The General Student Senate of the University of Maine Student Government, Inc. (UMSG) held its first meeting of the spring semester on Jan. 20, led by President Keegan Tripp and chaired by Vice President Cynthia Shelmerdine. Given this was the first meeting since returning from winter break, there were few items on the agenda and much of the meeting was dedicated to nominating senators for internal administrative roles.
Appointments
As this meeting represented the opening of a new session of the General Student Senate (GSS), all senators who had presented signed nominating packets at the end of the last semester were inaugurated. The senators inaugurated at this meeting were Briar Chapin, Jeremy Collamore, Casper Cowan, Ethan Cratty, Alayna Dana, Ezekiel Delorme, Abigail Goodspeed, Hailey Inman, Isabella Lamadrid, Elizabeth Oldfield, Kyle Ricker, Paige Rivera, Gabriel Santoniello, Marisa Schultz, Juliannah Soper, Hazel Sparks, Ryan St. Lawrence, Riley St. Pierre, Jonathan Sutker, Zachary Szelog, Skye Van Beek, Grey Vanderwood, Callum Velat, Matthew Webber and Ralph Zoorob.
General Good and Welfare
The Senate was visited by congressional candidate Paige Loud, who is seeking to succeed Representative Jared Golden in the 2026 midterm elections for Maine’s 2nd congressional district. Loud, a 29 year-old social worker who is a graduate student at UMaine, is running as a progressive democrat and emphasized affordability and access to healthcare in her speech. She invited interested students to volunteer on her campaign to gain experience in political work.
Executive Reports
President Tripp reported that the Clerk, who records the minutes for each Senate meeting, had resigned and presented a timeline for UMSG to hire a new person to fill that role within the next several weeks. He also noted that UMSG was now a tax-exempt organization, following changes to federal law under which UMSG previously did not qualify. Tripp appointed two senators, Hazel Sparks and Hailey Inman, to his Cabinet, a group of executives, representatives and senators tasked with providing final approval to all resolutions passed through UMSG.
Finally, Tripp announced that the student seat on the UMaine System (UMS) Board of Trustees (which he described as the “most powerful” role a student could hold within UMS) had been vacated, and that UMSG had been asked to produce a new nominee for the role by Feb. 6. Those interested should fill out this application form by Feb. 1.
Vice President of Financial Affairs Joshua Bohm reported that the remaining unallocated budget of UMSG stood at $120,541.34.
Vice President of Student Organizations Jordan Thompson said that the Spring Student Involvement Fair would be held on Friday, Jan. 30 on the second floor of the Memorial Union, giving student clubs and organizations an opportunity to promote their activities and attract new members.
Fair Election Practices Commissioner Zoe Stankevitz announced that nominations have opened for the UMSG presidency and vice presidency, to be elected later in the semester and inaugurated toward the end of the academic year. President Tripp is graduating and will not be seeking reelection.
New Business
At the start of each semester, all internal Senate positions are vacated and go up for election, with a two-meeting period being available for senators to nominate others or themselves be nominated. This meeting saw the first round of nominations registered, with the positions slated to be formally elected next week.
The next meeting of UMSG will be held in the Buchanan Alumni House after the Student Leadership Gala, when student leaders will be honored by the Senate for their service. The Gala will be held at 5 p.m. and is sponsored by the Alumni Association. The scheduled meeting will commence at its normal time of 6 p.m. in this venue.
