By Sophie Lange, Staff Writer
Monday’s meeting discussed the Senate budget and the upcoming elections. The meeting also facilitated changes to Executive Board responsibilities and election procedures.
Officer Reports
Student Senate President Miranda Zamora ’23 opened the meeting with a reminder about the new respect guidelines. Following this, Zamora spoke about the upcoming election, specifically about the position of president.
Vice President Geoffrey Meadville ’25 discussed the upcoming election information sessions that will occur on Mar. 21 and 22 in Mara Auditorium from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. He noted that applications open on Mar. 20 for those interested in running for President, Vice President or Inclusion Officer.
Treasurer Hannah Repole ’24 gave a budget update. The Student Senate budget has $9,631.52 left for the spring semester.
Student Concerns
One student brought forth a concern about the younger children dining in Servo and suggested that they use the Atrium from this point forward to reduce crowding in Servo during peak hours.
Another student suggested that senior senators be given cords at graduation instead of only senior executive board members receiving them. This student said that it would help mend the divide between senators and the executive Board. Several students seconded that notion, but Zamora informed them that it depended upon how much funding remained in the budget by the end of the semester.
Budget Proposals
The Gettysburg African Student Association requested $482 to fund their event, “Jollof Vibes & Hangout,” which would cover costs for food, beverages, and other items needed. Their request was granted in full.
Senate Proposals
The first proposal was an amendment that would require the treasurer to bring Senate-recognized organizations’ budget allocations greater than $800 to Senate on a yearly basis instead of every semester. This amendment was passed.
The next proposal amended the responsibilities of the executive board. According to this proposal, the vice president would call and preside over Senate meetings. This would allow the president to focus more on their connection to administration. The parliamentarian’s duties would change as well, giving them charge of the Senate elections. The amendment was passed.
The third proposal was to make the inclusion officer a position granted by popular election. The motion was passed.
Senator Nicholas Ryan ’26 wrote the final proposal discussed during the meeting. This proposal would require organizations to present their budgets to the Budget Management Committee (BMC) or the Senate floor no less than two weeks before the payment deadline for final approval.
Ryan said, “This was just meant to make sure that we [the Senate] have enough time to try to work with them if there are some issues that we need to work out.”
Senator Dominic Diluzio ’26 expressed concern that this policy would try “to solve an issue that isn’t really an impediment to us, but [instead] it’s an impediment to the clubs themselves… If we were to pass this, we would be inconveniencing clubs who may have smaller budget requests that they can’t bring to the table within that two-week span.”
There were suggestions made about placing a maximum amount that organizations could request less than two weeks before the payment deadline, but Senate decided to return the amendment back to the committee for improvements before addressing the policy.
