Associated Students, Inc. board of directors finalized its annual priorities Wednesday, focusing on meeting with campus police to discuss their presence on campus and supporting the campus’ anti-racism plan.

ASI had five main priorities in total: support students’ major and professional development; keep students safe on campus with COVID protocols; support diversity, equity and inclusion; promote ASI on campus; and support students’ basic needs. 

ASI’s priority to meet with campus police to discuss the extent of their role on campus and hear feedback from students is scheduled to be completed before the end of the academic year in spring 2022. ASI is also setting up a meeting with Chet Madison Jr., new police chief for Sac State’s Police Department to present the findings of a survey they conducted of students’ concerns regarding the campus police. 

According to the list of priorities approved by the board, ASI plans to take the results of their survey and share it as a consolidated report with campus administration by the end of October. 

ASI said they will also prioritize the inclusion of diversity on campus, specifically, ASI would like to see that the demographics among mental health counselors reflect that of the student body.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Sadia Ashraf said that ASI wants to have “more diverse counselors so that they could relate to the students that are coming in their office.” 

ASI also amended a priority to have all mental health counselors go through training to make all counselors more “inclusive.”

The board also passed a resolution in solidarity with the Afghan community and advocated for resources for Afghan refugees. Elizalde discussed the recent abrupt changes to Afghanistan in the last few weeks and said there are 120 students who have “a direct relationship to Afghanistan” attending Sac State.

“Sacramento is one of the largest resettlement hubs for Afghan refugees,” Elizalde said. “One out of every nine Afghan natives living in the United States reside in Sacramento.” 

Another priority for ASI, requires that its assigned board members meet with the financial aid office at Sac State and with the Crisis Assistance & Resource Education Support (CARES) office to promote grants and scholarships to clubs and organizations. 

ASI’s strategic priorities are scheduled to be completed by the end of the spring semester at the latest.