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’s final 2009 meeting included the resignation of one senator, the removal of the vice president of student entertainment and the swearing in of next year’s executive members.
Sen. James Lyons resigned during the Dec. 8 meeting, and senate chose 18-11 with six abstentions not to re-appoint Abtin Mehdizadegan as the vice president of student entertainment. Senate re-appointed Vice President of Student Organizations Samantha Shulman — 30-2 with two abstentions — and Vice President of Financial Affairs Justine Labonte — unanimously — to their positions for spring 2010. Student Government will seek applicants to fill the VPSE position.
Senate discussed and approved three resolutions to amend the student organization committee vice president and assistant vice president job descriptions, as well as the University of Maine Student Government constitution.
Shulman said the changes make the VPSO job description reflect her duties, which it previously did not. She said the SG constitution contains no mention of the Student Organization Committee, and she wanted that to change. After senate approved the resolution amending the VPSO job description, Sen. Ryan Gavin expressed concern about the constitutional amendment.
“I don’t think it should be passed tonight just because we passed the job description for the VPSO. This is changing the constitution, … changing the document that governs us. It’s a gray area,” Gavin said.
Shulman sponsored revisions to the job descriptions of both the VPSO and assistant VPSO. Thanks to the passage of the resolution, the VPSO is no longer required to know when student organizations hold elections — dozens of which are held every year. Shulman said past VPSOs never knew when such elections were being held. The resolution also changed the job description to include consistent updating of student organization paperwork and the supervision of the newly appointed assistant VPSO.
Sens. Gavin and Zachary Jackman disapproved of changing the VPSO job description to fit reality.
“What’s the point of having a job description?” Jackman asked. “The position does not get to pick and choose. If you’re going to go ahead and change your own job description … it is a dangerous practice.”
Shulman said a reworded job description will help the VPSO understand his or her duties better. All three resolutions were approved.
After debate regarding ethical and cultural considerations, senators voted to allocate $7,500 to Residents on Campus for transportation for their annual Quebec Trip.
Sen. Timothy Smith supported the allocation, but for simpler reasons than other senators.
“[We] touched upon the fact that a few people go solely to drink alcohol. Quebec is a cultural epicenter of North America,” Smith said. He defended the trip’s cultural importance but reminded senators that “this is a college campus, let’s be honest, illegally, it’s not that hard” to get alcohol, and that students will drink alcohol no matter what country they’re in.
He argued a minority of students attending the trip solely to consume alcohol should not deter senators from voting in favor of the allocation.
Jackman disagreed, saying that funding the Quebec trip would be an irresponsible use of the student activity fee.
“Why are we even debating it? We’re debating it for 7,500 pretty good reasons. … I’m not comfortable [funding the trip]. I’m here right now to vote against it to set the precedent for the future. Take this seriously; you’re spending other people’s money,” Jackman said of students participating in order to consume alcohol.
Sen. Mary Emmi, who will attend the Quebec trip this year, disapproved of the hesitation toward funding the trip and offered her own experience from past trips.
“Students drink on this trip. They can if they want to,” Emmi said. She emphasized the importance of the cultural and world views supported by the Quebec trip. “I went on the Quebec trip last year. It was the first and only time I have ever left the country. UMaine provided that opportunity for me.”
Emmi said she purchased a passport specifically for the upcoming Quebec trip.
After senate approved the Quebec trip funding, Sen. Alex Ortiz motioned to introduce a resolution to send Angel Loredo a message of consolation concerning his layoff as associate dean of students. Ortiz has collected approximately 207 signatures and will mail the resolution and petition to Loredo.
Sarah Howard was appointed and confirmed as the newest senator. Sen. Peter Christopher expressed his gratitude to other senators for his year of participation in GSS — it was his last meeting.
The Anthropomorphics Club received preliminary recognition, while the Maine Music Organization achieved final recogniton.
Other allocations include $2,400 to the Alpine Ski Club, $1,400 to Athletic Training Student Organiztion, $822 to the Cycling Club and $500 to women’s lacrosse.
Some senators said their farewells as they left their position because of the impending end of the semester. Executive Student Government inaugurations took place Dec. 9 in the Wade Center.
CORRECTION:A typo in the earlier version of this article stated Samantha Shulman was reappointed by a vote of 30-22.An earlier version of this article stated that the GSS vote on Mr. Mehdizadegan was 17-11-7 due to faulty information from Student Government. The roll-call vote was not available at press time.
---
