The Student Association senate met again on Tuesday for the 21st meeting of the 49th legislative session. There were 19 senators present.
There were no guests to the senate this week and there was no public comment.
SA President Tucker Sholtes spoke briefly to the Senate and discussed that this past week he has been busy deciding on who would fill the various director positions and met with various college administrators. President Sholtes also congratulated Jillian Kranz for receiving the “senator of the year” award, after which she received a round of applause. Sholtes discussed senators’ activity in various committees on campus. According to Sholtes, Lisa Evaneski, director of the Office of Student Conduct and Compliance, needs students for several committees. Sholtes also reminded the senate that applications for senate director positions are due by Friday, May 25.
Vice President Neely Laufer said she has been working more with Oswego State students and administrators on creating a diversity taskforce to highlight the multiple cultural backgrounds of many students and faculty on campus. She hopes that a possible taskforce might be in play by the time summer freshmen orientations begin. Laufer also thanked all the senators who attended the student involvement award ceremony.
Hassan Al-Shareffi, the outgoing director of finance, said he has been reviewing more of the candidates for his position next year, and has been working with organizations and their CDs. He reported that the crew team will be buying a boat for the upcoming academic year and has discussed with WTOP-10 members about needing new equipment. The SA budget has been submitted to the finance committee and Al-Shareffi said he would like to have a separate meeting with discussion based solely on the budget, which would probably last about an hour. He also said he would like to use leftover CDs for funding new computers in The Point, some of which are seven years old.
In committee reports, rules and judiciary talked about senate meeting attendance and is considering creating an attendance committee, which will include a warning system for a senator’s lack of appearance at meetings. The student involvement committee discussed the preparations for the “Meet Your Senator” event on April 25, in which students will be given the opportunity to recognize the senators who are representing them in SA.
The committee also reminded senators of “Miss a Meal” and to encourage students to partake. When not going to a dining hall for dinner, the money a student would normally spend on a meal will be donated to the Human Concern Center. Last semester, the center raised over $4,000 from the event.
In hall council reports, west campus dormitories are hosting a “‘90s sale” in which they will be selling items to students with prices in accordance to what they were in the ‘90s. All money raised will be donated to the Oswego Food Bank and to pay for student breakfasts and lunches in schools in Haiti. A senator from Onondaga Hall asked for students interested in hall council to sign up, as this year’s council was inactive.
In special orders, the campus health and wellness center is hosting a 5K walk and run. They requested $510 to be transferred from accounts to buy water, food and T-shirts for the event. The amendment was ratified by a senator to provide $410. This sparked a debate in the senate as money for food is not provided by SA as long as the event is not food-centered, such as a dinner organization. The representative for the run said that she hoped SA would consider providing food because a lot of runners who partake in the event are serious athletes and they would like to be able to provide nutrients, such as bananas and apples, to the runners who take part. When asked why the organization had no money, the representative said they had donated every remaining cent to Relay For Life. Senator Kranz argued that SA had leftover money they do not like leaving money unspent in its accounts. With the end of the year coming, she argued that they could provide food for the run. Al-Shareffi said it wouldn’t be fair to the other organizations that had requested money for food throughout the semester and were denied because of the senate rule.
“You can’t tweak rules for some organizations and some not,” Al-Shareffi said.
The amendment passed 9-8-2, then went into question, discussing whether providing $25 for water, because of the circumstances of a walk/run, would be sufficient. The amendment failed to pass in a 10-3-6 vote. On a bill that would still provide the run with T-shirts, the bill passed unanimously.
In new legislation, it was brought to attention the absences of Senator Gomez. The SA constitution states that senators can be censored if they miss two consecutive SA senate meetings. Senator Gomez was absent for the meeting on April 8 and April 15. On voting for Gomez’s censorship, the proposal was referred to rules and judiciary for one week.
The Oswegonian, WTOP-10 and WNYO requested $150 for funding the website for the organizations’ latest project, “The Bridge,” a news project where all three media groups work extensively together. The proposal was referred to finance for one week.
SA meetings are held every Tuesday in 102 Lanigan Hall at 6 p.m.
