The University of Massachusetts Student Government Association Senate got a little bigger Monday night with the appointment of four new senators to vacant Sylvan Residential Area and commuter seats.
New Senators Zach Riddle, Dan Murphy and Richard Jones were selected from five commuter Senate applicants by the SGA’s Administrative Affairs committee before being voted in by the Senate. New Sen. Brendan Davenport was chosen from three Sylvan Residential Area applicants.
Davenport and Jones are United States military veterans, which they discussed as they lobbied for the vacant Senate seats.
All four were sworn in Monday and will be able to vote at next week’s meeting.
The SGA also gave money to both the women’s club soccer team and the Jewish Student Union at Monday’s meeting.
Last year, the women’s club soccer team was appropriated $3,050 by the SGA’s Ways and Means committee. Although appropriated, the team did not receive the funding.
The funding was to be used for paying coaches, referees, travel expenses and new supplies, on top of fundraising efforts and $100 fees paid by each of the players.
Senior team captains Diana Triffletti, Mairead Helmes and Kristen McLoughlin, addressed the Senate asking for their initial funding plus $900 more for regional tournament fees. They joked that the needed the funding because they only have three inflated balls and it “is hard to play soccer without soccer balls that work.”
Sen. Garrett Gowen, the chairman of the Finance Committee who also sponsored the motion, was up when the captains explained the situation. He condemned the practices of last year’s Ways and Means Committee and said he hoped this year’s committee was more organized.
The team was allocated $3,950.
The Jewish Student Union received $966 for security and emergency medical costs for its upcoming event, “A Night in Tel Aviv.” The event will raise money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, a charity group that funds research on Huntington’s disease.
Also during the meeting, Sen. John Kyle Jessey was appointed to the Center for Education Policy & Advocacy advisory board. And Sen. Sophia Zaman was appointed to the coordinating council, a Senate-like body that runs during the summer and winter sessions.
Sam Hayes can be reached at [email protected].
