The General Student Senate meeting on Sept. 22 began with roll call, as well as the Pledge of Allegiance, given by Vice President Zachary Wyles.
General Good and Welfare:
Vice President Wyles gave Robert’s Rules of Order of the week, which is to be raised when matters of procedure are done incorrectly.
New Senators, Officer Appointments and Resignations:
Senator Tiffany Caro has resigned due to inactivity, and Micheal Delorge will be officially sworn in at the next meeting.
Executive Reports:
President Harrison Ransley stressed the importance of attendance. The senate voted on various resolutions at the Sept. 15 meeting, but unfortunately, they could not pass because they did not have the correct amount of senators in attendance to vote. President Ransley also announced that both Sens. Alyssa Caisullo and Ángel Loredo would be appointed to cabinet positions. His final announcement was that the University of Maine is looking for volunteers to help with stage 3 COVID-19 testing, and is looking for anyone who would be interested. Vice President Zack Wyles then spoke, addressing that the Black Bear Exchange will need volunteers with their drives, and that committee chairs should expect emails soon regarding committee meetings. Vice President of Financial Affairs Jacob Tauke spoke on the need to vote again to approve the budget for the Center for Undergraduate Research student symposium and the second item in the executive session because there were not enough members last week. Vice President of Student Organizations Emmeline Willey stressed the need to get club forms in as soon as possible, as clubs cannot go over a certain amount of participants in a room at a certain time due to COVID-19. Vice President of Student Entertainment Chase Flaherty spoke on several events happening throughout the week, such as the T-shirt cannon event for the Beat COVID-19 drive, and the Bangor Drive In college night. Emails were sent to various club organization heads for T-shirt order forms, and pickup for those T-shirts will be in the Memorial Union. The Advisor to Student Government Lauri Sidelko spoke on various campus events coming up, such as the voter registration drives around campus, and the various absentee ballot drop boxes located in the town of Orono. There will also be a humans vs. zombies game started around campus, that will be adapted to fit COVID-19 regulations.
Periodic Reports:
Old Town City Council Liaison Blaize Vail announced that he has been in contact with the Old Town council, and plans to visit sometime this week. The Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) Liaison announced that there will be a CUGR meeting on Oct. 26.
Report on Standing Committees:
The Membership Committee is looking for new ideas on how to get more people involved. The Committee on Policy and Procedure announced their plans to vote on removing signature requirements for new senators in order to make the process more COVID-19 friendly. The Committee on Political Activism drew attention to voter registration day, and the various registration drives that were present around campus. The Services Committee has made a contact sheet for all necessary personnel.
Special Committees:
The Student Conduct Code and Oversight Committee will be calling for a board review in a couple of weeks.
Representative Board Reports:
The Board of Commuter and Non-Traditional students has had many new officers appointed, with lots of new leadership coming in, but are still looking for a couple of positions to fill. The Honors College Student Advisory Board is planning on hosting a non-partisan election forum very soon. The Interfraternity Council is doing various programs for hazing prevention week. The Panhellenic council has had virtual recruitment take place, and applications for leadership positions will be released soon.
Community Association Reports:
The Feminist Collective is going to be partnering with the Multicultural Student Center to help facilitate events in the future. Wilde Stein is taking some time away from the Rainbow Resource Center in order to become more independent as a club.
New Business:
The senate moved to vote on two different matters. The first was to approve the allocation of $6,070 to help fund the CUGR student symposiums. This year, the symposium will be completely virtual, and the help of the senate would ensure that the event runs smoothly. This was passed and approved by the senate. Next, was a resolution to suspend the need for signatures of new senators. This would make the process more COVID-19 friendly, and keep everything more remote. This too, was approved.
The senate then went into executive session and adjourned shortly after.
