ASOC SENATE

Meeting Minutes

January 30, 2008

By Thomas Stringer

Passed: 2/06/07

 

Meeting Chair:  Ryan Bowen                                          

Meeting Guests:

Senators Present: Tilak Gupta, First Year Senator; Xochiltl Ramos, First Year Senator; Andrew DeBlock, Sophomore Senator; Nonda Hanneman, Sophomore Senator; Patrick McCredie, Junior Senator; Mike Myers, Junior Senator; Dominique Kirkwood, Senior Senator; Ken Smutny, Senior Senator; Rob Calderon, Campus Wide Senator; Santiago Mendez, Campus Wide Senator
Rozell Hodges, Campus Wide Senator; Monikah Baltimore, Campus Wide Senator
 

Ex Officio: Kenna Cottrill; Noel Hollowell, GA Co-Chair; Paolo LeCosulich-Schwartz, GA Co-Chair
 

I. Meeting called to order at 6:04 P.M.

 

II. Passage of the previous meetings’ minutes

 

The minutes were passed by general consent. 

 

III. Old Business

 

A.     Establishment Of Funding Priorities

 

Ryan asked Santiago to expound upon the changes he wished to make to the Senate’s funding priorities.  Santiago replied that he had not written anything down and that a more compelling argument could not be made than the one he presented during training.  He recommended demoting co-sponsorship of an event by another club from Priority Level II to Priority Level IV, while simultaneously promoting Cultural Education/Community Service and the openness of the event to students to Priority Levels II and III, respectively. 

 

Ryan entertained a motion to pass these priority reassessments.  Santiago moved, but there was no second.  Thus, it came to pass that the motion was denied. 

 

 

B.     Guest Forum Policy: Open/Agenda

 

Ryan told the Senate that policy concerning guest forums was the domain of the house rules, not the bylaws.  Current policy mandated that guests contact the chair 24 hours in advance to obtain more than 1 minute of speaking time.  Ryan admitted that he had not adhered perfectly to this policy.  He asked for input. 

 

Rob said that he was unsure if this was the best guest policy, since guests might only hear of an issue the day of a meeting and would be unable to speak at length.  Ken recommended liberalization of the current policy.  Rob suggested that the guest merely speak to Ryan before the meeting, enabling him to use his discretion.  Xochiltl recommended retaining the provision that the guest forum may become open if time permits. 

 

Rob moved to change the wording so that the guest forum at the end of meetings would become open.  Ken seconded. 

 

Andrew asked for limits on the open forum.  Rob said that guests could speak for a minute and then ask Ryan for further time; Ryan replied that the current rules allowed for this.  Mike expressed his concern that guests could speak without the restraint of time lengths; Ken recommended trusting Ryan’s judgment. 

 

Kenna said that the guest forum is not open, and that the proposition was to make it open, and that each guest could ask Ryan for more one minute of speaking time.   This would put into practice what had been written last semester. 

 

The motion to open up the guest forum passed 8-3-1, with Dominique and Andrew opposing and Tilak abstaining. 

 

IV. New Business

 

A.     GA Status

 

Kenna, informing the Senate on the upcoming election for GA Co-Chair, said that the guidelines read that if a student is running unopposed, 25% must vote for them in order that the student may ascend to their position.  Students can only be appointed for a term of 10 weeks or less.  She added that she did not have time o run an election for people who are filling positions. 

 

Ken stated that they needed GA up and running this month.  Kenna replied that a second election due to lack of a 25% approval of an uncontested candidate had never occurred, and clarified that election guidelines were changed slightly each semester. Allowing the candidate for GA Co-Chair to assume their position would merely be a quick fix for the week, and the usual rule would be reinstated for the fall and spring elections.  The Senate reached a consensus that this was a sound course of action, and Kenna vowed that she and Dan Lawler would modify the guidelines accordingly. 

 

B.     Funding and Public Relations Committee Update

 

Patrick stated that he had a proposal concerning two recommendations he had made during training, but gave a report on the Senate’s various funds; some of which, such as the Senate Discretionary Fund, had actually increased.  Patrick went on to say that he was expecting further increases due to the upcoming recapturing of unused club funds. 

 

He then made his first recommendation: to increase incentives for service events on campus.  He explained that he and Mike could manipulate the algorithm to consider all service events as on-campus.  Furthermore, the 3^rd party who benefits from the service event would count toward peripheral attendance, increasing the incentive to hold service events. 

 

Ryan entertained a motion to pass this proposal.  Ken moved to pass, Andrew seconded, and the motion was passed by general consent.

 

Dom told the Senate of her desire to reinstate quad sitting.  She explained that it could be done every Monday, which would give students an opportunity to get on the agenda.  She recommended the GA for the first topic, and theorized that senators would rotate quad-sitting duties.  Ryan told the Senate that Santiago had come up with improvements for the web site. 

 

C.    Campus Culture Committee

 

a.     Renewable Energy Amendment Status

Nonda said that she, Ken, and Henry McMillan had met with faculty to set up a timeline for when the committee would be formed, and added that they would meet later that week.  On February 25, the student application to be part of the Environmental Committee would be made available, and it would be due on March 7.  Ken said that due to what would probably be an overwhelming number of applicants, not all applicants would be granted an interview.  He speculated that the committee would be comprised of 12 students, one senator, one faculty member, and one administrator.  He could not, however, currently speculate as to the term length of the committee members. 

 

Nonda informed the Senate that in the text of the amendment, it states that the committee members are elected through the GA.  However, due to the fact that there may be anywhere from 50 to 90 applicants, the GA may not be able to handle such an election.  Ken stated that they were taking a liberal interpretation of the amendment and that the GA would simply approve the committee members.  Ryan then recommended a PR blitz to promote the environmental fund since it is an opt-in program. 

Ryan asked the Senators for progress reports on their stated goals.  Andrew said that he had worked with Holly Eto to attempt to increase the range of Campus Ride vans.  Nonda asked what the current range was, to which Andrew replied that it did not extend past Eagle Rock and York.  Ryan said that Campus Ride would not risk venturing into Highland Park.  Kenna noted that they had discussed this issue during dinner with the Dean but if the extension of Campus Ride meant that more Campus Safety officers would be on campus to deal with issues, it would be a positive.  Rob suggested that Campus Ride vans could take students home.  In reply, Ken recommended sleeping it off in the library when returning home proves infeasible because of fatigue and other factors. 

 

Tilak reported that his request for a disability access rail between Fowler and Johnson had been denied since there were hazardous liquids under that spot, the removal of which would incur untold cost.  He said that he would speak with Bruce Steele as a follow-up.  Andrew added that he had not heard back from Dean Frank concerning the First Year Reading project.  Ryan told the Senate that he predicted February to be the month when the Multicultural History Project would be completed. 

 

D.    President’s Update

 

Ryan had brought a proposal to form the Presidential Advisory Council, the stated goal of which was to help him stay closer to his constituents.  Patrick clarified that this would not be a permanent council, but more of a talk for student input.  Nonda voiced her approval, saying that it was good because students would get rotated in and out.  Ryan stated that an executive fund of $500 would be beneficial for any present, which Patrick proclaimed to be most legitimate.  Xochiltl and Rozell also voiced their support, while Ryan told the senators that they had a week to review the proposal. 

 

a.     Board Meeting

Ryan described the incoming president as a white-bearded, jolly man. He said that an amount of funding had been put toward refurbishing Rush Gymnasium, since the floor is on top of concrete, the roof leaks, and the bleachers are hazardous.  Ryan related the impressments of the trustees were with the Environmental Fund Amendment.  Ken asked if there was a point in the process during which the actions of the Board would not be confidential; Ryan replied that he would utilize his discretion. 

 

V. General Comments

 

Ken stated his willingness to serve on the Administrative Relations Committee and also that Capital Improvement should be on the agenda and that they should pass it.  He also recommended looking at student fees and hat to base them on. 

 

The meeting was closed at 7:16 PM by general consent.