The Student Rights and Equity committee meeting on Nov. 20 in the Hinson Center was eventful with multiple programs being prepared for the following quarter and an issue regarding the suppression of clubs by vandalism and removal of announcements being addressed.
After a brief introduction, the meeting commenced with Benjamin Vahidi, 18, biology major and flea market program committee member, suggesting the idea of supporting vendors struggling with customer transactions due to a poor grasp of the English language by having SRE interns translate for them, making communication simpler for vendors and patrons.
The idea will be tested in the upcoming flea market held on Dec. 7.
When asked after the meeting about the effectiveness of the SRE with handling the translation project, Benjamin said, “I think they put their utmost efforts trying to help the community. Generally senators and DASG don’t have to do as much, but you’ll see a lot of senators go above and beyond.”
The committee also followed up on a concern brought to their attention by the Revolutionary Marxist-Periyarist Panthers’ club in relation to the vandalisation of their flyer and the removal of an announcement they had posted on the De Anza Discord server. They also discussed posters created by the Palestinian Union that were ripped up, torn down and drawn on.
Kavi Kumaresan, 20, film and television major and president of the Marxist club, said their posters were among other community flyers and their “political posters were particularly removed and thrown into the trash.”
The issue related to the fact that posters were stamped with approval but still taken down regardless, disrupting the club’s visibility and growth.
There are also concerns about bias in an incident on the DA Hacks Discord server.
“The badminton club made an announcement that was never removed from the server, but the Marxist club announcement was removed and the reason was political opinions are not welcomed,” Kavi said.
The issue came from the discovery that student organizations have to be inclusive to all clubs regardless of political backing, and the Marxist club being excluded was against policy.
The individual behind the removal of the posters had been discovered and the issue was handled in a private manner.
SRE’s main concern is the steps to handle another incident if one were to occur.
”I am yet to see the change. It’s all discussions and deliberations but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt (SRE) will change it. I trust them,” Kavi said.
The final visitor was Aura Ozturk, vice president of the DASG senate, who requested the oversight of the discount project be transferred to the SRE. The program helps students acquire discounts for local organizations.
The Administration Committee transferring the oversight of the project to the SRE would also have them take over currently requested discounts.
With the meeting concluded, Katia Bravo, 19, data science major and chair of SRE, said interns will have proposals ready by the next meeting where they will be presented and incorporated in some manner in the following quarter.
