The AUSA senate plans to write a letter to all accepted students of the class of 2011 after Miriam Tapia, director of diversity enrollment spoke on the new Homeward Bound program.

This program is intended to increase diversity in all future incoming classes. The goal is to increase diversity to 20 percent.

Through Homeward Bound, the Office of Admissions will train students to give presentations at the high school they graduated from.

The idea is that presentations given by undergraduate students will be more personalized and better able to speak to diversity.

Students will commit about two and a half hours in order to participate, including the time spent at their home high school.

Tapia believes that each time an accepted student receives communication from the university it should include a message of diversity along with all of the university’s other focuses.

Also, Senator Clinton Emmerich, Finance Committee Chair proposed an evaluation of the way Club Sports is currently funded.

However, Senate will not make any decisions until the Athletics and Recreation department has given input into the issue.

“Senate is in no way trying to take funds from Club Sports. We realize that Club Sports can’t continue to grow under our funding, since we are capped by the Student Activity Fee,” said Emmerich.

He hopes that a compromise with Althletics and Recreation can be reached that will allow senate to support the Club Sport program and the Intramural Program.

First-year Senators Carlie Field and DJ Close are working on an initiative to start a first-year council that will help coordinate activities for all first-year students, regardless of their residence.

According to Field, the council would have about 10 members and would allow the class of 2011 to have a similar council as first-year students.

“I see this first year council addressing freshmen concerns such as beautifying the dorms, identifying safety issues, putting on events for freshmen [and] organizing community service events,” said Close.