New Senators and Officer Appointments
Three new senators were sworn in: Lucia “Lucy” Guarnieri, Theresa Hammes and Harrison Ransley. Alexandra Clayboss, Director of Communications, resigned.
Club Presentations
Two teams from the University of Maine Fishing Club competed in the YETI College Fishing tournament on Chautauqua Lake in New York. Sullivan Tidd and Erik Zilgme placed 24th out of 83, while Brian Volkernick & Cody Rubner placed 41st.
The Maine Society of Microbiology attended the American Society for Microbiology Conference in New Orleans, where they were able to learn cutting-edge science from the leading professionals in the field and network with them.
Operation Hands-on Educational Association Reaching out Through Service (H.E.A.R.T.S.)brought 17 students on a spring service trip to Washington, D.C. The students visited a veterans hospital, volunteered at the Thrive soup kitchen, interacted with children at Bright Beginnings, played games with mentally and physically disabled children through Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN) and ran volleyball teams at the D.C. Special Olympics.
Executive Reports
President Mary-Celeste Floreani reminded everyone that it was nomination day, and there were many open positions.
Vice President Logan Aromando continued to plan an upcoming retreat.
Vice President for Financial Affairs Song Ping “Ryan” Wong reported a total of $380,108.87 in unallocated funds this week.
Vice President for Student Organizations Jacob Wood announced that he is looking for a new Student Organizations Committee member, and that a new member should be “someone who wants to learn more about student organizations and how they’re run.”
Vice President for Student Entertainment Jared Dumas promoted the Student Entertainment Committee, which is responsible for the Maine Day concert, the concert series and activities for football and hockey games.
Periodic Reports
The Faculty Senate Student Representative position is vacant.
The Board of Trustees Finance, Facilities and Technology Committee is working on several projects, such as the “Classroom for the Future” project that renovates existing classrooms at UMaine, and MaineStreet improvements including creating a mobile site. Wireless infrastructure updates have been completed in Fogler Library, Shibles, Bennett, Rogers and Jenness, and are partially completed in Winslow, Aubert and Neville.
A $1 million schematic design has been authorized for a new Engineering Education and Design Center, which is expected to open in 2021. This new facility would remove restrictions on engineering applicants due to lack of space and faculty, increasing the engineering department’s capacity from 2,000 to 3,000 students. The building will be designed specifically for multidisciplinary projects between mechanical, civil and bioengineering students.
Chair of the Fair Election Practices Commission Auyon “Alex” Rahman was not present.
Student Legal Services Liaison Maria Maffucci was not present.
Orono Town Council and Old Town City Council Liaison Jacob Bradshaw reported that Orono has set a public hearing for Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. on the topic of changing Columbus Day to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in Orono. There is a meeting on Nov. 7 to elect a new town council member. Bradshaw also said that the town and the university are jointly funding a new roundabout at the intersection by Aroma Joe’s, but it is unclear when that will occur.
Old Town has approved the observation of Constitution Week from Sept. 17 through Sept. 23, and that the annual Riverfest celebration is scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30.
Representative of the University of Maine Army ROTC Michael Davis was not present.
The Director of Communications position is vacant.
The Provost’s Council will have its first meeting at the end of September.
Reports of Standing Committees
Marketing and Public Relations, Membership, Policy and Procedure, Political Activism and Services are all vacant.
Representative Board Reports
The Commuter and Non-Traditional Students committee is looking for new members and has not had a meeting.
The Honors College Student Advisory Board representative Christopher Gilbert was not present.
The Interfraternity Council is currently in the heart of recruitment season, and held its first meeting Wednesday night at the Alpha Tau Omega house.
The Panhellenic Council is also busy with recruitment, preventing Sarah Wainer from attending. Floreani announced that the Council has not set any meeting times yet.
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives Jillian Lary and Cailey Hutchison were not present.
Community Association Reports
Floreani reported in place of Mohammad “Fazeel” Hashmi that the Student Heritage Alliance Council will hold its first meeting on Monday.
Student Women’s Association representatives Lori Loftin and Meghan Frisard were not present.
Floreani reported in place of Maura Philippone that Wilde Stein: Queer Straight Alliance is not currently working on any projects and is trying to increase membership.
New Business
The Senate discussed a cabinet veto on the appointment of Representative Samuel Borer to the Presidential Search Committee, due to the fact that Borer already works closely with the board of trustees. The Senate moved to vote on the veto, but tabled all votes until Sept. 12 due to a lack of attendance and inability to reach quorum.
Nominations took place for the 11 empty positions, and will continue into next week.
