Club Presentations
The African Student Association thanked Student Government for funding its trip to the Harvard Business School Africa Business Conference on March 27. The purpose was to have open dialogue with government officials, academics and business leaders, regarding development in Africa. The Cheering Team thanked UMSG, Inc. for funding its trip to nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, from April 5-6. They won second place by two points in day one of the competition, and won second place by one point on day two.
The Men’s Rugby Team thanked UMSG, Inc. for season funding. The team competed in four tournaments. The Tennis Team thanked UMSG, Inc. for season funding after making runners-up at this years sectionals.
Executive Reports
President Mary-Celeste Floreani was in Washington at the time of this meeting. She reported that Maine Day activities are being finalized. She reminded senators to be be diligent and ethical while considering executive appointments.
Vice President Logan Aromando has sat on every interview committee held thus far and has more positions to interview for. He met with President Susan Hunter and Dean Robert Dana about Maine Day planning. A resolution had recently been passed condemning the use of Clarence C. Little’s name for Little Hall due to his support of eugenics. This resolution follows the University of Michigan’s similar request to change the name of the building formerly known as the C.C. Little Science Building on their own campus.
Vice President for Financial Affairs Song Ping ‘Ryan’ Wang reported $120,397.58 in unallocated funds.
Vice President for Student Organizations Jacob Wood reported that he has been focusing on organization elections. He will be meeting with all club presidents to prepare for the transition.
Vice President for Student Entertainment Jared Dumas will be holding interviews for the hiring of his successor on Friday. Student Entertainment, UMSG, Inc. and Campus Activities and Student Engagement are planning a student leadership trip to Fenway Park. Also, Wednesday night, will be the Maine Day Fest.
Periodic Reports
The Fair Election Practices Commission will hold the Presidential and Vice Presidential Inauguration next week.
Student Legal Services Attorney Sean O’Mara has taken on two new cases and a rush of court appearances. O’Mara will be able to correspond with students in-person locally or by email over the summer.
Director of Communications Miranda Roberts reported that she has been preparing promotional material for Maine Day events, as well as club events on social media.
The Residence Hall Association reported that it was planning to hold a dance in Estabrooke Hall on Saturday. Plans for next year are being finalized.
Reports of Standing Committees
Marketing and Public Relations Committee is preparing its bulletin board for next year, and working on plans for Maine Day Fest. Policy and Procedure will hold its last meeting this semester on Thursday. Political Activism had its last meeting of the year. An outline for next year’s events has been prepared. Services will have one last meeting before end of semester.
Representative Board Reports
The Honors College Student Advisory Board is now looking for volunteers to sign up for the Maine Day meal pack event. Team leaders are reading and working logistics for the event.
The Sustainability and Environmental Actions Division is transitioning for next year.
Community Association Reports Student Heritage Alliance Council (SHAC) is wrapping up. The SHAC Banquet will be held May 4 and elections will be held this Monday.
Feminist Collective reporter being in the middle of their Beautiful Week events.
Wilde Stein reported a successful Pride Week, raising $800 from the drag show alone.
The Lacrosse Team made a late club presentation, thanking UMSG, Inc. for funding.
New Business
Last week’s failed act to amend Article IV of the Student Organization Recognition Policies was rewritten to address the confusion and concerns of the Senate. The new act bars graduate students employed by the University of Maine from acting as advisors for organizations without prior approval from the Vice President of Student Organizations. Motion passed.
Six amendments were made to the Fair Election Practices Commission Guidelines: A mention of the now defunct FirstClass was changed to maine.edu gmail accounts; rules against candidates accepting goods from student government organizations was altered to include “in kind services”; an amendment barring the posting of “campaign material representing a specific
candidate or candidates…inside the Wade Center or within 50 ft. of it”; the timeframe for presenting campaign expenditures was widened from one day before the election to one week; Debate Committee representation requirements have been lifted; and candidates are now barred from intentionally campaigning “within 50 ft. of any polling places,” including “tabling, posters/flyers, geo-tagged media around the Union, or other means as determined by the FEPC.”
The Standing Rules were amended to strike “read all resolutions into the record” from the duties of the Senate Clerk.
The Black Student Union (BSU) requested an extra $1,000 of funding for its upcoming Natural Hair Care Fair. This would bring their total allocated funding to $4,303. The BSU brought a petition and many testimonials to argue for this additional funding, citing black hair care and culture as a significantly unsupported service in the state of Maine, and integral to making the campus’s black students feel comfortable during their time at the university. This first-of-its-kind event will start small, with the hope of growing in later years. Despite concern regarding setting
precedent for future allocations, there was no argument within the Student Senate regarding the value of the event itself. Motion passes.
The Blue Crew requested $5,250 to send two groups to Ghana from May 20-31 and June 3-11. Funding will be used for visas and immunizations. Motion passed.
The Latin American Student Organization requested $1,800 for lodging and van rental for their Harvard-MIT-Colombia 2040 conference. The act was amended to $2,000, to account for the headcount expanding from nine students to 10. Motion passed.
The Class of 2018 Student Council requested $980 for bus rentals for their Casino Night at Hollywood Casino Bangor. Motion passed.
The Asian Student Association requested $2,800 for their Taste of Asia event in the North Pod on April 28. Motion passed.
An act to create the position of Director of Policy and Procedure was passed.
A funding request for the renovation of the Student Government Financial Office has been tabled for next week.
