Student groups add one to their number
The 34th Student Senate voted to recognize a new student group: the USM Mathematical Society.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory,” said Deborah Penham when asked to explain the purpose of the organization. “It’s a math club. We do math.”
The creation of the group caused about 10 minutes worth of discussion on the Senate floor, with senators debating whether the group would be, in the words of some senators, “elitist,” or if it would be open to other students. “I think it’s interesting to note that there would be contention over starting a math club,” said Penham. “Math tends to be one of those subject matters that people do get very strongly divided over because of their own abilities and experiences.”
34th student government on the move
After months of wondering where they were going, members of the 34th Student Government are moving to the Woodbury Campus Center, rooms A, B, and C. The Student Senate Business office, whose responsibilities include work-study as well as committee stipends, will also move to the space.
With the University’s three year lease expiring on 11 Baxter Blvd. all offices located there will be moving. This includes all the student entities and Student Legal Services-also going to A, B, and C.
The Student Communications Board (SCB), a Student Senate entity comprising WMPG and The Free Press, will also be moving. It is not clear where yet where.
“When finals are over, that discussion will happen,” said Jeremy Collette, SCB Chair. According to Collette, the spatial needs of the entity are small. “I don’t foresee it to being a huge issue, wherever we end up.”
GTV General Manager announced
Going against Robert’s Rules of Order, Senator Adam Mirimelli allowed Senator Lauren Justin, chair of the Appointments Committee, to nominate two candidates for the position of General Manager at Gorham Television. The rules state that a member or committee can nominate only one person for a position. The nominations sparked discussion on the Senate appointments process. Ultimately, Christopher Chaffee, a media studies major and one of Justin’s nominees, received a landslide majority of votes for the position.
FDA tightens sperm restrictions
According to report filed with the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration will soon have new rules making it more difficult for homosexuals to become sperm donors. The new rules bar any person who has engaged in homosexual sex within the past five years from becoming an anonymous donor.
According to Leland Traiman, director of a clinic in Alameda, California, speaking to the Associated Press, these changes would create a situation where, “a heterosexual man who had unprotected sex with HIV-positive prostitutes would be OK as a donor one year later, but a gay man in a monogamous, safe-sex relationship is not OK unless he’s been celibate for five years.”
During the Fall 2004 semester, USM’s 33rd Student Senate sent a letter to the Red Cross protesting similar guidelines, which prevents any male who has have had sex with another male after 1977 from giving blood.
Eisele enraged: denounces doping allegations
Allegations of steroid usage delayed this year’s announcement of The Free Press In-House Racquetball Champion. Columnist and x-treem climber, Eric Eisele, established himself as the potential winner following an unbelievable 3,249.6 consecutive victories against the five rookie challengers, mostly scrawny English majors, from various departments within the paper. A final decision will be announced following the completion of a report from The Free Press Taskforce, which is investigating the allegations.