Student Senate will have a Vacancy on Executive Board
The 2018-19 Student Senate executive board. (Photo Mary Frasier/The Gettysburgian)
By Joseph Maguschak, Staff Writer
Student Senate held its weekly meeting this Monday, October 15, after taking a week off to observe the College’s fall break.
Treasurer Haley Gluhanich ’19 started off this week’s business with an announcement from the Budget Management Committee. She reminded Student Senate that clubs and committees seeking funding must show up to their respective Budget Management Committee meetings with correctly filled-out budget request forms and the knowledge of what exactly their proposed amount to Student Senate would be going towards. Each club representative should come prepared with all the answers to any questions regarding their club’s financial needs. Gluhanich also stated that GASA and VSA had overspent their amount allotted by Student Senate. However, GASA has already paid back the full amount, and VSA is in the process of doing so.
Clubs Liaison Laryssa Horodysky ’21 announced her plans to transfer at the end of semester, leaving a vacancy in her position. Horodysky urged students to apply to the position.
After being told several times to register with the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life, the following clubs – that did not comply with Student Senate’s continued urging – have been de-recognized:
- Finance and Investment Club
- Model Arab League
- Rotaract
Parliamentarian Abby Hauer ‘21 took the stand to address the proposition of a new constitutional amendment. The first part of this amendment states that all senators and affinity group leaders must abstain from voting for or against any cause in which they may have a vested interest. Someone with a “vested interest” is defined as any executive member, club representative, or anyone from the club attending a conference sponsored by the club in question. The second part states that when a club requests its base budget, it must disclose what said money will be used for.
Newly recognized clubs under Student Senate:
- Ethics Bowl Club hopes to teach and promote a productive dialogue regarding ethical issues outside of the classroom, while providing the opportunity for its institutional members to work on improving ethical conduct in the workplace, advancing public dialogue in ethics and values, and creating conversation about ethical dilemmas that the typical student may not contemplate. Ethics Bowl Club plans to request funding from Student Senate at least once a year but will also work in conjunction with the Philosophy Department for funding.
- The Fellaship hopes to provide a supportive and tight-knit community specifically for young men of color on campus; however, anyone may attend meetings.
Several concerns by students were brought up:
- Students were not made aware of the spread of the hand, foot, and mouth disease on campus. Students have been wondering why exactly the College’s higher-ups did not inform the student body of the outbreak.
- A number of students have also expressed concern about a strange man with a camera lurking in the vicinity of Food 101 and the 7-Eleven taking unauthorized pictures of students. An email regarding the situation was recently sent out to the entire campus regarding the situation.
Lastly, a clarification was made about the purpose of the College Council. The main goal of this council to inform students, faculty, and staff about innovation, free speech, and the presidential transition. And although it deals heavily with the subject of diversity on campus, it is not a council exclusively devoted to that topic.
Student Senate will hold its next meeting on Monday, Oct. 22.
