The Student Association held their fourth weekly meeting of the semester Tuesday evening. The number of senators present met quorom.
The senate first approved the minutes from last week’s meeting and amended the agenda as needed.
There were no guests to the senate.
There was no public comment.
In executive reports, SA President Tucker Sholtes spoke briefly to the senate. He reported that some individuals were selected to attend a diversity conference at the University of Connecticut this weekend. Sholtes also said he has been keeping busy preparing with the administration for the 10th annual Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit on Oct. 16. Sholtes also said he is still looking for senators who are interested in attending the SUNY SA Fall Conference at the RIT Inn and Conference Center in Rochester on Oct. 16.
SA Vice President Neely Laufer reported that she spent the last week mainly working with the senate on various resolutions she hoped to pass very soon.
Director of Finance Elena Sanchez said there was reserved seating for SA members at next Thursday’s Media Summit. Also, SA will be getting three iPad Minis in an attempt to continue the organization’s effort to go green where they can.
Christopher Collins-McNeil, the director of civic engagement, reported on his progress on diversity and inclusion training with Justin Brantley, the director of multicultural affairs. The two have conducted trainings at various campus clubs and organizations. On Oct. 1, Greek life organizational leaders attended the training. Collins-McNeil said the training was not as successful as it was with the training with campus club presidents, vice presidents and treasurers. Regardless, he reported he has gotten a lot of positive feedback on the trainings.
Collins-McNeil also discussed this year’s beginning progress of the “Rock the Vote” campaign, which the Political Science Club, College Democrats and College Republicans will be supporting as Election Day draws near.
Ryan Hopf, Sholtes’ chief of staff, spoke briefly to the senate on how he will be running a committee in preparation of the SUNY SA conference Oswego State is holding Nov. 7-9. Hopf is looking for senator participants in that committee to help coordinate the various activities that will be going on during the conference.
In committee reports, Rules and Judiciary Chair Jillian Kranz was not present at the SA meeting and Laufer said the Rules and Judiciary Committee did not meet last week.
Finance Committee Chair Tyler Jodeit said the committee met and worked on the proposal to fund men’s club volleyball, which did not submit a budget to SA last spring because of the team captain’s injury.
Student Involvement Committee Chair Shantol Williams said the committee met and discussed ways to try to get the campus more involved with SA. Williams said she would also like to meet with local businesses in town and maybe make a proposition to create a bicycle and skateboard lane on campus walkways.
In hall council reports, Sen. Emily Nassir said Onondaga Hall finally has a hall council finalized and should start meetings next week.
There was no senator research to present.
There were no special orders.
There were several general orders. At the first SA meeting, representatives from DECA asked for funding to attend conferences at various cities around the country. DECA is an international association of high school and college students that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. The amendment was referred to the finance committee.
The amendment to fund the men’s club volleyball team with a total of $1,050 for new team jerseys, balls and tournament fees. The amendment was then voted on and passed unanimously to become a bill. The bill was then briefly discussed before voting to become a law.
“We thought this was a very fair price for what they asked,” Jodeit said.
The bill was passed unanimously and is the first bill passed by the senate this year.
There were several pieces of new legislation. General order (SE 50.03) proposed Oswego State host the Capital Campaign, the biggest fundraiser in the history of the college. The administration would like to raise $40 million from its alumni to help fund scholarships, equipment for the school and students studying abroad. They have already raised $31 million.
“It’s actually a really big deal,” Sholtes said. “It’s not only the biggest thing we’ve done, but it’s the biggest thing any SUNY school has ever done.”
On Oct. 16, there will be a calling fund to reach the school’s alumni. There will also be a “Tomorrow Show” featuring Oswego State President Deborah Stanley and ESPN SportsCenter journalist and alumni Steve Levy, in which the two will discuss the proponents of where the money could go to.
The legislation was passed unanimously by standing ovation.
General Order (SE 50.01) regarding funding $150,000 from SA’s reserves to put on a concert on May 8, 2015 as an alternative to the pub crawl Bridge Street Run was discussed. It has been discussed by the committees several times over the last few weeks.
“We think this is a great idea. We have way, way too much money in our reserves,” Jodeit said.
Jodiet complied that the finance committee agrees completely with the legislation. Williams complied the involvement committee agrees.
“It’s really about us making a new tradition,” Sholtes said. “There was an old end-of-year tradition that got kicked off campus a long time ago, and that’s actually how Bridge Street Run got started.”
The legislation was passed unanimously by standing ovation.
The senate also examined Order (SLE 50.03), which would campaign against anti-Semitism and racism on the Oswego State campus. Nassir referenced an incident that happened at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. during the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, in which Swastikas were spray painted on a Jewish fraternity house.
“I think it’s important because just because it happened on a different campus doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen here,” Nassir said.
Laufer referenced a similar incident that occurred last year when Swastikas were drawn on the door of a Jewish student resident on East campus, as well as last year’s “black face incident,” in which a white student wore black paint on his face to a party that sparked a racial debate on campus.
“I love this resolution. I think it fits well with our recent move toward diversity and inclusion,” Sholtes said.
The resolution proclaimed that students who are willing should wear white on the temporary date of Nov. 3, in honor of National Coexistence Day.
The resolution was passed unanimously by standing ovation.
There were no senator issues.
The SA senate meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Lanigan 102 and all meetings are open to the public.
