New Senators, Officer Appointments, Resignations
Kaitlyn Beckwith and Erin Dougherty resigned as a student senators. Sean Connolly, Matthew Stenger and Owen Vadala were appointed as new student senators.
Club Maintenance
A club for philanthropic charity called the Maine Effective Altruism asked for student government recognition. The Student Senate voted in favor of granting official recognition to the club.
Club Presentations
Sigma Phi Epsilon gave an update on their charitable event, Rock Against Rape, and how they spent the funds the Student Senate awarded them.
A local band called Renaissance gave an update on the EP they released using funds the Student Senate gave them.
Guest Speakers
Joe Beaudoin spoke to the Student Senate representing a group being launched on campus called Student Assembly Voters which promotes University of Maine students voting in municipal elections. He spoke to the rapid growth of the club but was not ready to ask for recognition by the Student Senate.
Executive Reports
President Logan Aromando congratulated the new senators for being sworn in. He spoke about his goal for increasing the number of students on the Senate to 30 by the end of the semester. He reminded the Senate that the position of Fair Election Practices Commission chair was still open for applications until Thursday. He announced two cabinet appointments that will need to be voted on soon. Vice President Bentley Simpson and President Aromando reported on their meeting with Dean Robert Dana about goal-setting for the semester.
Vice President Simpson announced he will be assembling his VP cabinet of representatives for various periodic reports. He reminded student senators about the dress code for meetings.
The Vice President for Financial Affairs Bradley Bailey reported $474,840.71 in unallocated funds. Men’s lacrosse returned $2,000 in allocated funds, $505 from men’s soccer, $2,000 from Alpine Ski Club, $2,000 from Waterpolo, $4,000 from Women’s Ultimate Frisbee and $320 from the Fishing Club. He announced two resolutions, one for the Woodsman Team for $4,000 and $1,705.26 for the Black Student Union.
The Vice President for Student Organization Taylor Cray reported having three open seats on Student Organizations Committee (SOC). The club of the week initiative started last week and the first featured organization was the 3D Printing Club. Cray reported that there is a printer that is available for use by an approved club or organization on campus.
Vice President for Student Entertainment Corey Claflin informed the Student Senate that he met with the executive director of the Collins Center for the Arts the previous week and is working on developing a partnership with that establishment. He has been working on dates to work with the athletic department for promotional material. He also talked about ideas for the spring Maine Day concert.
Reports of Standing Committees
Austin Steward of the Marketing and Public Relations committee informed the Senate that he was continuing his work on executive reports for social media.
Chase Flaherty of the Services Committee reported about working on an email list to send to senators with information about the committee.
Representative Board Reports
Chris Toothaker with the Commuter and Non-Traditional Students group reminded the Student Senate about a pancake breakfast in the commuter lounge.
President Stephanie Poirier of the Panhellenic Council reported positive results from recruitment the previous week. They didn’t hand out all of their bids, but all chapters met their membership quota. According to Poirier, 160 bids of membership were given out.
Sheldon Green with the Sustainability and Environmental Actions Division met with the Office of Sustainability coordinator and the energy efficiency coordinator on campus for discussions about future plans.
Community Association Reports
Mohammad Hashmi with the Student Heritage Alliance Council (SHAC) reported on events of the council’s affiliated groups. Hashmi also talked about potentially increasing the number of groups within SHAC in the future.
Zarni Chanapatdaychaporn with the International Student Association reported positive attendance at the international coffee hour. Chanapatdaychaporn reported about 70 people in attendance at the event. He reported an apple picking event planned for the current week.
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda was passed by the Senate allocating $320 to the Fishing Club for a canoe rental from Maine Bound for Canoe Day on Sept. 30.
Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business to discuss.
New Business
Senator Emmeline Willey was nominated for the position of Old Town City Council liaison.
Senators Harrison Ransley and Linh Phan were appointed by the Senate to President Aromando’s cabinet.
The Senate approved the allocation of $4,000 to the Woodsmen Team for a timber competition.
The Senate approved $1,705.26 to the Black Student Union to attend the 2018 Black Woman’s March in Washington.
