The Associated Students, Inc. Board of Directors held their first meeting of the semester on Wednesday.

New VP of University Affairs

ASI President Eric Guerra named Director of Arts and Letters Zachary Donahue as the new Vice President of University Affairs. The board unanimously approved the move.

Former VP of University Affairs Crystal Chase resigned amidst controversy last semester.

Guerra and former ASI President Artemio Pimentel accused Chase of incompetence and duty neglect when vacancies on school committees were left empty through the fall semester. One day prior to a board vote on Chase’s dismissal, Chase submitted her resignation.

The position stood unfilled until Wednesday.

Online voting to wait

Guerra said online voting will not be ready for this spring’s election. The election will take place on April 29-30.

The committee in charge of researching the system met with University Computing and Communications Services to discuss hosting for the system, said Sonny Ramsay, the brainchild of the online voting system at CSUS. The committee concluded that the purchase of a new ASI web server is likely to be the most effective procedure.

An ASI server would cost up to $7,000 to implement and would require $200 per month to upkeep, Ramsay said. The server could also host the ASI website and the ASPECT system, which would allow students to rate their professors via the Internet.

“Good financial standing”

According to a report by Vice President of Finance Peter Ucovich, ASI is in a “good financial position” at the midyear point. ASI is approximately $300,000 over its projected budget.

Postbaccalaureate Director Mohamed Hamada voiced concerns of where the extra funds will go.

Ucovich at the end of the year, the numbers would be closer to budget due to investment into the reserve funds and upcoming bills.

Assemblyman Steinberg to visit

Guerra announced an attempt to strengthen the bond between ASI and other local governments, such as the Sacramento City Council and the State Legislature. As a result of such attempts, State Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg will attend a future ASI board meeting to discuss student housing and the condition of the residential halls.

The date for Steinberg will attend has yet to be determined.

More election changes

Guerra discussed the possibility of a change to the election code that would force candidates for ASI President and Executive Vice President to run on a single slate, like the U.S. federal system.