Funding for the Dominican Health Outreach program was unexpectedly delayed at last Friday’s Senate meeting when the Senate passed proposal that prevents the Senate from funding activities that give students classroom credit. Senate Parliamentarian Adam Mirmelli introduced proposal 33-25 to the Senate last week and the Senate voted to pass it with only Senator Jonathan Gagnon dissenting.
Gagnon voted against the proposal due to the inclusion of a blanket ban on using student activity fee money to purchase alcohol.
The Dominican Health Outreach requested $4,750 to pay for the travel costs of going to the Dominican Republic. President Richard Pattenaude, said Ashley Gibbs, senior and nursing major, showed his support for this plan by including it in his USM Diversity plan. Senator Joshua Chaisson speaking for the Finance Committee also gave the program full support.
The program’s request has been tabled until the next Senate meeting on November 5.
Proposal 33-25, as written, prevents the Student Senate from using the Student Activity Fee to “support the activities of an academic class or University administrative functions.” Mirmelli and Senate Chair Ezekiel Kimball co-wrote the proposal as part of a process to clarify the policy and procedures of the Senate and to attach these procedures to the constitution.
Senator Caroline Young took umbrage with the amendment.
“Most [board of student organization] groups are connected to academic groups,” she said. “With the Student Activity Fee resolution passed today a lot of BSO groups won’t be able to ask for money.”
Senator Jeremy Collette disagreed citing only two groups that he foresaw being affected, aside from the Dominican Outreach: the Honors Program and the USM Chamber Singers.
Students from the outreach program argued that the money they need from the Senate funds only non-classroom parts of the program. “We completely eliminated all the charges associated with credits,” said Deidre Vanderschaaf, a student in the nursing program.
After Kimball called the meeting back to order, Senator Deniz Eligmez made a motion to allow for amending the proposal next week. In a phone interview that evening she would not say any specific amendments she was considering. “I need to wait for all the information so I can make good decision.”
“The Dominican Outreach is a class…the Student Activity Fee is for the extra curricular stuff,” said Mirmelli in a phone interview when asked about the possible amendment. “We can’t just amend something for one student group-and their cause is a very good cause,” he said. He clarified this was his own opinion and that he could not speak for the Senate as a whole.