New Senators and Officer Appointments
While senators Gregory Warmuth and Jonathan Deschaine resigned this week, the General Student Senate welcomed new senator Bentley Simpson and Samuel Borer was appointed the new representative to the Board of Trustees.
Club Maintenance
The Hammock Club came seeking preliminary recognition. As its name suggests, the club is dedicated to “find[ing] cool places on campus,” and bringing students together for “hammock-ing.” The club is about 50 members strong and was approved by head of grounds. The motion passed.
Also seeking preliminary recognition was the Quidditch Club. Fifteen interested students, more than enough to fill two teams, have joined together to play the muggle variant of the globally recognized sport made famous by the Harry Potter series of novels written by J.K. Rowling. They hope to be seen as an alternative for students uninterested in traditional sports and their long term goal is to join the U.S. Quidditch Association. Recognition was granted.
The Horticultural Club was reactivated after a year out of commission. The club will open educational opportunities for students and faculty about all things plants. The club advisor is Professor Stephanie Burnett and has 15 solid members.
Club Presentations
Women’s Soccer celebrated their third year as a recognized club, as well as their first year in the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association. They currently have a 0-5-1 record and have been greatly improving over the course of the season.
Guest Speaker
Sean O’Mara from Student Legal Services made his stop by this semester to encourage senators to schedule appointments with the department if they haven’t already. They’ve had 24 new clients or issues over the course of last month. He will be working with new Director of Communications to get their pamphlets back into the dorms and with President Bois to streamline the rental car process for clubs, as well as streamline liability waivers.
Executive Reports
President Kevin Bois was proud to announce Homecoming was a success. He would be meeting with the President’s Council on Wednesday and with Student Entertainment on Friday. He mentioned a change in student proposal fees, specifically an increase in the consumer price index, which he will bring to the Board of Trustees. He then congratulated Senator Floreani for organizing Wednesday’s debate watch event. He then said that early work on the Haunted Trails has begun and will open Oct. 28.
Vice President Jared Dumas has been dealing with difficulties arising with updates to the Campus Sidekick app and will have progress to discuss by next week.
Vice President for Financial Affairs Robert Begin was not present and his report was read out by Jacob Johnson. There are currently $207,762.37 in unallocated funds.
Vice President for Student Organizations Jacob Johnson reiterated his goal to reach out to students, with plans to offer an overview of student senate and make more resources available for students. He will be holding a meeting on the sports budget and plans to form an improved budget system that meets the needs of all sports clubs on campus.
Periodic Reports
The Senate is currently hiring for the vacant Fair Election Practices Commission chair.
Graduate Student Senate Representative Mary Celeste-Floreani announced that all grants have been received and the Senate is still trying to ensure that classes can be cancelled on the date of the UMaine Graduate and Undergraduate Research Symposium.
According to Orono Town Council Representative Ben Crocker, voting will take place in the UMaine Field House Ward 1 for Precincts 1, 2 and 3, on Nov. 8 from 7-8 p.m.
The Old Town Council approved the purchase of new fire engine.
Army ROTC Representative James O’Neill reported that a field training exercise will be held in Plymouth for juniors and seniors this weekend. The following weekend after, they will be holding marksmanship training at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Bangor.
Reports of Standing Committees
Membership will be updating binders for new senators.
Policy and Procedure made its first resolution of the semester. Senator Celeste–Floreani is currently the only official member.
Services committee meetings will be held Thursdays at 5 p.m. at the Waits Center. Monthly auxiliary meetings will be held in the York dining room.
Community Association Reports
Student Heritage Association Council meetings are at the Totman Lounge Mondays at 5 p.m. They are focusing on SHAC subgroups. Their next meeting will be an event workshop, discussing how to plan events. The upcoming CultureFest will be at the Rec Center Nov. 5. The Latin American Student Organization (LASO) will also be holding a Dia De Los Muertos event Nov. 4.
The Student Women’s Association held its annual Take Back the Night event at the North Pod on Oct. 20 from 6-8 p.m.
Wilde Stein Alliance announced that Coming Out Week was a success and will be using the feedback for Pride Week next semester from April 10-14.
New Business
$1,090 was allocated the UMaine Crew Club for new oars. The oar the representatives brought with them to the meeting was older than every member currently on the team, was heavily damaged due to improper storing, had a rotting handle and an outdated blade shape. The Senate was amused by how awkward it was going to be to get the oar out the door again.
$3,500 was allocated to Women’s Ice Hockey for practice times, home games and league dues for the fall/spring season. After the club was restarted last year, they joined a collegiate intramural league and expanded their membership from 15 to 25 players.
$2,200 was allocated to Operation HEARTS to pay for housing on their service trip to Washington D.C. During their trip, they plan to work with Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), Friends of Guest House, Bright Beginnings and various soup kitchens and hospitals.
The Senate voted to change the FEPC Guidelines, in particular, striking sections A and B from Article III, Section 3, rescinding last year’s change from the at-large voting system to a campus at-large voting system. The system depends on a wide base of people to represent the different colleges and since UMSG, Inc. does not have great ties between the different colleges, as well as the low number of senators, the system is more limiting. The sections were removed in the hopes of adding them back later on, rather than violate the guidelines in the upcoming elections.
$3,000 was allocated to the disc golf course expansion project. Plans include increasing the course from three holes to nine, placing a practice hole outside the Rec Center, offering the course trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing during the winter months, advertising and hosting an event to encourage use of the course. President Bois suggested an amendment to add a stipulation that a portion of the allocation will also be used for signs and advertising. The motion was amended, then passed.
Provost Council Representative Samuel Borer said that President Hunter will present the campus budget at a meeting on Nov. 15 from 3-4:30 p.m. The College of Liberal Arts and Science’s lecture will be held by Stephen Hornsby on Oct. 24. Borer noted a large increase in the first-year population, a total of 2,230, the largest in UMaine history, 34 percent of which comes from out of state. The budget for the next fiscal year is being written with the plan in mind to break the population record again. There’s still enough space for 100 more students at the dorms. The Foundations Program will be phased out of UMaine Orono and moved to Augusta and Machias. There was also talk of placing an annual enrollment cap on certain popular majors. Borer is planning a proposal for a Geek Week, tentatively planned for April 8-10, subject to change.
Faculty Senate nominations have been tabled for next week.
Executive Budgetary Committee Nominations
Senator Sarra was nominated for the Executive Budgetary Committee position and accepted. Further nominations and any elections will be held next week.
Student Organization Committee Nominations
Senator Simpson was nominated for the Student Organization Committee position and accepted. Further nominations and any elections will be held next week.
Allocations
$500 was allocated to the Sophomore Owls for Haunted Trails.
$750 was allocated to the Maine Peace Action Committee for newsletters.
$700 was allocated to Engineers without Borders for the EWB Northwest Regional Conference.
$350 was allocated to the Non-Traditional Student Association for its Non-Traditional Student Week, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.
$200 was allocated to the Honors College Student Advisory Board for the Honors Ball, Nov. 5.
$720 was allocated to the Green Team for Take Pride in Acadia Day, Nov. 4.
