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University of Maine’s General Student Senate met Oct. 27 in full Halloween spirit. Many senators were dressed in costumes ranging from gorilla suits to Abraham Lincoln. At the meeting, senators expressed concern for how University of Maine System Chancellor Richard Pattenaude’s restructuring plan will affect UMaine and voted not to pay two salaries to senators who hold dual positions.
As the state Election Day nears, so does the Student Government election. Sen. Skye Landry, president of the Fair Election Procedures Commission, announced the Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidate debate will be held Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in the North Pod of the Memorial Union, with Mario Moretto of The Maine Campus moderating. Student Government elections will be held Nov. 12 on FirstClass.
Turning to legislative measures, student senate voted against an amended Student Government employment policy, which will be replaced by a new resolution next week. The proposed resolution would have allowed members of Student Government who hold two paid positions to be compensated for both, if no conflict of interest exists and if one position does not hold authority over the other. Currently, senators are allowed to have two positions, but are only compensated for one.
Vice President of Financial Affairs Justin Labonte proposed a resolution to “take out the conflict of interest and pay people for two positions.”
Sen. Zachary Jackman criticized the resolution.
“I have some serious concerns of how it would allow people to double dip into UMSG funding. I think that this allows for a dangerous amount of treading upon idea of balance of power in student government,” Jackman said.
Sen. Derek Jones agreed.
“So there’s really no prevention that [this resolution] would keep crossover from happening … it would potentially increase their paychecks,” Jones said.
Labonte will rewrite the resolution for next week to likely require members of Student Government to hold only one position.
Senators voted to strike from the agenda a resolution that would revise the job description of the Vice President of Student Organizations. Amending the position would have required constitutional changes that student senate felt were unnecessary.
Rebecca Dyer, student representative to the board of trustees, and Sen. Nate Wildes reminded fellow senators to attend the forum with Pattenaude and the board of trustees that took place at the Collins Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
“[The forum] is a big deal,” Wildes said. “It’s the last chance to voice your opinion … they’re cutting millions … of dollars. There’s going to be a big faculty turnout tomorrow. I know of a number of professors who cancelled their classes in order to go.”
Dyer urged senators to read the UMaine system’s task force findings and attend the forum with questions, concerns and opinions.
Wilde Stein’s Coming Out Week is happening from now until Oct. 31 and includes the Pride Flag raising ceremony, a showing of “Milk” and guest speaker Lt. Dan Choi — a veteran discharged from the United States Army. Choi will speak about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Bangor Room.
The Student Recreation and Fitness Center and Memorial Union will extend their hours Friday, Oct. 30 and 31 until midnight with Halloween-themed activities. Gustavo Burkett, assistant director of Campus Activities for Student Organizations and Greek Life, reminded senators that Halloween weekend is when some of the heaviest student alcohol consumption occurs.
“In order to not have any problems, we’re going to have as many things as possible on campus,” Burkett said of the planned campus activities.
GSS indefinitely postponed a resolution to amend the Student Government constitutional preamble, proposed by President Owen McCarthy. Student Government’s preamble was written in 1978, and the resolution was designed to make it more user-friendly and positive, according to McCarthy.
Sen. Joseph Nabozny was announced as the new assistant vice president of Student Entertainment.
During the meeting, $171 was allocated to Order of Omega, $200 to the Senior Skulls Society’s office budget, $650 to Nontraditional Students Association and $1,750 to Engineers Without Borders. Labonte reported the Student Government treasury has a $97,461.22 rollover, postaudit, from last year.
Bangor Daily News