Student Senate Meeting Minutes
4/23/2024
The meeting was called to order by President Maggie Newhouse at 7:00 p.m.
Members Present
Mario Rodriguez Gomez, Connor Close, Lizzie Pike (Nathan Meyers), Alison French (Ella Lahart), Sidney Polzin, Gabe Potyk (Mikayla Vasilevich), Abbie Stigler (Wesley Larson), Jacob Fiala, Abby Nosbisch (Maeve Cannon), Owen Ziegler, Caden Rodning, Emma Mara, Teagan Phillips, Melanie Winzenburg, Mallory Von Tersch, Emma Gerdes, Paige Morris, Jack Campion, Sam Frick, Maggie Newhouse, Joel Tranel, Nick Kiemel, Noah Kiemel, Maddi Clark and Ann Merchlewitz
Members Absent
None
Members Excused
Leah Parker
Budgets:
Anime Club Budget:
● Amount Requested: $550
● Amount Suggested: $180
● Motion to fund at the suggested amount of $180 by Melanie Winzenburg
○ Second: Connor Close
● Voting:
○ For: 16
○ Against: 0
○ Abstain: 0
● Motion Passes
Academic Request: Megan Drayna and Emma Schuster
● Beta Beta Beta National Convention
● Atlanta, GA
● Because they won awards at the Winchell Symosium, they were invited to the National Convention
● Requesting: $1,600
● Requesting money for conference, travel, and hotel.
○ Conference fee: $700
○ Travel: $900
● Suggested by the Finance Committee: $740
● Motion to Fund at the suggested amount of $740, Connor Close
● Second: Caden Rodning
● Votes:
○ For: 16
○ Against: 0
○ Abstain: 0
● Academic Request Passes
Resolutions:
Resolution 012: Residence Hall Update Fund
● Student Senate will utilize surplus funds from previous Student Activities fee monies to conduct capital improvements on the Winona Campus.
● This fund will be utilized to update and create Residence Hall workout facilities and will be at the discretion of the Executive Board to allocate funds.
● The Student Senate allocates $30,000 for Residence Hall updates.
● The motion on the table is to Adopt Resolution 012: Connor Close
○ Second: Mario Rodriguez Gomez
● Voting:
○ In Favor: 16
○ Opposed: 0
○ Abstaining: 0
○ Motion passes to Adopt Resolution 012
Constitution and Bylaw Rewrite: SAC
● The two revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws will have the effect of removing the automatic funding of the Student Activities Committee through the student activity fee. The result of this change would be the distribution of $30 per semester from the student activity fee to R.I.S.E. rather than SAC.
● R.I.S.E. would have an advisory committee of students to help plan activities associated with the student activity fee money. That committee would include Student Senate representation.
● SAC may continue as a student club or organization and seek funding for any activities it wishes to undertake as would any other Student Senate-recognized club or organization. It would first be required to go through the process to be recognized as a student club or organization.
● This change is being recommended as all references to SAC were removed from the Student Senate Bylaws and Constitution several years ago, meaning SAC no longer reports to the Student Senate. It is also not recognized as a club or organization so technically it reports to no entity at the university while also receiving significant student activity fee monies to fund its activities. This structure does not provide for appropriate accountability. This new model preserves student involvement with activities through an advisory board and should foster cooperative programming. It is also consistent with the funding of student activities at other colleges or universities similar to Saint Mary’s.
● The motion on the table is to Adopt the Constitution and Bylaw Rewrites: Connor Close
○ Second: Melanie Winzenburg
● Voting:
○ In Favor: 14
○ Opposed: 0
○ Abstaining: 2
○ Motion passes to Adopt the Constitution and Bylaw Rewrites
Executive Board Reports
Maggie Newhouse, President
● Thank you to those who signed up to distribute ice cream sandwiches at Plaza Palooza. You will be responsible for remaining at the table and distributing ice cream to individuals. Try to stick to one per person the best you can. You may also need to answer questions about the Senate, so be prepared.
● The prints are now up in the basement of Hendrickson. They look very nice. Please check them out when you have a chance.
● Congratulations to the following individuals, Lizzie Pike, Caden Rodning, Ali French, Maeve Cannon, Noah Lahner, Mario Gomez, Joel Tranel, and Shania Vanlewin for their election to the Executive Board for the upcoming academic year.
Joel Tranel, Vice President of Financial Affairs
● Budget season is officially over. We have budgeted a total of $124,749 for club funding next year.
● For reference, we spent $4,810 on Academic Requests and $2,330 on Special Requests
● With the new changes, I will be working with Myles to get the funding distribution worked out with R.I.S.E.
● Once again thank you for a great year and thank you to everyone here on the Senate for all of your work this year. A special thank you to Jacob, Caden, Mario, and Noah for being on the Finance Committee.
Sam Frick, Vice President of Academic Affairs
● Noah will be the next Academic Affairs Officer.
● Thank you for everything this year and a special thank you to Ali for attending the Ed Standards meetings with me!
Paige Morris, Vice President of Student Affairs
● Myles and I have finished the club packets.
● Curt said no to the concern that Lizzie brought up last week about “Grab and Go” meals on weekends.
● Thank you to everyone who filled out my survey. I will be sharing that with the first 5 weeks committee.
● Ali will be your next Student Affairs Officer.
Jack Campion, Vice President of Public Affairs
● Packets to take home to give to your school are over on the table. Please take them!
● Thank you for all of your hard work this year!
● Caden will be your next Public Affairs Officer.
Nick Kiemel, Vice President of Campus Affairs
● Mario will be the VP of Campus Affairs next year.
● Thank you to everyone for your hard work this year!
● In total this year, with the addition of Resolution 12, we have invested $53,600 on Capital Improvement projects.
Noah Kiemel, Vice President of Media and Communications
● Thank you to all of the Student Senate for their hard work this year.
● Maeve Connon will be next year’s VP of Social Media and Communications. She will do a great job.
Maddi Clark, Vice President of Administrative Affairs
● This year I have helped with the Class Officers. Thank you all for being on top of your fundraising this year.
● Lizzie will be your next Administrative Affairs Officer.
Leah Parker, Vice President of Multicultural Affairs
● Nothing to report.
Ann Merchlewitz, Advisor
● Please complete the Senior Destination Survey. The admissions area targets future students with this information.
● I will be throwing out the first pitch on Saturday at the softball game.
● Thank you all of the Senate for all that you do. I will share what you guys have done for future students with the Board of Trustees.
Class Officer Reports
Freshman
● Nothing to report.
Sophomore
● Nothing to report.
Junior
● Nothing to report.
Senior
● We will be selling alcohol at Plazapalooza on Friday. Thank you to Maddi for helping with all of the Senior Day Activities. It has been a good year.
Senator Concerns:
● Jacob would like to thank everyone for coming to the Seminary Open House. They had around 250 students come. They were expecting to have leftovers but all of the food was gone, which is a good thing. He hopes it will be successful again next year.
Adjournment
Motion made to Adjourn- Mario Rodriguez Gomez
Seconded – Caden Rodning
Motion passes
Meeting Adjourned at 7:26 pm
