Although members of the AUSA Senate have the upcoming campaign for offices on their minds, a number of new programs were discussed at last Tuesday’s weekly meeting.
Vice President Yusuf Malik and Sen. Pat Parrish helped sponsor a new Clean Energy Bill for the campus.
The hope is to begin powering school facilities around DU with clean, windmill powered energy supplies.
“The plan is to start small with areas like the Driscoll Center and hopefully move on from there,” said Malik after the meeting.
The “environmentally friendly” amendment was placed on the bill in preparation for its placement on May’s Senate election ballot.
Students will be asked if they “financially support the purchase of wind energy by the University of Denver in Sturm Hall, the Driscoll Student Center, and the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness.”
Resolution on the Clean Energy Campaign was passed by a unanimous, 16-0 vote.
Elsewhere around campus, students will see an abundance of activities sponsored and supported by the Senate.
Next on the agenda was Project Angel Heart’s upcoming annual Dining Out For Life on Thursday.
More than 275 Denver and Boulder area restaurants will donate 25percent of their food sales to the organization, which provides nutritious, home delivered meals to people living with life threatening illnesses, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS.
The Senate emphasized that students can do their part by simply dining out at local establishments like Wahoo Fish Taco’s or Tokyo Joe’s on Evans Avenue.
For complete list of restaurants involved, visit www.projectangelheart.org.
Also, the Center of Rights Development at the Graduate School of International Studies is furthering its Act Sudan! rally to aid the citizens of Darfur, Sudan.
The rally will take place at Denver’s Capitol Building on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The day of action is a nationwide call to stop Sudan’s atrocities against minority people.
Currently, the conflict’s death toll is estimated at over 200,000 people with at least 1.5 million having been displaced from their homes.
For information about the rally and other events, contact actsudan@du.edu..
The Senate also discussed DU’s Aids Awareness Week, slated for this week.
Yesterday, Peterson Toscano, comedian and activist, performed sketches regarding his experiences within ex-gay ministries.
Other events include free “Oralsure,” or needle-free HIV/AIDS testing in the Student Health Center.
Testing is runs Today and Thursday from 1-4 p.m. and on Wednesday and Friday from 9-11 a.m.
To round out activities, Cherrington Hall will host the Aids Awareness Dinner featuring keynote speaker Sean Wolfe and others from the Colorado AIDS Project. The affair begins at 5 p.m. tonight.
The AUSA Senate elections will be held May 2-4. Senatorial candidates will participate in platform debates tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Lindsey Auditorium.
Presidential and vice presidential candidates will debate Thursday at 7 p.m. in Lindsey Auditorium. Ballots will be available online to all registered students.
Presidential candidates include current Vice President Yusuf Malik and his running mate, Sen. Lauren Kwan; Junior Sen. Brian Kelley and sophomore Molly Brown; Junior Matt MacDonald and Daniel Goldware; Zak Brewer and Chris Sturges and John O’Malley and Alden Schiller III.
