The General Student Senate meeting on Sept. 15 began with the approval of the minutes of the Sept. 8 meeting, as well as the Pledge of Allegiance.
General Good and Welfare:
The Senate briefly discussed Robert’s Rules of Division, and planned to try to employ said rules moving forward. This meeting was a hybrid meeting, with senators meeting both in person and over Zoom.
New Senators, Officer Appointments, and Resignations:
Jacob Chaplin was sworn in as a new senator. The Senate ran elections for the representative for the provost council and the student mental health committee chair. The Senate elected Sen. Frank Kelly as representative to the provost council, responsible for attending administrative meetings and contributing student feedback and input on a wider scale. The Senate elected Sen. Sarah Brindisi as the student mental health committee chair, responsible for looking for ideas and solutions to better support mental health at the University of Maine.
Executive Reports:
President Harrison Ransley spoke on the Little Hall renaming forum. Students can fill out an online form to give recommendations for the hall’s renaming. Vice President Zack Wyles informed the Senate that they should be able to meet in the Memorial Union for the remainder of the year, though attendance over Zoom will continue to be an option. Vice President of Financial Affairs Jacob Tauke spoke on the student government budget, and raised a resolution to fund the UMaine Student Symposium, an event that allows students to showcase their research. Vice President of Student Organizations Emmeline Willey informed the Senate that all clubs hoping to meet in person, will have to turn in request forms in order to do so. Vice President of Student Entertainment Chase Flaherty spoke at the first meeting for the Student Entertainment Committee, going over the importance of confidentiality. Moving forward in the semester, there will be more social distancing events held at the University Mall. They are hoping to work with the Bangor Drive-In, in order to host college movie nights. This would be a joint effort with Husson University.
Standing Committees:
Membership Committee is looking for new ways to get more people involved. The Committee of Policy and Procedure is also looking for more leadership roles to arise. The Committee of Political Activism has spoken with Coordinator for Leadership Development Jenny Desmond, and are looking to meet up with UVote in order to encourage more absentee voting. They are looking to have two dedicated absentee drop boxes and two absentee voting drives to encourage higher turnout. The Honors College Student Advisory Board is working to have Forum Fridays be available to students outside of the Honors College. The Committee on Sustainability held their first meeting, focused on collaboration with other student organizations. UMaine’s Feminist Collective is working towards becoming reactivated.
Consent Agenda:
The Senate approved the $6,070 budget allocated to fund the UMaine Student Symposium.
The Senate then moved into executive session, and adjourned shortly after.
