On Tuesday, Sept. 27, the General Student Senate (GSS) held their 1507th meeting during which senators and representatives were nominated to various council positions.
To begin the meeting, third-year Jake Newton was added as a new senator in a unanimous vote from the senate.
Guest speaker Colleen Frazier spoke about InvolveME, the University of Maine’s new online platform. InvolveME has information like upcoming events on campus, student groups and organizations, and important news and updates from the university. InvolveME will also act as a portal that connects to BrightSpace and other resources for students, faculty and staff.
InvolveME is available in the app store as well as online. QR codes will soon be available around campus and you can sign in using your UMaine username and password. Please send all questions and concerns about InvolveME to Frazier at colleen.frazier@umaine.edu.
Next, President Alyssa Ciasullo gave her executive report detailing the open house on Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wade Center.
The VP 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 about the position to Hebda over email at owen.hebda@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 currently enrolled as an 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.
Advisor to the Student Government Lauri Sidelko reminded the council about the upcoming midterm elections. Voter registration cards will be accepted at the Memorial Union until Oct. 7. Voting for this election can be done on campus in the New Balance Field House.
The Commuter & Non-Traditional Student Programs had a productive meeting last week. They were able to create a new guide for commuter students and are now in the process of setting up a discord server in hopes of organizing carpooling. Issues and concerns can be brought to Camryn Hammill at camryn.hammill@maine.edu.
The Honors College representative Kate Kemper discussed the plans for a formal which will take place in early November.
The Sustainability and Environmental Action Division is planning on hosting its first event next week and will have fliers and social media posts coming soon.
The Feminist Collective is partnering with Title IX to host a self-defense course on Monday, Oct. 17. Invite your friends and contact Megan Keast at megan.keast@maine.edu for questions and information.
This week’s consent agenda was unanimously approved by the senate.
The senate approved the Caribbean and Latinx Student Alliance’s (CALSA) plan to host a fiesta on Oct. 14 from noon to 3 p.m. in the MLK Plaza.
The senate also approved the Mountain Biking Club’s trip to Highland Mountain in New Hampshire. The club was seeking additional funding in order to purchase the equipment necessary to transport members and their bikes, as well as purchase lift tickets.
Lastly, the senate approved the Alpine Ski Club’s request for additional funds for their budget. The request was issued due to a need for lodging, equipment, registration fees and transportation.
A large portion of the meeting was taken up by nominations for representatives and liaison positions. This is a two-week process, and there will be a second round of nominations made at next week’s meeting.
The meeting came to a close after the Undergraduate Retention Committee was officially disbanded.
