budget cuts are looming and job markets for new graduates are still saturated.

After some recent events, namely the passing of the Tobacco Ban Resolution, I’m beginning to realize that our student government functions more like a monarchy than anything else.

Associated Students, Inc. senators and other Fresno State students have raised concerns about the cost and the purpose of a new executive position that was proposed to the student body.

Associated Students, Inc. met last Wednesday to discuss new bylaw changes that include adding another executive position to ASI. This proposed new position would be the vice president of external affairs. However, it is not known whether it would be a paid executive position.