Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
The General Student Senate unanimously confirmed Sen. Justin Labonte and former Sen. Andrew Gerke into office at Tuesday’s meeting. Labonte was selected for vice president of financial affairs and Gerke will fill the vice president of Student Entertainment position.
President Steve Moran cited the experience of both candidates as the main reason for his selection.
Labonte was president of Residents on Campus and has run Executive Budgetary Committee meetings in the absence of the current VPFA, Anh Do. He has been involved with senate for three years.
“Justin has definitely shown his passion for Student Government,” VPSE Derek Mitchell said. “He’s involved in many facets.”
Gerke brings expertise from his study abroad work in Munich and his connections with the Cumberland Civic Center. He helped organize shows for artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Shakira, Elton John and the Jonas Brothers.
According to his mission statement, Gerke hopes to “connect directly with the GSS and student body in an effort to provide diverse entertainment opportunities for the University of Maine community.” He stressed the importance of providing entertainment for all students, particularly first-years.
“[Entertainment] should be less elite – more open to everyone,” Gerke said. He plans on gathering statistics on what type of students attend events and offering a “wide spectrum” of entertainment options.
Labonte has four goals for his term as VPFA: fiscal responsibility and fair allocations, transparency in financial matters, flexibility and protecting the unallocated portion of the senate budget. Funding for student requests comes from this portion of the budget.
“I really wanted to apply for VPFA because I feel as though Student Government’s money is its most important resource, and I want to make sure that it is used in the most financially responsible and effective ways possible,” Labonte said.
Labonte also said he wanted to provide the senate with a breakdown every week of what percentage of allocations go to which groups to insure that one particular team, club, or committee does not receive the majority of funds.
“He had a really focused plan on how he wanted to advance the Financial Affairs office,” Moran said. “He has strong business experience and knowledge of SG.”
Gerke and Labonte were chosen by the current executives, but the senate had the final say. There were four applicants for the Student Entertainment position and three for Financial Affairs. The two new executives’ terms will begin after the end of this semester, when the current VPFA and VPSE graduate.
Due to graduations this year, the senate will choose senators to fill the numerous vacancies for next semester. These include a senate representative for the Board of Trustees, an EBC position and representatives for various other committees.
Sen. Michaela Fisher Luke was elected President Pro-Tempore, since the post was vacated when Labonte was elected VPFA.
In other business, $1410.44 was returned unused from previous allocations. $89 was allocated to the Non-Traditional Students Association and $2,510 from next year’s budget went to Club Baseball for new uniforms. At the beginning of the night, $6,150.60 was in Unallocated. After all allocations had been made, $7,472.04 remained.
