At Wednesday night’s regular meeting, ASUC senators learned that the their chief technology officer, or CTO, is no longer a student at UC Berkeley but maintains his title and position.
CTO Kairui Zeng has “left Berkeley to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams,” said Leon Ming, Zeng’s chief of staff, during the meeting, to the surprise of many senators. Before moving forward with the hiring and replacement process, Zeng needs to submit an official letter of resignation to the judicial council, which, according to Chief Legal Officer Claire Goudy, he has not done yet.
Goudy said during the meeting that the ASUC cannot open or review applications for the position until Zeng officially resigns.
“If he wants to resign, then that would go to judicial council,” Goudy said during the meeting. “But if your senate class chooses to remove him, that’s a separate process. I think you would need seven senators to initiate that process.”
During his executive announcements, President Alexander Wilfert said his office has $75,000 to allocate toward cultural shows and events. He added that his office has only received seven applications for this money and encouraged senators to tell their communities to apply for funding.
The office of the External Affairs Vice President, or EAVP, Nuha Khalfay is working with state Assemblymember Evan Low, D-Campbell, on a bill to make election day a holiday in California and submitted a similar proposal to the Academic Senate, according to Khalfay’s chief of staff Kylie Murdock.
During her guest announcements, student body president of the Haas Business School Association Jaskirat Gaelan acknowledged that the Haas School of Business often comes across as “having its own identity” separate from the rest of campus, and she has been meeting with Dean Ann Harrison and Chancellor Carol Christ to rebrand the school so that it appears more inclusive.
In an effort to emphasize inclusivity, Gaelan said the school is opening Haas-sponsored events to the community beyond declared business students, including the upcoming Berkeley Haas Winter Formal. She added that this is the first time the formal has been open to all students and thanked Senator William Wang, among others, for helping.
“We’re a developing club,” Gaelan said during the meeting. “We really, really look up to the ASUC.”