The General Student Senate meeting on March 3 began with the approval of the Feb. 25 meeting minutes and agenda.
General Good and Welfare:
Vice President Chase Flaherty discussed the Robert’s Rules item of the week. The item of the week highlighted point of order. Vice President Flaherty reported that if a senator noticed that the chair is out of order, the senator can call upon the chair for how the chair conducted business. After the point of order, the chair can decide whether or not they approve the point of order. If the chair does not approve the point of order, the senate can conduct a vote and override the chair’s decision.
New Senators, Officer Appointments, Resignations:
Angel Loredo, Blaize Vail and Will Erlanson were appointed as senators.
Guest Speakers:
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Robert Dana attended and spoke at the Senate meeting. Dana focused on the topic of democracy, as March 3 was the Maine Primary Election and Super Tuesday. He commended the senators for their work, attention and involvement put towards the needs of the University of Maine. He shared that it is critical for student leaders to be passionate about causes in today’s political climate, as he feels that many Americans across the political spectrum have created politics of dissent. Dana feels that with so many controversial social and political issues, it is great that there are organizations, such as the Student Senate, that are created to provide people with the power to use their voice.
Sen. Harrison Ransley gave his platform speech for the position of president of UMSG, Inc.
Sen. Zack Wyles gave his platform speech for the position of vice president of UMSG, Inc.
Executive Reports:
Vice President Flaherty reported on behalf of President Bentley Simpson. He stated President Simpson met with Assistant Dean of Student Life Andrea Gifford about a potential collaboration with a company called Rent College Pads and they will begin to move forward with that discussion. Additionally, President Simspon will be meeting with other representatives to discuss the potential of live streaming and broadcasting senate meetings.
Vice President Flaherty reported that the annual student government conference is approaching and will occur on April 18 in Portland. He thanked Dana for coming to the meeting. Additionally, he reported that UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy is conducting an enrollment initiative addressing the decreasing enrollment numbers on campus. The initiative consists of current UMaine students visiting their high schools and discussing their experience at UMaine.
Vice President for Financial Affairs Jack O’Donoghue reported that there is $282,862.18 in unallocated funds. He shared that there is $490.00 in returns to unallocated funds. Additionally, he shared that $2,500 in funds was tabled for Wild Stein’s Lavender Prom. Lastly, the Student Construction Association’s request for $4,528 was denied.
Vice President for Student Organizations Taylor Cray reported that the Orono poll office is open until 8 p.m. and encouraged everyone to cast their vote in the Maine Primary Election. Cray reported that she is continuing her work to revise the organization relationship agreement. She shared that she met with Coordinator of Student Organizations Heather Hogan and Advisor to Student Government Lauri Sidelko to conduct the revisions. Lastly, she shared that she is working to get together documents to assist and direct the duties of the next vice president for student organizations during their time in office.
Vice President for Student Entertainment Logan Aromando reported that he is in communication with UMaine’s Graduate Student Government regarding potential ticket sales for the Maine Day concert. He shared that he is finalizing the work order to give to UMaine’s facilities for the day of the concert and the event management form. He is also finalizing the timeline for the day of the concert. Additionally, Vice President Aromando has signed and reviewed the contracts for the riders for the artists, and has signed and reviewed the contract for the main artist. He has sent out a new offer to another artist that may potentially open the concert. He reported that he is in contact with the food trucks that will be attending the concert. He is speaking to production agencies regarding next year’s concert in attempts to get a better deal on ticket prices. Lastly, Aromando shared that he has spoken to a few different senators that are interested in running for his position for the next term. He reported that he is in the process of creating a binder for the next vice president for student entertainment that will share specific details about the tasks of the position.
The Advisor to Student Government Lauri Sidelko reported that there are vans shuttling students to the polling offices for Super Tuesday. Additionally, Sidelko shared that she has received messages regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and she would like students to know that the university is taking precautions very seriously. She shared that UMaine will be launching a hotline providing the UMaine community with information regarding how the university plans to respond to the coronavirus and its effects. She also reported that on April 23, the Student Life and Greek Awards will be held as a part of Spring Fling and Earth Week and that she hopes that many senators will attend this event.
Sen. Zach Wyles moved to skip over reports and the five-minute recess and begin at the consent agenda. The motion was passed.
Consent Agenda:
A motion to allocate $943 to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers to provide lodging for 19 students to attend the Northeast Regional Conference at Northeastern University from April 4 through April 5 was introduced. The motion was passed.
New Business:
An act to allocate $1,122 to the Caribbean & Latinx Student Association for Food & Drink to celebrate Carnaval in the North Pod of the Memorial Union on March 6 was passed.
An act to allocate $2,400 to the Society of Women Engineers for lodging and transportation for 13 students to attend the Buffalo Society of Women Engineers Regional Conference on March 26 through March 29 was passed.
Main Motion:
Sen. Olivia Lovejoy addressed the senate regarding the main motion of the night, allocating a total of $10,275 to UMaine’s Student Symposium event that is held on April 17 at the Alfond Sports Arena. Sen. Lovejoy shared that she had been in communication with the Center for Undergraduate Research regarding the event and that she had a breakdown of the budget for the funds from the potential sponsorship from UMSG, Inc. for this year’s event.
Vice President Aromando suggested tabling the motion for next week’s meeting in hopes of viewing a budget for the entire event before making a final decision on the matter.
The Senate voted and the majority agreed to table the motion.
The final roll was called and the meeting was then adjourned.
