NEW SENATORS
The first applicant for a position of parliamentarian was Matt Amoroso. The senior physics major sat on the 29th Student Senate and was the parliamentarian for the 30th Student Senate. He said friends asked him to return to the Senate “and join in the merriment.”
Amoroso was running for an at-large seat on the Senate. Sen. Ben Hoffman asked what Amoroso would bring to the Senate. Amoroso said he is a diplomat, proficient at getting people to work together.
Although other applications are pending, Jeremy Collette was the only other candidate at this meeting. A sophomore history major intending to represent residents, Collette is the secretary of the Board of Student Organizations (BSO), a member of the History Student Association, and has a “big interest in student life.”
“Do you know what a constituent is?” Sen. Daryl Morazzini asked.
“Yes, a member of the voting population,” Collette said.
“Are you prepared to represent your constituency?”
“As best as I can.”
Collette and Amoroso were voted in.
GUEST SPEAKER
Introduced by Chair Leah Wentworth as “Mike Mullett, Parking God,” the director of commuter student services spoke about the interactive Website his department developed to reach more students.
Sen. Joshua Dolby questioned the “deification of this University’s administration.”
Sen. Anthony Pergola asked Mullett if he ever had a mullet. He laughed and said no.
Sen. Dorn McMahon would like to put up new pictures of senators in the campus center.
Sen. Mike Barden had an update on the vending machines from last week. He found them to all be working smoothly and would monitor them.
EVENTS
Sen. Mike Norton commented on last week’s Senate meeting, referring to the meeting where Sen. Jessica Roy was ousted from her seat as parliamentarian. He said a lot could have been handled “behind the scenes.” Morazzini commended the Senate for handling the difficult situation. “I love watching the democratic process in action,” said Morazzini. He hopes the Senate can move along. Sen. Joshua Dolby also hopes the Senate can work together: “I hope the shenanigans are over.” He noted that while he has no physical door, if he had one, it would be open to all conversations.
CHEESEBURGERS
Sen. Brian Simpson said two of his floor-mates were sick after eating cheeseburgers from the Snack Shack in Gorham. Joe Austin, director of the department of residential life, said Aramark takes comments seriously. McMahon urged people to use the comment cards. He noted there are few vegetarian options and is wary of the Snack Shack because most employees do not wear gloves.
EVENTS
Austin commented on last week’s events, saying he hopes the Senate isn’t becoming an institution that only helps itself. “Perception is reality,” Austin said, and he asked the Senate to brainstorm on issues that affect USM instead of asking who does what and how.
MUSIC MAJORS
Simpson noted that it is impossible for music majors to be on the Senate due to practice schedules and required classes, though he had no solution. Sen. Tyler Stanley, a music major, agreed it is difficult for a music major to attend Senate meetings.
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
The Senate voted against conducting the last vote of confidence. Norton said he would be interested in constructive criticism during his vote of confidence. Norton has yet to receive his vote like other executive board members.
NOMINATIONS
Wentworth made a motion to approve the Honors Student Organization’s constitution, which was approved.
Dolby nominated John Marshall for December’s Student of the Month, noting Marshall’s “level of involvement and activity” with the Portland Events Board.
McMahon nominated Katie Jo Chapman, chair of the Gorham Events Board, for January’s Student Leader of the Month.
APPOINTMENTS
Sen. Ezekiel Kimball was elected to the Student Affairs Committee. Dolby resigned from the University Parking Committee and Barden took his spot. Kimball accepted a temporary position on the Appointments Committee until an at-large member could be found. Dolby asked senators to seek out people for open seats on the Senate. There are two resident seats and one at-large seat. Applications can be e-mailed to [email protected].
Dolby was then named chair of the Appointments Committee.
BUDGET
Norton told the Senate the BSO budget passed. Unallocated funds are still at “approximately nothing.” The Senate is waiting for the check of student activity fee money, which is to arrive shortly.
NOMINATIONS
The Senate made nominations for the parliamentarian. Amoroso, Hoffman and Roy were nominated.
Amoroso said the Senate didn’t need a parliamentarian, and a new parliamentarian would not change things or get things done.
Stanley said Amoroso was a “super nice guy.” Amoroso is currently the chair of the Student Communications Board (SCB) and would have to step down in order to be parliamentarian.
Hoffman, also nominated for parliamentarian, said Amoroso had no backbone and cannot enforce rules on the floor. Hoffman noted the parliamentarian’s job is to protect the rights of each individual and Amoroso does not stand up for himself nor would he stand up for senators.
Pergola told the Senate they do not need another dictator, referring to Hoffman.
The Senate then batted around ideas about each individual’s personality and their ability to do the job.
Roy was nominated as parliamentarian. She said she was blindsided by her ousting and was happy to receive the opportunity to run for her position again. Morazzini said Roy had been given the opportunity to change and should be given a fair shot.
Questions were raised about Roy’s abilities, barring the incident last week. Senators were concerned if she had changed or will change her ways. Sen. Shaun Quinn and Dolby were not. Norton added that the nominations of Hoffman and Roy were distractions from electing Amoroso parliamentarian. Kimball noted neither Hoffman nor Roy could handle parliamentary procedures, citing the recent BSO meetings where both shouted at each other.
After discussion, a vote was taken. Amoroso won with 10 votes. Hoffman received no votes and Roy received eight.
RESIGNATION
Pergola then read a prepared statement, telling the floor he is resigning after serving two years on the Senate. Pergola said it was time for him to move on and he was not having fun anymore. His resignation was not brought on by recent events, and he had considered resigning since December. The Senate was asked to accept his resignation by a majority vote, but at first did not accept his resignation then agreed to accept it out of respect for Pergola.
Stanley said he had thought of resigning but decided against it. In an interview, Stanley said, “Why would I be a part of a group where four out of the 16 have confidence in me?”
O’CONNOR
Christopher O’Connor, assistant to the Dean of Student Life, asked the senators what each of them did in the three-hour meeting to make USM a better place. O’Connor tried to get the senators to get on task with getting issues on the agenda instead of personnel issues.
Elise Adams contributed to this story.