The Student Government Association met Monday night in the Cape Cod Lounge as three new University of Massachusetts students were appointed as special assistants assigned to various committees. Three resolutions were also passed regarding SGA policy.
Additionally, the Senate was briefed on student involvement in the upcoming labor negotiations, MASSPIRG wrapped up its “Get out the Vote” campaign, Secretary of Veterans Services Nathaniel Dunnican stepped down from his position and some specifics were released for how Registered Student Organizations can receive compensation for Minute Marshall activities.
Emily Devenney was appointed as a special assistant to the Diversity and Student Engagement Committee.
“I’m very committed to working with DSEC to build student power,” Devenney said.
Speaker of the Senate Sïonan Barrett described Devenney as “a key policy specialist for (The Center for Education and Policy Advocacy) last year.” Barrett sponsored Devenney’s assignment, along with the appointments of Jessica-Sophie Horoschak to the position of special assistant to the Undergraduate Experience Committee and the appointment of Elizabeth Aleo as a special assistant to the administrative affairs committee. All three appointments received universal support from the student Senate.
Three resolutions, 2014 F4, 2014 F5 and 2014 F6 all passed as well with no significant opposition. F4 established the definition of emergency funding for RSOs. F5 changed the wording on internal itineraries used at SGA meetings.
The F6 resolution, sponsored by Senators Michael Turner and Ryan Jackson, will establish what to do with the Hatch, which is currently unused. The resolution was written to “enhance student employment, leadership experience and campus culture.” Many senators, including Daniel Burkhardt, questioned whether or not this resolution really did anything.
“We want to show that the SGA would be on board with a future initiative,” Turner said.
After some discussion, it was explained that F6 wasn’t a specific plan on how to develop the Hatch but rather a statement on the SGA’s openness for future plans.
David Lafond, a member of the Professional Staff Union at UMass, briefed the Senate on the status of campus labor negotiations.
“These unions represent people throughout the campus,” Lafond said. “The work that’s being done by all these unions keeps this campus going. We’ve run into a situation in collective bargaining where the offer that management has put on the table is extremely regressive.”
Lafond tried to garner support for the labor side of negations as well, warning that “Walmart levels of benefits” were the logical conclusion if the collective bargaining efforts were to falter.
The deadline for new voter registration came on Oct. 15. In the first report after the deadline, a MASSPIRG representative reported that voter drives at the University exceeded expectations. The drive had set a goal of 2000 registered voters, but MASSPIRG signed up over 2400 voters this semester.
Dunnican stepped down from his position of secretary of Veteran Services under uncertain circumstances. SGA Vice President Jacob Schissell announced that “Dunnican will no longer be working with us.” Schissell will be taking over his responsibilities temporarily but no other information was given at the meeting regarding the situation.
The Nov. 12 UMass football game at McGuirk Stadium against Ball State will feature a unique theme this year. Because the game falls on a Wednesday, the theme will be “hump-day,” according to Barrett. Sam the Minuteman will be joined by some type of camel mascot for the game and Barrett didn’t rule out a live camel as a possibility.
Specifics on compensation for the Minute Marshalls campaign were finally detailed at the meeting. The program, which utilizes students to moderate and self-police large events, will pay “anywhere between $300 and $350 per event per group.” Barrett emphasized that the program was aimed at funding RSOs and other student organizations with the manpower to keep events such as “Blarney Blowout” or the Super Bowl safe this year.
William Keve can be reached at [email protected].
