The University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its 10th General Student Senate (GSS) meeting of the academic year on Nov. 12 in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union. It was led by Student Body President Keegan Tripp and Vice President Memphis Peterson. Key aspects of the session included a presentation by University of Maine Police Department (UMPD) Patrol Sergeant Jamey Dover, executive/periodic reports and discussions regarding potential adjustments to the student activity fee.
Club Maintenance and Recognition
Magic The Gathering Club was the first to request preliminary recognition from GSS. Vice President Baxter Hughes addressed the senate, explaining that the club meets regularly to play Magic, a collectible card game. The senate granted the club preliminary recognition with a clear majority vote.
The Black Bear eSports Club also received preliminary recognition. The club is a space for students to compete in popular esports games such as Smash Bros Ultimate or Rocket League. The club aspires to compete at the collegiate level and affiliate with the eSports Arena, a chain of venues dedicated to esports.
The final club to request and receive preliminary recognition was the Dirigo Journal of Policy, Society and Global Affairs. President Neil Rockey and Treasurer Vassar Harvey represented the journal, outlining their goal to establish an undergraduate publication focused on international affairs, politics and broader social issues. The journal plans to post biweekly content and publish an annual research issue.
Guest Speaker
The meeting welcomed UMPD Sergeant Dover as the guest speaker.
“My reason for speaking is three fold. First, is to build a bridge between us and the student body…UMPD is about being members of the community; not just cops on campus… I [also] want to talk about two other projects on campus,” said Dover.
The first project Dover discussed was the Black Bear Safe app, which launched in 2019. He noted features like the ability to call 911 and submit anonymous reports under the “Report A Tip” icon in the app. Dover also emphasized the “friend walk” under the “Virtual Walk Home” icon, allowing friends to virtually monitor walks using location tracking.
“Say it’s 2 or 3 a.m., and you don’t really want to bother your friends and wake them up…our dispatcher can watch you walk live…as soon as you say you arrive safe it [the app] severs the connection,” said Dover.
The other project Dover spoke about is the UMPD’s new comfort dogs initiative on campus, which is currently being developed.
Dover suggested the dogs could be a positive influence on campus for students struggling with their mental health, veterans, victims of crime and people going through stressful things on campus such as move in week or finals. The UMPD has a goal of adopting two comfort dogs, but Dover hinted at an uphill battle given “there’s only one [comfort dog] on patrol in the whole state right now.”
Dover hopes a UMSG member will reach out to help bring the two comfort dogs to campus by writing a letter outlining their benefits and helping to generate student interest in the initiative.
Executive Reports
Tripp began executive reports by sharing that UMSG is still participating in the “It’s Personal” Campaign created by Honors College student ambassadors. A box is located outside the student senate office where students can drop off extra personal care items. The box will remain there until Nov. 22, at which point donated goods will be distributed to members of the UMaine community through the Black Bear Exchange volunteer program.
Vice President for Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman shared that the Nov. 7 show with comedian Trevor Wallace at the Collins Center for the Arts, hosted by UMSG, was successful and an apparent hit among the student body. Leeman mentioned that over 810 student tickets were distributed and 620 were redeemed that night.
Periodic Reports
University of Maine Board of Trustees Student Representative Olivia Britton, shared information about an upcoming board meeting on Nov. 18 at the Wells Conference Center. The meeting begins with an executive session at 8 a.m. and citizen comment at 9:45 a.m. before the BoT agenda begins. Britton expressed that students should feel comfortable making their voices heard during citizen comment.
Reports of Standing Committees
Services Committee Representative Beau Michaud shared that Dean Graham, Director of Retail Operations at the UMaine Bookstore, discussed potential changes to the Academic Materials Program (AMP) due to publishers requesting a price increase. Bookstore managers are working to address the issue with AMP, but have decided to keep the price at $239.
Representative Board Reports
Honors College Student Activities Board Representative Amanda Levesque echoed Tripp’s earlier remarks about the “It’s Personal” Campaign, providing more information regarding the program, including multiple locations where students can drop off personal care items. The options are in front of the student senate office and lobbies within Colvin, Balentine and Penobscot halls.
Senior Class Council Representative Zachary Wentworth wants students to be aware of upcoming changes to the UMaine Spring 2025 commencement. Wentworth shared that the location of the commencement ceremony has shifted from the Alfond Sports Arena to the Bangor Cross Insurance Arena. Commencement will take place on May 11, with 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. sessions.
New Business
Given there was no unfinished business to discuss, GSS moved straight into new business matters. Tripp began by sharing that the Executive Budget Committee (EBC) will review internal policies and financial constraints as they consider raising the student activity fee.
“I want to make a few things clear that seem to have got lost in translation… Any sort of raise in the activity fee will have to go to an entire student body vote— it has to, by policy…during our executive elections,” said Tripp.
Tripp then clarified that the student activity fee, which currently rests at $78 per term for students with six or more credit hours, may not end up increasing. If it does, the highest it would be raised is $100.
“Our activity fee right now is one of the region’s lowest, including comparatively to other institutions. For instance, the University of New Hampshire has a yearly fee of $99. Our budget is much smaller, starting out, than other institutions,” said Tripp.
Tripp shared that he believes UMSG has done a good job of stretching funds compared to other institutions, but is reaching a point where the activity fee will need to be raised to maintain the current spending rate. Tripp partially attributed a rise in spending to promotional efforts encouraging groups beyond sports clubs to ask for funds.
“Two years ago…pretty much only sports clubs understood how to request funding…We had unallocated funds that weren’t being pushed and pulled in so many directions…Our goal was to increase both the transparency and the visibility of UMSG…but what that means is that the demand is bigger and the budget is smaller,” said Tripp.
Tripp ended by sharing he plans to have an update report ready for GSS to review before winter session so plans can be finalized before spring.
If you’re interested in attending the next UMSG meeting, stop by the Bangor Room of Memorial Union at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The UMSG Youtube channel also uploads recordings of their weekly meetings here.
