Liam Nee
Assistant News Editor
The University of Maine Student Government’s General Student Senate (GSS) held elections for three separate positions, funded two organizations a total of $3,795 and welcomed three new senators aboard during the 10th meeting of the 35th session on Jan. 28 inside the Memorial Union’s Bangor Room.
Pro Tempore Sen. Harold Stewart presided over the GSS in place of Vice President Ryan Hall, who was absent for unspecified reasons.
Sergeant at Arms, GSSR, Policy and Procedure Chair elected
Pro Tem Sen. Stewart presided over three elections for the positions of Sergeant at Arms, Graduate Student Senate Representative and Chair of the Policy and Procedure Committee during the Jan. 28 meeting.
Sen. Robert Kiah won the election for Sergeant at Arms, winning a two-way race against Sen. Devin Greenlaw who proclaimed “Vote for [Kiah]” during his pre-election speech.
Sen. Vanessa Degenhardt was unanimously elected the GSSR after Sen. Devin Greenlaw removed his name from the ballot during the position’s nomination period.
Sens. Sean Foley and Mindy Downing both ran for the position of Policy and Procedure Chair. Foley, the longer-standing senator of the two, was victorious.
Sens. Kiah, Degenhardt and Foley’s wins are pending Hall’s acceptance or denial.
Maine Masque, UMaine Geo Society funded total of $3,795
The UMaine Geological Society and Maine Masque were both funded just under $2,000 by the GSS during the Feb. 28 meeting.
Maine Masque received $1,935 from the GSS for “scenic, scripts and rights” in preparation for their upcoming performance “Crimes of the Heart” from April 9-13 in Hauck Auditorium. The play is a drama set in small-town Mississippi that focuses on a family attempting to understand their mother’s unexpected suicide.
Club secretary Kylie Wild and treasurer Sam Richie spoke on behalf of the organization, highlight the uniqueness of Maine Masque’s entirely student-run productions.
The expected total cost of the event is $5,185, and other sources of funding include $500 from Maine Masque and $2,750 from the Program Fund.
The resolution was amended for grammatical mistakes before passing.
UMaine Geological Society received $1,860 for “flights” during their “educational spring break trip in Arizona,” which is expected to include nine undergraduates and three faculty members, according to the group’s resolution.
Club Vice President Tyler Sullivan spoke on behalf of the organization, saying the total cost of the event is expected to be $14,088.
Other sources of funding include: $3,600 in club dues, $3,500 from the School of Earth and Climate Sciences and $2,000 from the club account.
Both resolutions received 8-0-0 ought to pass recommendations from the Executive Budgetary Committee prior to arriving at the GSS.
GSS welcomes three new senators
Three new senators were sworn-in by Stewart to begin the Jan. 28 meeting. The addition of third-year student Garret Sullivan and first-year students Downing and Derek Vigue increases the total number of senators to 28, according to President Aaron Ortiz — seven away from filling the chamber.
Sullivan is a financial economics student involved with SPIFFY Investment Club and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Downing is a finance and accounting student focusing on legal studies.
Buttarazzi’s BOT report
University of Maine System Board of Trustees Representative Colin Buttarazzi issued his latest rundown of the BOT’s most recent meeting held on Jan. 27 in Bangor.
Buttarazzi began with the “negative” aspects of the report, highlighting a recently discovered financial shortfall: the BOT has a $30 million structural gap in its budget. According to Buttarazzi, this kind of gap is considered “long term” and “cannot be fixed quickly.”
Buttarazzi reminded everyone in attendance that, despite the gap, the UMaine campus was “doing very well” compared to other UMS institutions.
The “positive” aspect of the meeting, according to Buttarazzi, was mentioned during the latter half of his report: the BOT finally reached a successful ratification of a collective bargaining agreement sometime within the past couple of weeks after “a lot of disagreement.”
“[The BOT’s] going to have to redo [the collective bargaining agreement] in about a year because of how long it took for them to decide it,” Buttarazzi said. “But this is great progress.”
Buttarazzi also said the UMS is looking to help out prospective non-Maine resident military veterans by possibly offering them in-state tuition at any of the seven system institutions, which would both commend the students for their service and also increase enrollment at the universities.
Exec reports
In his report, Vice President for Student Organizations Andrew Prusaitis said the Student Organizations Committee would be “taking a bigger role on campus,” attending regular meetings of various groups and also helping orientation programs, like Team Maine, with freshman classes.
In his report, Vice President for Student Entertainment Patrick Fortier-Brown announced that a spring concert would “most likely be held the night before Maine Day,” April 31. Fortier-Brown also reaffirmed his negotiations to collaborate with Bangor’s Waterfront Concerts, but also added 91.9FM WMEB, the campus radio station, and Campus Activities & Student Engagement to the mix.
In his report, Vice President for Financial Affairs Justin Conant listed one allocation under $1,000: $262.50 to Strong Mind-Strong Body for their “coffee hour.”
Bearfest representatives speak; Int’l Affairs Assoc. presents
Bearfest co-chair Jamie Steven introduced the GSS’ guest speaker for the Feb. 28 meeting: Andy Brown, a local resident and dispatcher at the University of Maine Police Department.
Brown told the story of his son Camden, who was born prematurely and suffered from complications within his abdomen at a very young age. Brown and his family first moved to Portland to begin Camden’s treatment, then moved into the Boston Children’s Hospital for several months.
“I know you guys are all busy and don’t have much money to throw around as college students,” Brown said. “But if you can reach out and pick up the pace for Bearfest, you can help kids like my son live a normal life.”
The International Affairs Association presented on its recent trip to Montreal for McMUN 2014, a model United Nations assembly hosted by McGill University.
According to the speaking representative, the conference, which included over 1,400 students, is the only trip IAA plans on attending this year — a scheduled trip to Cornell University was cancelled.