Public Comment

E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center Opening Delayed

To begin the first senate meeting of the spring semester, the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno, heard from Jim Fitzsimmons, Director of Campus Recreation and Wellness, who gave the senators an update on the progress of the E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center.

Construction of the new fitness center had been delayed because of problems installing the rubberized flooring due to humidity levels within the building, however Fitzsimmons said the construction crew was recently able to get the flooring into the building. There are additional concerns about the outside of the building since the wet weather turned the dirt in the front of the building into mud.

Fitzsimmons said he was disappointed the fitness center did not make the original soft-opening deadline planned for Jan. 23, but the predicted first day of operations for the E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center is still Feb. 13.

Appointments

Senators approve the Nominee for Office of Attorney General

The Senators heard ASUN President Brandon Boone’s nominee for the Office of Attorney General, Cameron Harris. During his presentation to the senators, Harris said he believes the Attorney General position to be crucial, especially with ASUN elections just right around the corner. He also said he would make elections his priority and has already looked into the elections code outlined in the Statutes of the Associated Students. Harris said he is dedicated to making the election season run smoothly, carefully and fairly.

After his presentation, Harris’s nomination passed in a unanimous vote.

Legislation

Elections commission internships now available

To conclude the first senate meeting of the Spring semester, Sen. Brennan Jordan introduced Senate Bill 84, an act to create the elections commission internship program. The bill states that since the elections commission is only comprised of three people and is in charge of all election promotions, facilitation and oversight, they should be allowed three interns to learn and help with their responsibilities.

Several senators brought up concerns that the legislation does not specifically say that as an intern with the elections commission, students are not allowed to run for an ASUN office. Working with the elections commission and running for a position would be a conflict of interest. Speaker Noah Texeira made it clear to elections chairman Steve McNeese that if an intern wanted to run for a position, they would have to end their internship.

After the discussion, the senate unanimously approved SB 84 to allow the elections commission to hire three new interns.