The student senate approved next year’s budget for the student government association and elected new chairs of two committees at last Friday’s meeting.
The SGA budget for next year has increased almost $7,000 from this year’s, with a jump from $320,279 to $327,238.
The Portland Events Board has seen an increase of roughly $5,000 in their budget while next year’s Gorham Events Board budget has shrunk $7,000 from this year.
“Our goal eventually is to get them equal,” said senate chair Ali Parker, who said this is the first step in accomplishing that.
Another reason for the increase is the adding of a stipend for a treasurer in the PEB, to mimic the structure of the GEB, said Parker.
Parker said the reason for the increase in the budget is budgeting of a couple of expenses which would otherwise come out of the unallocated fund.
The meeting opened with former student senate chair Molly Dolby officially swearing in Parker as the new chair and presenting her with a gavel. Former Student Body President Maggie Guzman then swore in Ashley Willems-Phaneuf as the new student body president.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Shaffer and Guzman spoke to the senate about the history of the university’s restructuring and the reorganization plan President Selma Botman has submitted to the Board of Trustees. They both fielded questions from senators on the subjects.
The senate voted senator Anna Ivanova as the chair of the Student Affairs Committee, over first time senator Samuel Harmon. Ivanova told the senate she hopes to improve student involvement by speaking individually with as many students as possible.
Charles Silsby, in his first year as senator, was elected chair of the Public Relations Committee. No one else was nominated until Silsby nominated Senator Andrew Campbell.
Silsby ran for student body president in March, as Willems-Phaneuf’s only opponent. During discussion, Willems-Phaneuf spoke highly of Silsby’s campaign and said he was a “huge factor” in getting a large number of people involved in the election.