Members of the Student Government Association’s Senate convened and addressed issues surrounding the Programming Board, financial allocations and better communication between the Campus Activities Office (CAO).
Ed Kammerer, Secretary of the Registry presented the Programming Board’s Constitution that would allow the group to be officially functional.
“The Programming Board in the past didn’t do a whole lot of programming,” Kammerer said. “Our role is to plan campus activities that foster school spirit and unity. We want to bring back things that used to take place on this campus.”
The Senate passed the motion, which will allow the Programming Board to beginning appointing individuals from Registered Student Organizations as well as other areas on campus to the board.
Another topic discussed at last night’s meeting was a motion to allocate $3,000 to the Orchard Hill Area Government (OHAG) stirred up debate between Senators. Questions surrounding the motion and its purposes were addressed.
Steve Hoeshele, chair of the Finance Committee, presented the motion stating that the money granted would be used to pay up-front for Orchard Hill’s campus-wide “Holiday Ball” that would take place in December.
“If they don’t receive this money then they will not be able to have funding for the spring,” Hoeshele said.
The expectation is that the Ball would bring in revenue that would provide funding for further campus-wide activities throughout the year Hoeshele further explained. However, others found that allocating such a large amount might cause problems.
“We’ve been talking about this motion for a period of time and I’ve heard a variety of reasons as to what this money will be used for,” Michael Taugher, chair of Ways and Means said. “I don’t see the accountability of where this money would be going.”
Gabriel Tavares, Secretary of Finance, assured the Senate that the funding would be accountable. He continued, asking the Senate why they would not want to fund an event that draws students together.
“Why shouldn’t we fund them [OHAG] when we’ve cut their funding in the past years?” Tavares asked. “Why should we not reward them for the fact that OHAG brings together 6,000 students a year to events?”
After further questioning, the Senate passed the motion after a roll-call vote. The motion passed with 30 Senators in favor, 11 against with one abstention.
Another motion on the agenda involved more student interaction with the new chancellor search committee. A motion was proposed in which seven undergraduate students, appointed by President John Sheehan and Speaker Aaron Saunders, would be placed on a committee that would outline student priorities for the search committee.
“I can’t stress how important it is for us to voice our opinions on this subject,” Senator Dan Saunders said in his presentation of the motion.
The motion sparked debate, but after little discussion, the Senate passed it.
The Senate also passed three other motions, one involving a task force that will engage RSO members who will communicate with the Campus Activities Office on a regular basis in order to alleviate miscommunication between the two groups.
It then approved Kate MacDonald to the vacant Central at Large Senate seat as well as ratified this year’s Central Area Government and House Council, and Northeast Area Government and House Council elections. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst now has five working and functioning Area Governments and House Councils for the first time in nine months.
