DASB Senate adjusts to remote learning, increases student outreach

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Gloria Delgado, Reporter

A new committee will be implemented next year by the DASB Senate to deal with student grievances and to inform students of the resources available to them remotely as they adjust to the new needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We formed a new committee that will specifically communicate with students, this feeds into our larger vision of ensuring that students are engaged,” said Katelyn Pan, incoming student body president.

Pan will face new challenges as the incoming De Anza Student Body president since the campus closure has required students and faculty to adjust the ways they work.
Pan said some of the challenges they are facing are not having the face-to-face aspect of their meetings and communicating with students.
“Student engagement was one of our biggest goals on our platform when running,” said Pan.
To achieve this goal, the DASB Senate will use social media platforms more actively in order to encourage student involvement, Pan said.
The marketing committee is currently working on updating the DASB website so students who have questions or comments for DASB members can easily reach out to them.
DASB adviser Hyon Chu Yi-Baker said they will also be creating a Canvas page for DASB that each senator will be able to personalize and will include their contact information.
The DASB Senate will continue to hold Zoom meetings and events for the upcoming fall quarter and will continue to accept internship applications and give out scholarships to students.
“We can’t do any kind of physical contact right now therefore we plan on making the most out of the technology that is available to us”, said Yi-Baker.
She said they are looking at the best ways to connect to students, and fight student apathy about student government.
Yi-Baker has advised the incoming DASB senators to think outside of the box.
Since the beginning of the spring quarter, Yi-Baker has been conducting workshops with the incoming senators, including an equity workshop about the Black Lives Matter movement.
“As a campus that really celebrates diversity we want to affirm our support for our African American and the Black community on campus,” said Pan.
The budget of $1.1 million for the school year 2020-2021 was approved last winter and was not affected by the closure of the flea market, a main source of funding.
But Grace Lim, chair of finance, is hoping to make up for the loss of revenues from the flea market closure by proposing new projects ideas when her term begins.
The DASB Senate budget mostly comes from the flea market, DASB membership fees, and the percentage of students enrolled. It does not come from federal money, so budget cuts are not expected to affect them.
Pan said she plans to uphold the platform that she ran on by seeking alternative sources of revenue that will go toward increasing financial aid and benefit the student body.
No bylaws are expected to change for the school year 2020-2021.