So we’ve all witnessed the immensely annoying campaigns for ASUC senate that come around every May. We’ve all been walked to class and asked the incredibly repetitive questions with the same trembling handshake and desperate smile seeking any form of remote approval. We’ve all been pestered via facebook groups, phone calls, and text messages to vote for a candidate. And after we vote, we never hear from them again. Do these people actually get elected? And after they do, why do they disappear into a cloud of insignificance and banality? Ah, yes, the ASUC.
What is this mountaintop, cloud-covered, mystery-enshrouded body that is our student government anyways? It’s only after the occasional, highly politicized op-ed in the Daily Cal, or the angry facebook note I’m tagged in that I’m reminded of the very-present student politics on this campus. So I figured I’d try and find out…what exactly does a senator do in a typical day?
ASUC Senator Parth Bhatt was kind enough to show me what it’s like. I followed him for a day and this is what I found:
7:30am: Wake up after a long night of bill-writing, constituent calling, and conflict-resolution with opposition parties. There was no time to study last night.
8:00am: RSF so that he can keep in shape since he’s usually sitting in meetings all day
10:30am: meeting with Nadesan Permaul, director of the ASUC Auxiliary, to discuss last week’s Store Operations Board meeting and how to damage control with angry students
11:00am: meet with a pre-professional business group to analyze their budget and help determine how they can raise more money. They decide on applying to ASUC grants and writing a Senate bill.
11:45am: Grab a bite to eat with his girlfriend who he hasn’t seen in 2 days
12:15pm: Attend the Free Speech Movement’s 45th anniversary in an event he sponsored through the ASUC
1:00pm: Dart from Sproul to Lewis for a monthly Sustainability Forum
2:00pm: Misses class to meet with the South Asian Council, a coalition group he formed as a Senator that works to unite the South Asian community on campus – they are discussing the Candlelight Vigil that Indus is sponsoring later on in the day
3:00pm: Meeting with President Smelko, EVP Tran, and his interns to plan a campus-wide event he is working on
3:45pm: Begins drafting his speech for the Candlelight Vigil that commemorate a year since the Mumbai attacks tonight – as the South Asian representative, he will be providing opening remarks for the event
4:30pm: Makes it to the second half of his PS 104 discussion
5:00pm: Meeting at TKE (his fraternity)
6:00pm: Candlelight vigil on Sproul
7:00pm: ASUC Senate meeting. He has three bills up tonight, so all his student groups are in and he’s ready for a long night.
7:30: Realizes he hasn’t eaten all day so dashes to the GBC for a sandwich
9:00pm: It’s his friend’s 21st birthday today and he couldn’t cancel his meetings and go out to celebrate. He slips out of Senate for 15 minutes to say hi to his friends
9:20pm: Back in senate, it’s debate time – the other party is unhappy with his bills and the floor is now open to debating about why his groups deserve the money
12:30am: He’s through 2 of his bills, both of which got cut significantly due to politics – his student groups can’t put on their events anymore
2:00am: The meeting is finally over. His last bill was passed with a few amendments, and he’s exhausted. He still hasn’t finished his paper due tomorrow yet, so he’s going to take a nap in the June Jordan room (second floor of Eshleman) till 5:00am, and then continue working.
That’s incredible. When I asked Parth why he did this to himself, he says, “This is the best experience of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” This year during campaigns, when I’m being walked to class, I’m gonna ask each other these candidates if they know what, exactly, they are getting themselves into.
Image Source: Meghana Dhar and http://www.asuc.org
Image Source: Meghana Dhar and http://www.asuc.org
