The Student Association held its 10th meeting of the semester Tuesday evening. The number of senators needed to make quorum was satisfied.
The minutes from last week’s meeting were approved, and the agenda for that Tuesday’s meeting was amended as needed.
There was one group guest to the senate. Two representatives from Two-and-a-Half were seeking assistance. Two-and-a-Half is an organization dedicated to decreasing the statistic that someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every “two and a half” minutes. The organization is running a white ribbon campaign on campus, in which men of Oswego State can take a pledge to never harm a woman. Two-and-a-Half is tabling the campaign on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Marano Campus Center. Through the Lifestyles Center, Two-and-a-Half proposed $550 for 100 free T-shirts for a similar tabling event where students can get a free T-shirt to support the white ribbon campaign. A senator was chosen to write a bill for the proposal.
There was no public comment.
SA President Tucker Sholtes took the floor and addressed a letter he had sent out to all members of SA from James McMahon, chair of the Oswego College Council. The letter read, “On behalf of the Oswego College Council, I am writing to commend you, your officers and other members of the Student Association on the tremendous work you and members of the Student Association accomplished this fall. We were very pleased to learn about the Student Association’s active participation in numerous events leading up to and throughout 10th Annual Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit and the Oct. 16 launch of ‘With Passion and Purpose,’ the campaign for Oswego.”
Other than that, Sholtes said he has continued working with the plans for the alternative Bridge Street Run concert and event and diversity and inclusion at Oswego State.
SA Vice President Neely Laufer announced there will be no senate meeting next Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Finance Director Elena Sanchez discussed transfers in the Student Association Programming Board accounts. She also addressed an idea for a new SA sign in the hockey arena. The current sign in the arena has SA’s old logo and SA is currently in the process of hiring a new assistant director of graphic design.
Christopher Collins-McNeil, the director of civic engagement, reminded the senate of a concert featuring a Rochester-based troupe led by artistic director Kerfala “Fana” Bangoura with musicians and dancers from Guinea, Ghana, Congo and Ivory Coast.
In committee reports, the rules and judiciary committee did not meet. The finance committee talked about various bills. The involvement committee discussed the unofficial results from the number of participants in the “Miss-a-Meal” event and having pizza at senate meetings. Involvement Committee Chair Shantol Williams had a discussion about “Who’s Your Senator” posters to put around on campus. She showed the senators the planned design for them. This started a debate, in which senators and directors of SA said the posters looked too “Christmassy” and the colors should be changed. Sholtes suggested the committee wait until a new assistant director of graphic design is hired to go further into making the posters.
The position of assistant director of athletic affairs was recently created and a candidate was voted on by general consent. The candidate was elected unanimously.
In hall council reports, Sen. Jillian Kranz, a resident assistant in Funnelle Hall, said the building is currently doing penny wars and is planning an end-of-the-semester holiday party.
There were no special orders.
There was one general order. The new bill proposed production and distribution of cards for students showing local businesses offering student discounts with their purchases. There was a small debate on how exactly to distribute them. The fear of tabling was that too many would be given out to a small amount of people. Sholtes suggested students could get them at a box office window, similar to how students receive the bus stickers for transportation. There was some question on how to distribute them to incoming students. As of right now, SA would only be able to order them at the beginning of the calendar year, meaning they would only be available for the spring semester.
“If we decide to go forward with this, we should open it up to the students to see what businesses to acquire,” Sholtes said.
Senators motioned to vote on the bill by general consent. The bill passed unanimously. SA hopes to have the discount cards available to Oswego State students by the beginning of the spring semester.
There was one new piece of legislation. The ski and snowboard club has been offered $1,324 to fund gas for trips to various slopes around the region and also pay for trophies for its annual “Rail Jam,” a winter sport competition held in the quad every year. Trophies were formerly Red Bull products, but the company has discontinued supporting the club. The senate passed the bill unanimously.
There was no senate research forum.
There were no senator issues.
The Student Association holds its meetings every Tuesday in Lanigan 102 and they are open to the public.
