By Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer
Monday’s Student Senate Meeting addressed student concerns, passed two budget requests, and passed an opinion.
Officer Reports
President Miranda Zamora ’23 started off by reminding members to be respectful during meetings. Zamora also announced next week’s meeting will take place on Zoom.
Meadville announced that Senate is going to make efforts to be more visible on campus by tabling in Servo and the College Union Building (CUB) during lunch hours. Meadville asked for members to be active in this endeavor.
Meadville said that there will be multiple positions open next semester and he will be sending out a form over Winter Break for members interested in positions.
Meadville also announced that he is planning to check in with committee chairs close to the end of the semester to create transitional documents for next semester.
President Miranda Zamora ’23 gave the tenth budget update for the 2022-2023 year. She explained that there is $41,027.94 remaining in the budget so far, and $51,088.06 has been spent.
Secretary Nick Silvis ’23 said if anyone would like events advertised to contact him.
Parliamentarian Joey Labrie ’25 asked Senate members to please show up to next week’s meeting due to the amount of policy coming to the floor.
Advisor Report
Senate Advisor and Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Jon Allen wished everyone a good Thanksgiving break. Allen also announced that the last day clubs can host events is Dec. 9.
Committee Reports
The Academic and Career Fairs Committee said that at their last meeting students informed the committee that they want the library to expand its hours. The committee is not sure what they will be able to do yet, but they asked if anyone had feedback to please attend their next committee meeting.
CLAC announced that students came to them wanting the Jaeger Center and pool hours to be expanded. They invited anyone interested in this topic to attend their next meeting.
The Diversity Committee shared that they are still working on the observance calendar, and they sent out an email with a form for students to fill out.
EOC announced that they are looking for members interested in talking about election reform.
The Opinions Committee announced that Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities Elizabeth Farner attended their last meeting, and they are bringing their facilities newsletter opinion to the floor.
Club Reports and Announcements
One student announced that College Republicans is hosting speaker Christian Watson on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Mara Auditorium to talk about colorblind politics.
Another student announced that What’s It Called Sketch Comedy is hosting their semester show at 10 p.m. this Saturday in the Attic.
Student Concerns and Announcements
One student said that it is hard to find people that are TIPS trained and was wondering if that could be made more accessible. Senate Advisor and Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Jon Allen responded that OSAGL and Campus Safety host training at the beginning of the semester, and they will even do group sessions if a large enough group wants to be trained. Allen said that he will make sure the schedule of training sessions for the spring semester is sent out to students.
Another student was concerned about the lack of administration communication about the “Tired of White Cis Men?” poster. President Miranda Zamora said that there is most likely something in the works at the moment, but she will reach out to Anne Ehrlich to see if they will release a statement to the student body.
A Senate member was displeased with the executive session that occurred last week regarding a motion to impeach Senate member Carl DeMarco ’25. The student stated that they think this process should be changed to increase transparency. Zamora replied that those types of meetings are not something the executive board enjoys doing either, but according to the Constitution, they have to. She also said if members have suggestions on alternative methods to go to policy meetings or reach out to Parliamentarian Joey Labrie.
Budget Requests
CLAC requested $200 to purchase two sets of four AirTags to put on the operating bikeshare program bikes. Seven of the eight AirTags will be placed on the bikes, and one AirTag will be kept in storage if needed. CLAC will be updating the user agreement for the bikeshare program to include that by using the bikes, students are agreeing to be tracked by the AirTags. Senate approved the requested amount in full.
Ski Club requested $8,840 for their annual ski trips, which take place over a six-week period. Each trip takes 12 skiers. The request is to cover the cost of lift tickets, equipment, and travel expenses. $4,824 is needed for lift tickets, $3,816 for equipment rental, and $200 for transportation. BMC recommended $7,000 to reach common ground between the money needed for the trips and the money that is currently in the budget in relevance to the fiscal year. Senate approved the request for $8,840.
New Business
Senate passed policy, tabled policy, and sent policy back to committee.
The Opinions Committee proposed their “Opinion Recommending the Creation and Implementation of a Housing and Facilities Newsletter. This opinion was modeled after other universities. It states that Housing and Facilities should send out a monthly newsletter to students detailing improvements or issues dealt with in residential buildings. Senate approved the opinion.
Senate will meet again on Nov. 21.
