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During its Tuesday night meeting, the General Student Senate approved a $4,000 resolution to allocate money to create a Quebec trip for off-campus students through the Off-Campus Board, rather than Residents on Campus. The ROC trip sold out on the first day, preventing off-campus students from signing up.
The weekly ROC report, made by ROC President and senator Adam Kirkland, focused briefly on the group’s recent Boston trip and then moved on to new issues.
“The Quebec trip signup was very successful,” said Kirkland. “This year and last year’s Quebec are the highest price per student ever in the Quebec trip.
“There has been talk about bringing a passport next year, but for this year, students will need a driver’s license,” said Kirkland. Starting next year, the new federal regulation will go into effect requiring passports.
Kirkland said ROC is planning to meet with the Off-Campus Board regarding the Quebec trip.
“It has been suggested that the direction of the Quebec trip be changed,” said Kirkland. “[This has] never been done before, but it sounds like a fantastic idea.
“We wanted to reduce the cost that ROC asked Student Government for,” said Kirkland. “ROC did not foresee the sellout happening.”
Currently, the Quebec trip is offered separately by the OCB and ROC. There was a proposal to unite the trips into one to “give new unity between the Off-Campus Board and ROC,” said Kirkland.
This year, because of the sellout during the first night of the Quebec trip, there are now two trips that will simultaneously take place. One is funded by ROC and the other by OCB.
There was also a heated debate on changing the correct usage of grammar for the amendment and resolution. Sen. Morgan Pottle explained the overview of the situation.
“There was a semantics argument over whether to call the Off-Campus Boards’ Quebec trip ‘a Quebec trip’ or a part of ‘the Quebec trip’ because the money was being allocated to the Off-Campus Board to send off-campus students to Quebec,” said Pottle. “It was suggested to call it ‘a Quebec trip’ rather than ‘the Quebec trip,’ which has become an institution in Residents on Campus. Now what is in the works is we are going to try to make it a joint venture between the Off-Campus Board and ROC. This will alleviate the concern about the student activity fee going to a trip on which on-campus students get preference. In the future, both on-campus and off-campus students will have the same opportunity to go on the Quebec trip.”
Finally, Vice President and President-elect Brigham McNaughton called a rule of order, and the resolution to allocate $4,000 to the OCB was amended.
Associate Dean of Students Kenda Scheele delivered a speech on Tuesday night to the General Student Senate. Scheele gave several proposals to the senate on the current state of student housing and proposed changes that may be made within the upcoming fall semester 2006.
First, Scheele brought up the notion of the new MaineCard system, in which students only have access to their own dormitory. Housing received negative feedback on the system that was implemented early this year.
“Students are more willing to forego their safety and security for convenience,” said Scheele. It may be eliminated as early as next semester, she said.
Second, Scheele proposed an alteration on how students are assigned to rooms in order to foster “a better hall community.” The assignment change would mean that instead of having dorms coed by wings and floors, the rooms would alternate between male and female. Housing would still offer single-sex floors or wings to accommodate students and parents who may not feel comfortable with the mixed environments.
Scheele added that the University of Maine at Farmington adopted this idea several years ago and found that there was a decrease in dorm damage and a better community life. The proposed change would go into effect as early as fall 2006.
Third, Scheele proposed to limit the number of halls open during lengthy breaks such as Christmas and the summer season for cost and staff reasons. Currently, there are 19 halls on campus, 10 of which remain open during break. All dorms remain open during shorter respites such as spring break and Thanksgiving. Scheele proposed to reduce the number of dorms open over these lengthy breaks to five. This leaves more opportunity to make the much-needed repairs to the dorms that are now almost 15 years behind. By allowing for these closures, there would be five extra weeks added each year to do the proper repairs.
There are approximately 50 to 100 students who remain on campus throughout breaks, and for them, emergency spaces could be given. Currently, every dorm is equipped with four emergency spaces used for roommates that encounter issues in which they find they cannot live together, Scheele said.
There are also several suites, complete with a bathroom, on campus allotted for this. Two professors from Tulane University displaced during Hurricane Katrina were allotted a suite during their stay here. If this proposal is enacted, students would be informed whether the dorm that they wish to live in offers continuous living or not. Scheele said that in this way, housing services can work around the students’ needs.
Two resolutions were passed to help Bumstock be more efficient than it has in the previous years. The first act created the paid position of a Bumstock business manager, and the second was an act to allocate funding for the new position.
“The General Student Senate already pays the director of Bumstock, but, he couldn’t tackle all of the jobs efficiently because there are just too many,” said Sen. William Pomerleau.
The Bumstock director’s pay rate is $1,195.38 per year.
“Senator [and incoming Vice President of Student Entertainment] Derek Mitchell decided to create a Bumstock business manager who will make half of the director’s yearly pay annually and who will take care of some of what the Bumstock director used to have to do,” he said. “It’s simply making it easier, so Bumstock can be more efficient.”
“I think that Student Government should bring a solution that will present some finality to the Bumstock resolution,” said Sen. Nathanael Saint-Cyr.
McNaughton and Sterling will both be inaugurated as the new president and vice president of Student Government at 5 p.m. Friday in the Bumps Room of Memorial Union.
Assistant News Editor Ernest Scheyder and News Editor Andrew Knapp contributed to this report.
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