Student Senate – January 25th, 2022
Meeting called to order by President Elijah Williams at 7:00 p.m.
Prayer by Robert Budzius
Members Present
Mary Furlong, Joseph Schauf, Jonathan Krull, Angel Sacta Espinoza, Riley Hall, Lyanna Novak, Destiny Walker, Sophia O’Neil, Elijah Williams, Allison Moysis, Robert Budzius, Sam Carlson – Jack Hatton, Delaney Calabrese – Grace Gilles, Katie Pierpont – Guy Cardinal, Maria Flynn, Seth Peterson, Maddie Wilsey – Brianna Galang , Haddy Falkman, Annie Carmean – Abby Gilliland, Liam Gallup, Elise Roxas, Jordan Keeley – Jouleanne Ladao, Riley Hall, Destiny Walker, Maria Flynn
Members Absent
None
Members Excused
None
Presentation by Ben Murray, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: State of the University
If you’d like a copy of the presentation, please reach out to us at senate@smumn.edu and we will send that to you. Things discussed included enrollment, the strategic plan, the use of tuition dollars, university finances, and raises in tuition for the 2022-2023 academic school year.
Resolution 008: Recognition of Anime Club as a Student Senate Organization
Motion to accept Resolution 008 by Elise Roxas
Seconded by Maria Flynn
Yes: 13 No: 1 Abstain: 2
Resolution 009: Recognition of Fishing Club as a Student Senate Organization
Motion to accept Resolution 009 by Haddy Falkman
Seconded by Maria Flynn
Yes: 13 No: 0 Abstain: 3
Resolution 010: Recognition of Criminal Justice Club as a Student Senate Organization
Motion to accept Resolution 010 by Abby Gilland
Seconded by Robert Budzius
Yes: 13 No: 0 Abstain: 3
Executive Board Reports
Elijah Williams, President
Last semester we invested $32,000 in updates to Toner 14. The furniture and technology has arrived and has been installed. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, please do, it looks great! You may notice we are missing a coffee table and a high table, those items are currently being located and should arrive soon.
Due to COVID-19 and a number of other factors, many departments on campus are currently operating at skeleton crew levels. These include dining services, maintenance, etc. and because of this I ask that you please have patience with our departments. We understand that things can be an inconvenience, but I assure you that things are being done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
If you are keeping track of the COVID-19 dashboard, you may notice that we are currently at 77+ cases already this semester. This is 10 more cases than we had in the entirety of the first semester. With this in mind, I ask that you please remain diligent in regard to masking, social distancing, and other COVID-19 protocols so that we can ensure we remain on campus this spring. Likewise, we are unsure as to when the senate will return to in-person meetings but we will let you know when that happens.
As a Student Senate, we are in charge of handling funds generated by the student activities fee and the laundry fee. The Student Senate pays for the maintenance, rent, and utilities for the laundry equipment on campus through the laundry fee. The student activities fee is used to fund all the clubs on campus through the student senate budget season. In the event that we have leftover funds, we utilize those for the purpose of capital improvements. In years past we have typically spent approximately $25,000 each year on these projects. In the case that a club does not spend all the funds they were budgeted for, they return to the Student Senate via our surplus fund. Due to the pandemic, a lot of clubs have been unable to spend their funds as they normally would which has resulted in the Student Senate having a large surplus. At the end of this, we have approximately $175,000 that we must spend by the end of this academic year. We will be creating a form for anonymous suggestions that only the Student Senate will have access to. With this in mind, please talk to your senator if you have any ideas or you can reach out to us at senate@smumn.edu These funds are meant for student oriented projects, with athletic and academic projects not being a priority. This does not mean they will not be considered, however, so please still submit them. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly at eawill17@smumn.edu.
Mary Furlong, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Nothing to Report
Joseph Schauf, Vice President of Financial Affairs
There are a handful of special requests and an academic request in the pipeline that should be before the senate next week if everything goes well with the Finance Committee meeting.
Jonathon Krull, Vice President of Public Affairs
Sign up for Student Voices, all Senators are required to do so. Sign up here!
The Capital Improvements from Fall are currently in the quote stage, we should have final quotes by mid-February to vote on and present to the senate.
The donation we made to the SMU Food Pantry was greatly appreciated and well utilized.
Currently working with Ann Merchlewitz, General Counsel of the University, to put together a Voting Engagement Plan. Once the plan is finalized I will present it to the Senate.
Angel Sacta Espinoza, Vice President of Campus Affairs
Nothing to Report
Lyanna Novak, Vice President of Student Affairs
SAC
SAC is partnering with SAI to host fireside this year. If you are interested in performing, auditions will be held in the Common Room (located in Saint Mary’s Hall) from January 28th through 30th from 6-9 p.m. This is the link to the spreadsheet : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kX1Q5YjBBkn-NbLLOfy0H7JaqbUT1oBX7Hp4xCcL4Dg/edit?usp=sharing
SnowDaze: There is a Scavenger Hunt all week
Wednesday January 26th: There will be DIY succulent kits in the Game Room from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Thursday January 27th: There will be Virtual Bingo held on Zoom at 8 p.m. (Message either myself lxnova18@smumn.edu or studentactivities@smumn.edu for QR code)
Friday January 28th: There will be Virtual Escape Rooms through Google Meet from 7-9 p.m. (Message either myself lxnova18@smumn.edu or studentactivities@smumn.edu for QR code)
Saturday January 29th: There will be Grab-N-Go painting kits available at the Toner Stairs from 11a.m to 1 p.m. Then, at 6 p.m, there will be a Bob Ross guided paint night held on Zoom (Message either myself lxnova18@smumn.edu or studentactivities@smumn.edu for QR code)
RISE, Student Senate, SAC, Phi Mu Alpha Collaborative Meeting
Elijah and I will be meeting with the leaders to give Senate updates and collaboration needs. I will update you all soon if anything comes from it.
Riley Hall, Vice President of Media and Communications
I have been working with Deb and Elijah on the Student Senate website so hopefully we can show it soon.
Also Kelly Shannon will be coming sometime soon to present on the university rebranding.
Destiny Walker, Vice President of Multicultural Affairs
Nothing to Report
Sophia O’Neil, Executive Assistant
Nothing to Report
Dr. Timothy Gossen, Advisor
Nothing to Report
Class Officer Reports
Freshman: Nothing to Report
Sophomores: Nothing to Report
Juniors: Nothing to Report
Seniors: Nothing to Report
Senator Concerns
Timelines regarding capital improvements
We are hoping to have quotes by mid-February with a presentation to the full senate by the end of February
Concerns over the varying temperatures in buildings / rooms around campus
Adjournment
Motioned by Maria Flynn
Seconded by Seth Peterson
Motion passes unanimously
Meeting Adjourned at 7:59 PM
