Associated Students Inc. President Christina Romero has had trouble filling five director positions vacated when Student Affairs declared the directors ineligible at the beginning of the semester.

Romero said vacant director positions prevent students within each college from having representation through a director on the ASI Board of Directors.

She said students should contact the director within their college when they want to provide feedback about or want to organize an event in their college.

“The director also meets with the college dean to talk about any issues that are going on or to critique the relationship going on between ASI and that college,” Romero said.

The communication between students or the college dean and the ASI director does not take place when a director position is vacant.

Though students who do not have a director assigned to their college can contact the ASI president, Romero said “the president is already doing their part so they can’t be more than one person.”

She said students can also get representation through university and ASI committees, but representation would be lacking in that college, unless the student took the initiative to come to ASI.

Romero said meetings between the college dean and ASI wouldn’t take place when there is a director vacancy unless it was organized with another ASI director.

“The collaboration between the college and ASI would be minimal compared to if a director was there,” Romero said.Romero felt student representation in ASI is important because members and representatives of the campus community come to ASI asking how students want to be represented.

“It’s administration, faculty senate, union representatives coming to ASI because we are the official student body government,” Romero said.

“We have the campus community coming to (ASI) and asking how students feel about certain issues and so it’s very important that we’re there to answer.”

Romero felt the vacancies at the beginning of the semester made the execution of ASI’s strategic planning more difficult due to less individuals helping in the process.

“(Strategic planning is) having a game plan for the year and having an organized set of ideas and goals that we can follow short-term and long-term even when we’re gone,” Romero said.

She said the need to fill the positions did not affect the result of the strategic planning.

The positions for director of Engineering and Computer Sciences and graduate director are still vacant. Romero is taking applications for both positions from any Sacramento State students.

She has received applications for both positions. All students applying for graduate director did not meet eligibility requirements.

Romero had one candidate for director of Engineering and Computer Sciences but said, “I didn’t think that he was the right person to forward to the board.”

Romero swore three students into office as director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies, director of undeclared and director of Business at ASI’s March 12 board meeting.

Romero’s original recommendations for director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies and director of Business were removed because class schedules prevented both candidates from attending ASI’s weekly board meetings.

“Making any further commitments to anything is going to be a challenge when you already have a schedule made,” Romero said.

Kiran Tariq, director of Business, said she understood what the hold-up was in appointing her to the position.

Tariq was informed another director applied for the position and was Romero’s first recommendation. The recommendation fell through because the candidate was ineligible and Romero then recommended Tariq for the position.

The first candidate came back as eligible to apply for the position and a hold-up resulted in the director Romero was going to recommend.

As board treasurer for the Muslim Student Association, Tariq said she is aware of appointment procedures and supported prolonging the decision.

Romero said ASI keeps the board meetings at the same time and day every year so students interested in becoming a member of ASI can incorporate the meetings into their schedules.

The application for director positions was updated to reflect the meeting time to prevent future confusion, Romero said.

Each recently-appointed director hopes to provide service and representation to students within his or her college that wasn’t available when the position was vacant.

Robert Linch, director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies and former ASI presidential candidate, said he has always wanted to be involved in ASI and hopes he will be able to do good for the students in general.

The details regarding the goals of his position have not yet been discussed. Linch was told there are projects from the previous director of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies that he wants to follow.

Linch wants to increase ASI’s presence on campus and among students.

“(ASI) has a $10 million budget and considering that we take that from student fees, I think it’s probably very important the (students) know that we’re out there and are aware of the services that we provide,” Linch said.

Linch said he’s going to represent students in his college by serving on the board and voting in the interests of his college versus self-interests or the interests of other board members.

Justine Yang, director of undeclared, said the importance of her position is to represent the campus community and to be a student voice.

Yang said her goal is to get students more involved and encourage school spirit in the campus community by organizing events.

“As far as getting students involved, seeing more events that attract a more diverse group of students or a diverse audience so that a variety of people will actually come rather than those who have specific interests that we offer,” Yang said.

As director of Business, Tariq said it is her responsibility to work as the connection between the College of Business and ASI to ensure communication takes place.

“It gives me an opportunity to do a lot of stuff that, as a student, you go ‘I wish this could change; I wish these things would be a little bit more different.’ It provides me with the opportunity to actually do something about it and make a difference,” Tariq said.

For more information, visit the ASI website at www.asi.csus.edu.

Ashley Downton can be reached at [email protected].