This week, the Student Senate tackled four appointments as well as a discussion on both the Housing Advisory Committee and the Face the Waste project.
Grand Marshal Michael Zwack ’11 began the meeting by introducing new Independent Council Senator Charlie Emala ’10 and mentioning that there will be a revote for Undergraduate Council president on Thursday.
Following the Grand Marshal Report, the Senate started off appointments with the position of Greek Judicial Board chair. Caitlin Mounts ’09 was selected for the position, after being approved by both the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council. The motion to approve Mounts as Greek J-Board chair passed 15-0-1.
Following Mounts’s appointment, Robert Graham ’11 was brought up for the position of chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. When asked about plans for projects within the committee, Graham responded that he hopes to bridge the communication gap between the administration and students, find out more about changes in faculty and class offerings each year, and assist freshmen in their transition to RPI with academics.
He also said he hopes to boost awareness of the Academic Affairs Committee on campus. Graham was confirmed as chair in a 16-0-1 vote.
Next on the list for appointments was Chris Butler ’11 for director of Public Relations. When asked about how he will better inform campus of what is going on with the Senate, he said that he planned to do so through poster campaigns and using Concerto.
Although he has never served on student government and was unsure of his responsibilities in the role, he said he was comfortable publicizing student government to the student body. The Senate confirmed Butler to the position in a 14-2-1 vote.
Following Butler, Virginia Hickox ’12 was brought up for confirmation as the Senate/E-Board liaison. She cited her main goal as making sure both the Senate and Union Executive Board avoided becoming “stagnant.” The motion to approve Hickox passed 17-0-0.
Most committees reported that they are working on planning projects for the semester, but few had projects underway at this time. Following committee reports, two motions were brought before the Senate.
The first dealt with the Housing Advisory Committee, formed this year. The motion was presented to make certain “that the chair of the Student Life Committee ensure that the Housing Advisory Committee continues to meet until such time that they determine it is no longer necessary,” as well as to “instruct the chair of the Student Life Committee to appoint a student to chair the Housing Advisory Committee at the start of every Senate term at his or her discretion.” After a brief discussion, the Senate passed the motion 15-0-0.
The final matter of business for the evening was a budgetary matter dealing with the Face the Waste project on campus this week. The Student Sustainability Task Force requested money from the Senate budget to be reimbursed for the project. The motion stated that the Senate would “fund the SSTF Face the Waste project with $500 [from the Student Senate FY09 budget] in accordance with the Face the Waste 2009 Final Budget.” This motion sparked a heated debate amongst senators, but was finally passed on an 8-7-0 vote.
