Fly Fishing Club Sought Senate Re-Recognition. Senate Did Not Bite.
From L: Vice President Aimee Bosman, Secretary Kate Helmstetter, and Parliamentarian Pat McKenna at the Student Senate meeting on February 5, 2018 (Photo Claire Bickers / The Gettysburgian)
By Gauri Mangala, Assistant News Editor
A request for club recognition proved contentious at the Student Senate’s April 16 meeting, but other business passed with little discussion and without opposition.
President Luke Frigon ‘18 opened the meeting by announcing that Senator Alex Xie has been removed from Senator status, due to an attendance issue.
Vice President Aimee Bosman ‘18 announced that there were 630 votes in the Student Senate President and Vice President elections, with Anna Burns ‘19 receiving 36.7% of vote for president, losing to Haley Gluhanich ‘19, who received 63.3%. In the vice presidential race, Pat Custer ‘19 won with 56.3% to Marisa Balanda’s ‘21 43.7%. After announcing the results of the senator elections, Bosman reiterated that those who did not win in those races still have the opportunity to become Senators at large during the Class of 2022 elections next academic year.
Parliamentarian Pat McKenna ‘20 opened up new business with an amendment presentation regarding changes to the impeachment process. After one question from a senator who had not read the amendment, Senator Nick Arbaugh ‘20 motioned to table the conversation of the amendment for next week; the motion was carried unanimously.
Senator Michael Mancuso ‘19 went on to present a Senate opinion regarding student representatives to administrative working groups and task forces, within which, if amended, Student Senate would request Administration to allow student representatives that would be chosen for working groups to “be nominated and selected by the Student Senate.” Again, Arbaugh’s motion was followed by consent without opposition, and the opinion may now head to the Senate Policy Committee for further codification.
In the only contested matter of the evening, Clubs Liaison Jackie Crowley ‘20 announced that the Fly Fishing Club was seeking re-recognition, after being derecognized earlier this year due to a lack of attendance. Many senators posed questions to the club’s representatives in attendance surrounding the lack of prior attendance, even after receiving emails from Secretary Kate Helmstetter ‘18. Senator August Umholtz ‘18 motioned to re-recognize Fly Fishing Club. After an inconclusive voice vote, Frigon called for a roll call, after which Fly Fishing Club was denied re-recognition, with a 12-11 vote against.
A request for recognition then came from Beekeeping Club. After many questions surrounding the ins and outs of beekeeping, the club was recognized unanimously.
The meeting then moved to two budget requests:
- GASA for $400.00 for the Lawn Jawn event with BSU; allotted unanimously
- ASA for a $382.12 reimbursement for events from Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Week; allotted unanimously
During the student concerns, Mancuso ‘19 voiced his concerns surrounding the lack of constitutional guidance surrounding what to do with Senate funded supplies or equipment when a club is derecognized. He noted that some equipment from GBurg TV had been repossessed last week, an unprecedented step for Senate to take. Berkowitz clarified that the Budget Management Committee, Senate Executive Board, and Senate Advisor agreed with the decision, which was ultimately made using Frigon’s executive power as President of Student Senate.
In other student concerns, College Democrats representative Matt Salton ’20 remarked that the policy surrounding political rallies was somewhat blurry, citing the club’s experience with the College’s hesitance in terms of speakers invited to speak at Young Voters’ Day.
And, in a recurring theme, many students voiced concerns surrounding the inoperability of various washing machines from around campus. Frigon had no new news on that front.
