On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the General Student Senate (GSS) held their 1506th meeting during which they discussed current issues and some upcoming events.
The meeting began with the appointments of third-year Jacob Chaplin, fourth-years Justin Molina, Memphis Peterson and Joshua Bohm to the General Student Senate.
Next, fourth-year GSS President Alyssa Ciasullo delivered her executive report detailing the various needs of the student council. Ciasullo’s main concern was that there are still several positions within GSS that need to be filled. Positions include the Vice President for Financial Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Student Engagement, the Clerk and the Fair Election Practices Commissioner.
Ciasullo also set up a meeting with the athletic department with the goal of having athletic representation in the student senate.
Vice President of Student Entertainment Owen Hebda repeated the need to fill the position of Associate Vice President for Student Engagement. The position has been posted and is open online as well as on social media. Please direct any and all questions and concerns for the position to Hebda over email at owen.hebda@maine.edu.
Plans for the first Student Entertainment event of the semester are being finalized for this Friday. This will take place outside of the Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center (IMRC) and there will be local bands and food. There are also tentative plans to make this a monthly event.
Vice President for Student Leadership Michael Delorge continued to conduct class visits this week, seeking to recruit more students for student government. To learn more about student government please contact Delorge over email at michael.delorge@maine.edu.
The student government is once again offering the Student Government Leadership Scholarship. In order to qualify, you must possess a GPA of 2.5 and be a currently-enrolled undergraduate student. Senators and employees are not able to qualify. This scholarship will be awarded to at least one student, in either increments of $500 or a single amount of $1,000. The student government will be looking to further publicize and advertise this scholarship in the coming weeks.
The Advisor to Student Government Lauri Sidelko briefly spoke about the upcoming midterm elections. If you have moved within the past year, please make sure to re-register to vote. This can be done at the Orono Town Office, at the Center for Student Involvement or online. Voting for this election can be done on campus in the fieldhouse.
The representative from the Security Committee reported that they had their first meeting of the semester last week. There will be new cameras installed across campus, specifically at the mall. Various locks in academic buildings are being replaced due to fire code standards as well. The replacement of the UMPD alarm panel system was discussed as it has been deemed to be out of date.
Commuter and Nontraditional Students representative Camryn Hammill reported that the first CANS meeting will be held this Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Wade Center. There will be free cookies for all attendees.
Honors College representative Kate Kemper reported that the Honors College has begun planning for a service event this fall. Updates and advertisements will be posted within the next few weeks.
The Sustainability and Environmental Action Division reported that they are still looking to recruit a secretary. If you have any questions or would like to apply for this position, please contact Nara Narith over email at nathana.narith@maine.edu
Feminist Collective representative Meghan Keast reported that they will be having their meetings this semester every Thursday at 5 p.m. in the FFA room.
The Ski and Snowboarding club received a $200 increase to their budget, as well as a $525 increase for the Mountain Biking club’s budget for their upcoming trip to Carrabassett Valley. This was approved by the student senate unanimously in their consent agenda.
If you are interested in joining GSS, please contact a member of the senate.
Now is the time to join student government. If interested, email Delorge at michael.delorge@maine.edu, or check out the student government website https://umaine.edu/umsg/.
