On Feb. 11, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its fourth meeting of the semester. The meeting welcomed Interim Dean of Students Andrea Gifford as a guest speaker and addressed concerns about club sports facility access alongside continued conversation regarding changes to the Student Activity Fee (SAF). The meeting also covered updates on financial allocations and campus safety concerns.
General Good and Welfare
Thomas Gao, a third-year student and a captain of the UMaine club rugby team, appealed to UMSG on behalf of the club athletics teams. Gao expressed that there had been no effort from the Athletics Department to try and plow the shared athletic fields in the winter, thereby preventing the practice of club sports that continue to play past autumn. With the Mahaney Dome undergoing repairs, this makes it difficult for these teams to practice. Gao repeatedly described the current state of shared practice spaces between official Athletics teams and club teams as “inequitable,” and said that non-athletes (of whom there are four times as many compared to student athletes) deserved the rights to campus facilities.
Guest Speaker
Interim Dean of Students Andrea Gifford addressed the Senate for the first time since taking over from former dean Robert Q. Dana, who retired last month. During her speech, Gifford described her background in the Student Life offices and expressed optimism about the role, describing her desire to use her position to build a connection with students and serve as their resource. Gifford also sympathized with the previous speaker on the state of club athletics, with Advisor to UMSG Lauri Sidelko echoing her concerns later in the meeting.
Executive and Periodic Reports
During President Keegan Tripp’s report, he remarked on the success of the “Donuts with the Dean” town hall-style meeting and plans to host another one, perhaps bagel-themed, with Chief Business Officer Kelly Sparks in the near future. The President also said that he would soon be penning a letter in support of the “comfort canine” program that has been discussed recently at the university.
Tripp, who was recently appointed to the Academic Program Review of the Strategic Re-Envisioning Initiative by UMaine president Joan Ferrini-Mundy, attended a follow-up meeting with Associate Provost Gabe Paquette and shared that he anticipates significant changes will occur to the academic program within the coming years.
Finally, he relayed that the Winter Carnival being put on by the Center for Student Involvement on Feb. 22 is in search of volunteers to run casino games and that interested parties should contact his office.
Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that the starting unallocated budget stood at $54,759.77.
Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman announced that Ricky Montgomery had been released as the artist performing the spring concert, and that at least 130 students have already signed up on CampusGroups.
Vice President for Student Leadership Elizabeth Oldfield said that she was working on an “elevator pitch” to help support the efforts to raise the SAF.
Sidelko stated that UMaine would be continuing to comply with strengthened regulations and punishments for hazing that had been passed at the federal level.
UMaine Security Representative Cynthia Shelmerdine, who has recently been announced as Tripp’s running mate in the upcoming presidential elections, was approached by a student claiming they had nearly been hit by a car. The student felt the response from campus security services was inadequate, and Shelmerdine expressed her intention to inquire further.
UMSG welcomed Pallas Appiah, who is now serving as the new representative from the Honors College Student Activities Board.
The Greek Life representatives announced that Greek Week will run this year from April 14 to 18.
Representative Board Reports
Kass Belaya, representative of Wilde Stein, said that in-person drag show auditions would be held on Feb. 20, concurrent with digital auditions.
New Business
Four resolutions were brought to a vote during New Business: one spearheaded by Vice President Memphis Peterson that updated executive job postings ahead of their upcoming postings, one that will place an updated and grammatically-revised edition of the constitution to a vote later in the year, another that tweaked the financial relationship between student organizations and UMSG, and finally a resolution that sought to improve the clarity of the Student Organizations Recognition Policies. All four were passed by the Senate.
Tripp then introduced a new aspect of his plan to raise the SAF, the final draft of which will soon be heading to the full Senate ahead of a student-wide vote. Under Tripp’s additional proposal, student radio station WMEB and the Maine Campus would receive $1 from each SAF collected; these organizations currently receive their funding from the Communications Fee. Tripp indicated that further discussion is in progress, with a final decision expected by the next meeting on Feb. 18.
