On Feb. 4, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its third meeting of the semester, addressing senator inaugurations, club recognitions and new financial policies.
Senator Inaugurations
Three new senators, Brinly Seward, Skye Van Beek and Gray Vanderwood were inaugurated. They represent the Maine Business School, the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development, respectively.
Club Maintenance
The Sustainable and Environmental Action Division, which brings together several environmentally-focused groups—including UMaine Greens, Green Team, Backcountry Squatters, the Permaculture and Gardening Club and the Horticulture Club—for organizational coordination, was formerly an active representative board with a presence in the Senate but had fallen inactive in recent years. They were preliminarily recognized by a unanimous vote.
Senator Nate Feng presented on behalf of the Maineiaks, which describes itself as the student spirit group supporting the efforts of the Black Bear hockey teams. Feng noted that hockey fans will know the Maineiaks from their visible presence during hockey games, holding the “sieve” signs and cards directing fans to chant at their opponents during the introduction of their starting lineup. Their preliminary approval passed unanimously, with Feng recusing himself from the vote.
Discipline specific clubs, including the Society for Automotive Engineers, the Society for Microbiology and the American Marketing Association, all received unanimous final recognition. The UMaine branch of TRIOTA, an honor society for students in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, was also granted unanimous final recognition.
Club Presentations
Black Bear Catholic attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Students conference in Washington, D.C. in early January and delivered a presentation on their trip to the nation’s capital and the spiritual connections that they made there. The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) shared their experience attending the TAPPI Student Summit, a prominent networking event within the industry. This conference was held from Jan. 17 to 20 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Executive and Periodic reports
Student Body President Keegan Tripp delivered the first report, sharing that he and Vice President Memphis Peterson attended a senior administrative meeting with University President Ferrini-Mundy, VP Sparks, Dean Gifford, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) President Laura Curioli and the GSG Vice President Nolan Merz. Among the issues they discussed were transparency in snow removal, and how to develop a UMaine response to the approach of the new administration in the White House. Tripp also hopes to establish a representative board dedicated to accessibility on campus, describing such an institution as being long overdue within the purview of UMSG.
Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that his efforts are now mostly focused on finishing the upcoming annual budget according to the financial timeline introduced at the previous meeting. The remaining unallocated funding stands at $56,203.22.
Vice President of Student Organizations Amanda Levesque announced that club storage is now live and that student organizations are able to apply online if they have already been approved for final recognition. Alongside Peterson, she has been developing job descriptions to post ahead of the executive hiring process that will take place later in the semester.
Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman mentioned that the “Beat UNH” shirts have been printed and will be distributed to 500 students standing in line during the Friday men’s hockey game against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Feb. 14.
Fair Election Practices Committee Commissioner Zoe Stankevitz reported that applications to run for either president or vice president remain available in the UMSG offices and are due on Friday, Feb. 7.
Senator Casper Cowan shared that he had attended the latest meeting of GSG, where they are currently working on delivering grants to eligible students. Additionally, the GSG appointed Derek DeMillo as its liaison to UMSG.
Cynthia Shelmerdine, the UMaine security representative, stated that campus security forces have been hoping to upgrade both the blue light boxes and the emergency alarm system, and are currently assessing options to improve these fixtures. Shelmerdine also reported that she had found 27 broken lights during a nighttime evaluation of campus and intends to have these broken lights cataloged and flagged within the Black Bear Safe app.
Representative Board Reports
Representative Dylan DeMerchant stated that the Commuter and Non-Traditional Students Committee remains in search of members for their executive board, both for this semester and for future semesters.
According to the Interfraternity Council representative, Jonah Harper, several chapters are continuing to host rush events, while others are working on collecting their semesterly dues. Campus sororities welcomed 29 new members this semester.
Representative Zachary Wentworth of the Senior Class Council reminded attendees that the Winter Gala, an event that aims to raise revenue for the Class of 2025 graduation ceremony, will be held on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Buchanan Alumni House.
Representative Jon Guzman’s weekly Student Heritage Alliance Council report took on a somber tone, as he noted that the Caribbean and Latino Student Association had fallen defunct as a student organization due to a lack of interest.
New Business
The members of the Senate considered three motions during the section devoted to new business. The first and lengthiest was Tripp’s revamp of the UMSG financial policies, which sought to clarify the standing rules in order to streamline its allocation of the Student Activity Fee (SAF). Tripp referred to it as a “huge thing” and as part of a comprehensive plan to gradually modernize UMSG governing documents.
Next to be considered was the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a relatively major reform to traditional UMSG practices that, if passed, would pass a hard cap limiting sports club allocations to 25% within the annual budget. Tripp noted that sports clubs were still able to ask for money but that they expressly could not be granted more than this amount during the annual budgeting process.
The new bill also nixed the “pay-to-play” provisions of the financial rules, meaning that the only money that will be allocated during the annual budget will be tier funds, and any additional funds will instead have to be requested once everyone is able to request during the regular EBC process throughout the academic year. The main reason these caps were instituted, according to Tripp, was to help protect equity at a moment when UMSG is dealing with less money than had previously been collected from the SAF.
Each bill was overwhelmingly approved by the broader Senate and their passage means that they will now be in place for the upcoming budget meeting to be held later in the semester.
