First meeting of the semester
The 31st Student Senate held their first official meeting since a meeting mid-summer Friday, Sept. 6. Vice Chair Tyler Stanley and Treasurer Mike Norton, both members of the Executive Board, were absent. Both absences were excused from the meeting. Sen. Sarah Hines and Sen. Bridget Ring were also absent.
Resignation of two Senators
Chair Leah Wentworth read a resignation letter from Sen. Sarah. Hines. Sen. Janine Gorham also turned in a letter of resignation, and in a show of support and admiration, a few senators voted against accepting her letter of resignation in an effort to show her what an integral part of the Senate she formed. Both letters were accepted and Hines and Gorham are no longer Senators in the 31st USM Student Senate.
In a change for this school year, Joe Austin, dean of Student Life, will be attending many Senate meetings.
Concerns
Only ten senators attended the Senate meeting during the summer. Many senators had complaints that they were not contacted, and therefore had no idea a summer meeting was taking place.
Sen. Joshua Dolby raised his concerns about the safety of those crossing Forest Avenue. Since the razing of the Powers House, the new home of the Senate is at 11 Baxter Blvd. The Senate offices are located above The Signery, which requires most people going to the Senate building to cross the busy street. Sen. Gorham also raised some concerns about Forest Avenue.
Forest Ave. is a busy street that runs in front of the Glickman Library on the Portland campus.
Parliamentarian Sen. Jessica Roy introduced a proposal to eliminate a line from an article of the Student Senate Constitution. The line reads that the USM Student Senate must hold alternating meetings in Portland and Gorham. Sen. Roy says that now that the Student Senate has bigger offices, it will be easier to hold all meetings in Portland. This proposal is meeting a great deal of resistance.
“Residents are a key part of the Student Senate,” said Sen. Roy, but if this proposal is passed, Gorham students will have to travel to Portland to attend meetings on Friday mornings. In an effort to get the proposal voted on quickly, Sen. Roy made a motion to move the proposal from new business to old business. The new Student Senate offices at 11 Baxter Blvd. “are like a beacon,” says Chair Leah Wentworth. But some resident senators and at-large senators are frustrated with the idea. Sen. Dorn McMahon and Sen. Anthony Pergola who both live in Gorham, are hesitant about the proposal because they say that there should be an equal amount of meetings on both campuses. According to Pergola, the success of this proposal would make it harder for residents to get involved.
There is also a proposal to make a constitutional change. It was not voted on, but Sen. Roy is seeking to eliminate the clause that “No member of the Appointments Committee shall be a member of the Finance Committee.” If this is passed, then Appointments Committee members are welcome to be members of the Finance Committee.
Finances
The Finance Committee had nothing to report. Treasurer Mike Norton was absent.
Announcements
There were discussions of the possibility of an exclusive Student Senate trip.
Next Meeting
The Senate meeting will be held next Friday Sept. 13 in Portland at 9 a.m. The Senate will be voting on the proposals. Following the meeting will be a Student Senate Open House, and then the Board of Student Organizations’ meeting.