The 31st Student Senate made way for the 32nd Senate, who, after five hours of deliberation, filled the four positions of their executive board; chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer, as well as the appointments committee chair. One by one, the executive board from the 31st Senate, who served provisionally on this day for the 32nd Senate, were replaced by their successors.
CHAIR
Sen. Ezekiel Kimball nominated Sen. Joshua Dolby for chair. Dolby described his goals, which included ending partisanship and raising student involvement, especially on the Gorham campus. He said holding the meetings in Gorham was a good example of that kind of effort.
Dolby left the room so that the Senate could deliberate. Many senators expressed apprehension about Dolby. Sen. Jeremy Halperin said that Dolby’s answers sounded good, but were overly “political.” He said, “They’re like Swiss cheese. Like the Gorham meetings – does anyone actually come to these?” Sens. Kimball and Jeremy Collette were nominated in Dolby’s absence. Procedure became convoluted as the nominees were shuffled in and out of the room for discussion. Each nominee had to leave the room one-by-one so the body could talk about them.
Kimball asked Collette how he thought he could serve as the chair of the Senate and on the BSO as well. Collette said he didn’t think it was an issue, and that the current chair was an example.
Sen. Daryl Morazzini spoke at length in regard to this and the other positions, prefacing each speech with the caveat that he had not intended to make any speeches. He stood while speaking, and included one-liners he said he’d been waiting to use all day. He had not liked Collette for most of the two years they’d known one another, he said. He respected Colette now because he’d stood up to Morazzini and others when they had tried to intimidate him into voting with them.
“I’m like a proud father!” he concluded.
Acting Chair Leah Wentworth said that the chair’s less visible duty is to meet with senior University staff, which requires confidence, quick thinking and intelligence.
Collette won the secret ballot, and presently took over as chair. He made liberal use of the gavel, clearly enjoying the audible and tactile feedback. He was far more vocal as chair than Wentworth was. He also bears an eerie resemblance to the actor who played Dante in Kevin Smith’s Clerks.
VICE CHAIR
Sens. Kimball and John Marshall were nominated for this position. Former Chair Wentworth said that in the unlikely event she became President of the United States, she would want to have Kimball as her Chief of Staff. “He’s been in the office even more than the e-board members,” she said. “He has no reason to do it but his love for the organizations.”
Many senators testified that Kimball has read Robert’s Rules of Order multiple times, as well as the Senate’s constitution. Sen. Tyler Stanley expressed concern over the fact that Kimball had been “gunning for a position two weeks” into his Senate career. “Someone said he has a love for the organization; more important is a love for the students.”
Morazzini said that Kimball’s love of rules could make him dangerous. “Is this someone you can trust? I can’t say that,” he said.
“By voting in John Marshall, you make a difference!” He concluded.
Sen. Patricia Takacs said that she thought Kimball was not the conniving type, saying, “he’s more interested in being a dork.”
The Senators agreed that Kimball was the brainier of the two nominees, while Marshall was more gregarious and personable. Sen. Stanley said that either way, the 32nd Senate would not lose out and that both nominees, with different merits, were excellent candidates. Senator Jessica Roy preferred Marshall, pointing out his work with the May Day Craze as exemplifying both his organizational and social skills.
Kimball won the vote and joined Collette at the head of the table.
PARLIAMENTARIAN
Sens. Kyle Bouchard and Takacs were nominated for this position. Roy asked the nominees what they brought to the position. Bouchard said that he is good at “objective analysis” and that he has “a fantastic memory.” Takacs said that she is “extremely organized.”
Sen. Brian Simpson asked Takacs how her name is pronounced. It is pronounced tah-KATCH. Dolby supported Bouchard, citing his superior dedication. His attendance has been better than Takacs’s. Sen. Shaun Quinn said that those concerned with Takacs’s attendence “weren’t great on attendance themselves” and that Takacs had “the sharpness” preferred for this position.
Senator Takacs – who was wearing a fantastic suit – won the position, and moved to the head of the table.
TREASURER
There were three nominees for this position: Sens. Ben Strout, John Marshall, and Jonathan Gartland. Strout was not present for the meeting; Dolby read a prepared statement for him.
Stanley said last year’s treasurer had tried, without success, to raise the student activity fee. He asked how the nominees would try to get such a resolution to pass the popular vote at the University. Assistant to the Dean of Student Life Chris O’Connor spoke to the gravity of the issue. He said the Senate had a “sizable campaign” ahead of it. Gartland said he would look at streamlining the current budget before looking to raise the fee. Quinn said he thought the Senate had made all the cuts that it could and that be BSO simply needs more money. He said that the number of groups at the University has more than doubled in the last academic year.
Halperin asked Stanley if the Senate pays for his band’s performances at local events. Tyler responded in the affirmative.
“How convenient,” Halperin said, eliciting much laughter and scattered applause.
Marshall won the vote. Marshall was also wearing a fantastic suit. Dolby, however, was undoubtedly the sharpest dresser in the room.
SECRETARY
Sens. Sarah Hines and Bouchard were nominated for this position. Stanley noted that Hines resigned last year after losing a bid for parliamentarian. She said that was not because she lost that position, but because her father was diagnosed with cancer.
Wentworth testified for Bouchard’s talent for record-keeping. She said Bouchard “keeps track” of the party’s treasure in the Dungeons and Dragons game that some of the senators apparently play. This is especially noteworthy, she said, because “a dragon’s hoard can have up to 35 items in it. She also said he is “basically the resource coordinator” at the GLBTQA center, so much does he assist his director.
Sarah Hines won the vote.
APPOINTMENTS CHAIR
This person runs the Appointments Committee, which is responsible for recruiting and interviewing new members. The chair of this committee is elected along with the executive board. Sens. Simpson and Amanda Smith were nominated for this position.
Dolby asked the nominees what their connections within the University were, what groups they were in.
“Who can you drag in?” he asked.
Smith said she is involved in the BSO, and knows “lots of people.” Simpson said he is a member of the Senate and University Student Activists only, but that he is a “cafeteria slut” and knows a lot of people on the Gorham campus. Simpson also admitted that he is not very organized person.
Roy said that she preferred Smith because Simpson admitted that he isn’t organized, whereas Smith is remarkably organized. Wentworth corroborated citing Smith’s color-coded notebook.
Amanda Smith won the vote.
ET CETERA
The senate nominated Sens. Gartland, Gretchen Chesley, Michael Barden, and Dolby as at-large members on the Student Communication Board.
The 31st Senate reconvened and moved to adjourn. Mercifully, the motion passed.