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.
University of Maine student senators voted to approve an official mission statement for University of Maine Student Government Inc. during the General Student Senate meeting Tuesday, and guest speakers presented Student Government’s audit findings. Board of trustees Rep. Rebecca Dyer was confirmed as senator — giving GSS a full membership with 35 members.
Loiselle Goodwin and James Hinds, two guest speakers at the meeting, presented an audit of Student Government, required by law, which showed Student Government has $184,066 in assets, $7,799 in liabilities and total unrestricted net assets of $97,460 for fiscal year 2010. The report is from June 30. Hinds praised Student Government’s proper financial reporting practices and cited minimal deficiencies. According to Hinds, a deficiency is a lack of financial record-keeping that prevents the audit from being completed in a timely fashion.
Student Government’s No. 1 significant deficiency was not recording the financial activity in their University Foundation account, according to Hinds.
“When the audit came around, we had to get the information elsewhere,” Hinds said.
Auditors need the figures on an annual basis to adjust their report findings concerning Student Government’s investment growth in the Foundation.
“You have less deficiencies than last year’s, so you’re on the right track, and even less than the year before that,” Hinds said.
The addition of a mission statement to the Student Government constitution passed after revision. President Owen McCarthy was pleased the senate reached a compromise and said an explanation of Student Government’s purpose and progress were the main goals of the mission statement.
Large club allocations during the meeting included $2,300 to the Nordic Ski Club for transportation and entry fees and $2,961 to the UM Flying Club for improved safety measures on the club’s second plane. Planned improvements included a new preheater, a push-to-talk switch intercom system and shoulder harnesses in the club’s more recently purchased plane.
Sen. Zachary Jackman explained that the Flying Club was requesting funding for improvements. Sen. Ben Goodman disagreed and said the club should have considered the safety issues before the plane’s purchase and included them in its cost. He said with knowledge of the plane’s history, these improvements should have been anticipated.
“Nothing they’re requesting is necessary for the plane’s flight,” Jackman said.
Sen. Ryan Gavin weighed in.
“I support it on the grounds of improvement rather than helping them out,” Gavin said in reference to specific repairs rather than fixed funding.
Fair Election Practices Commission Chair Skye Landry reported 2,435 students voted in last week’s Student Government election. The inauguration is set for Dec. 9. Landry expressed desire for better FEPC guidelines in the future, after last week’s election when six ballots under question caused unclear results. In addition, several of the FEPC guidelines are outdated and contradictory. She asked senators to assist in the improvement of new guidelines.
Jackman agreed.
“I look forward to taking a good, long, hard look … at what happened last week,” Jackman said.
Dyer reported the New Challenges, New Directions Initiative revisions from the University of Maine System board of trustees meeting Nov. 15 and 16 included the interest in a University of Maine System front-end portal that would link a customized version of each student’s organizations, services, schedules and communication.
“It will be expensive,” said Dyer, who repeated the trustee’s estimated cost of $20 per student per semester for the service. Dyer explained the board hopes the portal will increase ease of use and thereby increase retention rates in the system due to a better understanding of UMS workings. University of Maine at Farmington already has a version of the portal, as do other state universities.
In response to feedback from public sessions, the UMS Strategic Investment Fund — a pool of money proposed to be set aside for the system to strategically invest in certain areas, and part of the restructuring plan — was reduced. It was decreased from a $5.4 million disbursement to $1 million over the next year, with $500,000 coming from the campus itself and $500,000 coming from the system office.
In recognition of Associate Dean of Students Angel Loredo’s recent layoff, Wilde Steine President Zachary Knox and Sen. Alex Ortiz organized petitions in appreciation of Loredo’s influence and support in Multi-cultural Affairs and Wilde Steine. Knox and Ortiz urged senators to sign them.
Goodman motioned to allocate $120 to Sophomore Eagles Honor Society for a children’s holiday party at Acadia Hospital in Bangor. The allocation originally failed in the Executive Budgetary Committee because the party was going to be a closed event, open only to UMaine Eagles and hospital participants. Although not policy, senators in committee felt the event should be open to the UMaine community and not just the society. After confirmation that the event would be open to all interested UMaine students, senators passed the motion.
Sen. Joseph Nabozny motioned to allocate $110 to Student Labor Action Project for guest speaker costs in the upcoming film showing and discussion of “Battle in Seattle.” UMaine alumnus Sarah Bigney, an organizer at the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, will be leading discussion following the film.
$1,150 was allocated to Life Support’s office budget, screening license and speaker fees; $900 to Men’s Volleyball Club; $600 to Tappi Paper Industry Management Association Student Summit; $506 to Campus Crusade; and $200 to the UM Flying Club for its office budget.
Bangor Daily News