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Student Government Association Minutes
November 03, 2015
I.
ROLL CALL: Kelsey Butler and Mickalena Richards was absent.
Xavier Carmona, Michael Guertin, Danny Chamberlain and Nathan
Moreau were excused.
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM October 27, 2015: Minutes were
approved.
II.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Evelyn Dina
A. Hi everyone and happy Election Day. I hope everyone had
the chance to vote in the local elections for the Mayor of
Westfield. I’m pleased to introduce our speaker for
tonight, Senator Don Humason, a member representing you
all in the Massachusetts State Senate who is also a proud
Alum of Westfield State from the Class of 1989. He
represents the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District that
includes the City of Westfield. Welcome Senator Humason.
1. Senator Humason: Good evening everybody, and happy
Election Day. Thank you for the invitation, I’m happy
to be here. The gentleman standing out back is my
legislative aid Nico, he is from Easthampton; he is a
former Westfield State student as well, president of
his class, and now he works for me.
2. I thought I would just come up briefly, and extend the
greetings on behalf of the senate to say hello to all
of you and to talk about my experience in the State
Senate the past couple of years. It really is an honor
to come back, I have the rare opportunity to have been
a graduate of this school and still be involved in the
Alumni Association as an incorporator of the college,
and also to live in the neighborhood of Westfield
State.
3. In my job as a State Senator, I represent 11
communities, including the towns of Agawam, Southwick,
Granville, Tolland, Russell, Montgomery, Easthampton,
Southampton, Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield. At
different times in my legislative career, I served on
the Higher Education Committee, although now I’m not on
Higher Ed anymore. Currently, I serve on seven
different legislative committees, but probably the most
important is the Committee of Ways and Means. I’m a
Republican in the Mass Senate, with 40 members of the
senate; six of the 40 are Republicans, and there
happens to be three of us that serve on Ways and Means.
This committee is pretty much involved in writing all
the budgets, anything involving the finances of the
commonwealth have to go through the Ways and Means
Committee; first in the House, then over in the Senate.
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It keeps me busy, but I’m glad that we, in Western
Massachusetts, have access to that committee because it
tends to be a little Boston centric.
4. I’m always looking for interns, so if you are
interested in Elected Legislative positions in your
future, I’d be more than happy to have more interns to
work with. There’s so much to talk about, I don’t know
where to go; I hope if you were able to vote, you did,
and I hope if you had an absentee ballot, you were able
to receive that and vote today. For me, being in the
business of elected politics, it’s so important to have
people vote and we can’t ask enough for people to go
out and exercise their civic right to be able to vote.
5. We’ve been very busy with things like transportation
infrastructure, specifically focused on the MBTA in
Boston. The opioid addiction crisis here in
Massachusetts has drawn the attention of Senate, and
most recently Senate has tried to get a handle on why
people are becoming addicted to opioids, then sending
that along to the Department of Public Health. The
governor just signed the supplemental budget, the books
just closed and it takes usually a couple months for
the final accounts to be processed. Next year is an
election year for us, meaning it will be a shortened
year. We’ll have to get everything done by July 31st,
and then we’ll break at that point too. There’s a lot
happening, if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to
entertain those now.
a. Shannon Cullinane: I remember my freshman year, I
didn’t have to pay to go up an exit on the Mass Pike;
why did it change, and is it going to go back to
being toll free?
b. Senator Humason: I’ll tell you what I’ve heard, but
I’m not entirely positive. It used to be from the
time of Governor Weld on to just last year that exits
one through six were technically free, meaning that
if you were a motorist in an automobile, you didn’t
have to pay. We have some problems with our
infrastructure here in Massachusetts, and paying for
it has been difficult. There was an order put through
to reinstate the tolls on the Western Pike that was
signed by Governor Patrick and the tolls were
reinstated last year. Now, the most current thing
that I’m hearing is that Massachusetts is going to
transition from a toll booth system to a scanner
system; basically, you drive under a big awning, and
the scanner either reads your license plate or a chip
in windshield, telling you where you are and what
exit you get on/off. That is supposed to happen next
year, so over the course of one weekend, they’re
going to do this all at once. They’re going to take
all of the tolls down and then put that system in.
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Somewhere in that debate was the idea of freeing up
the Western Pike again. I can’t verify it, but it
looks like we’re going to reinstate the free part of
the tolls out here in Western Mass.
Ryan Losco: I know we’ve had Higher Ed bond bills in
the past; we’ve been able to get good sums of money
to do great things on campus. I was wondering if any
sort of bill like that is coming anytime soon.
Senator Humason: I also serve on the Senate Committee
of Bonding, and they typically will give us a heads
up if we’re looking at a new bonding bill. Right now,
there’s very little talk of new bond bills coming
forward or being proposed. The main reason I think is
that we have a pretty high debt load in
Massachusetts. We have a lot bonded in debt; in a lot
of ways, bonding is good, but when you have bonding
for transportation, buildings, courthouses, and other
things, eventually we reach a point where we have so
much debt that we don’t want to take out anymore.
Governor Baker got $130 million to pay off a big
chunk of our debt, which will free up debt, Wall
Street will look at it favorably, and they will
charge us less money to borrow. I expect that we’ll
be talking maybe next February about the next round
of bonds, but I don’t know what they’ll be.
Justin Connolly: Part of my job is to organize the
annual State House trip in the spring; that has been
going on for a while, and I wanted to hear your input
on how much of an effect it has.
Senator Humason: I think they’re effective, I think
they always have been effective. In the business of
being a Representative for people back in their
district, there’s nothing stronger than to actually
see real people. You can get all the emails you want,
but especially in your Boston office, if you get a
host of people from your district, that’s very
impressive. I think it’s effective, and what’s most
effective in any lobbying effort is to tell personal
stories about how you yourselves have been impacted
by the price of higher education, about how difficult
it is to transfer credits from a Community College to
a State College, you need to tell that story in your
own words to your Rep and Senator, and that is
usually very effective. They’ll typically have a
theme on the day you come down and have a variety of
talking points, but if you can put those talking
points in your own words, that’s really effective.
Just don’t leave it to that one day each year to
lobby your cause, you have 365 days in the year, and
there are a lot of other times where you can see your
Elected Representative or Senator to talk about your
ideas.
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g. Jon Cubetus: Other than State House Day, what can we
do as students to affect the State House?
h. Senator Humason: There are definitely a lot of
different opportunities. You have a chance to lobby
your Rep and Senator back home and at school, so you
have the opportunity to reach out twice to a
different group. We tend to look out for the words
and opinions of our constituents, so you have double
the opportunities to reach out and get your voice
heard. It’s also very important to stay involved
after graduation; a lot of people don’t support the
college after graduation, but if you did that, it
would make a great difference for your Reps to hear
about your experiences and ideas for the institution.
i. Dan Pendenza: Do Massachusetts’s Senators think we
should be looking at recreational usage of marijuana
when the state hasn’t even legalized the medical use?
j. Senator Humason: I’ll speak on my behalf only and say
that I don’t personally think we should be getting
into recreational usage, but that’s not really up to
me. It’s a citizen’s initiative, we’re one of the
states that people enjoy having the right to bring a
question to the legislature, and if we act upon it
and put it on the ballot, your fellow citizens can
act. I’m not a big drug guy, it was never a thing for
me, and so I don’t like them. It will be on the
ballot, but I will vote against it. I think my
position will lose, but I will definitely vote
against it. We haven’t been able to really come to
grips with the medicinal marijuana dispensaries, so
it’s all been a debacle. There’s no real idea as to
how to regulate it; for example, if people get in
trouble for coming to school drunk, will they get in
trouble for coming to school high? There are a lot of
different things that create this giant debacle, so
I’m going to vote no and I expect to lose. We just
keep sending mixed messages, and mixed messages are
dangerous.
k. Brandon Trafford: What is Massachusetts’s debt, and
are there any plans in the works to lower that debt?
l. Senator Humason: I don’t know what the debt is, I
know the debt is in the top five of the country, and
I think the average debt level for a person in
Massachusetts is around $40,000.00. Every year, the
Executive Office sets a bond cap that tells us what
we can spend in a given year; under that bond cap, we
have to divide that up under certain areas that we
would fund in the state. The debt is very sexy. We do
little things, like each year we try to allocate some
of our funds to pay off the debt. When we have a
surplus, we try to direct extra money towards the
debt. Debt is not a bad thing, but it’s when you are
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too much in debt and too high a portion of your state
taxes and state revenue has to go to paying off the
debt, that’s when you get handcuffed.
Evelyn Dina: Should we be expecting any more budget
cuts that would affect us as students?
Senator Humason: I hope not. At the end of Governor
Patrick’s term and the beginning of Governor Baker’s
term, both went through a round of midyear budget
cuts. One of the reasons that the deficiency bill
happened so late in the year, is because Governor
Baker was concerned that state revenues weren’t as
healthy as anticipated, when we started the fiscal
year. It’s a moving target every year, but they’ve
gotten pretty good at the estimation. We set a number
at the beginning of the year and built all of our
budgets around that number, passed and signed the
budget, and here it is in November but there was some
indication that we weren’t doing as well as we
thought. The Governor was really concerned that we’d
have to make more cuts after signing the budget
because our fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30;
the later in the year those cuts are, the more
painful they are because that money has already been
committed or spent. We are cautiously optimistic that
there won’t be a need for more cuts. That being said,
the estimate of money that we are going to take in
was reduced by around $145 million. We still are
experiencing some revenue growth over last year
numbers, but it’s assumed we’ll take in $145 million
less. The Plainridge Casino was underperforming, so
that’s money that we counted on having that didn’t
come. Essentially, we’re trying to be fiscally
responsible at this point.
Ashley Deleon: I saw that you were a part of a
Holyoke Housing Authority project that upgraded over
600 units to improve living conditions. Do you see
that expanding, or maybe coming to schools as well?
Senator Humason: Yes! We’re also looking at a lot of
different energy stuff, including solar and
renewables and spreading them throughout all sorts of
buildings. Investments of solar panels or new windows
and such allow the owners of buildings to see savings
over time. I see it as an exciting field as private
industries can benefit, and our constituents are
being a driving force behind making this happen. They
want to see it both available for them as
constituents of the market as well as industrial
buildings in such. We just completed a renovation on
our city hall building on Court Street; it was once
the school building for Westfield State, so it’s
great that we were able to put money into it to make
it more structurally and energy efficient.
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q. Sara Palis: Is there talk of regulating prescription
drugs, considering the opioid issues?
r. Senator Humason: The Governor has proposed limiting
the amount of pills you can get when you go for a
prescription, limiting that to three days of
prescriptions. There’s also the ability for a person
to be able to go to the pharmacist and demand that
you get less pills than what is prescribed by the
doctor. It’s all being debated, it’s all
controversial, and there should be a final package of
sorts sometime in the next three weeks.
s. Brandon Trafford: I just want to thank you very much
for coming down and talking to us, it shows a lot
about your character to come here with your busy
schedule, so I wanted to give you a round of applause
and thank you for your time.
Thank you Senator Humason.
I accept the resignation of Lezlie Campbell as the
Commuter Council president.
I move to appoint Nyasia Velazquez as the Commuter Council
President for the remainder of the 2015-2016 academic
year. Motion carries.
I accept the resignation of Alina Bracken as the
Representative to Lansdowne Place.
I move to appoint Alina Bracken as the President of
Lansdowne Place for the remainder of the 2015-2016
academic year.
I never got the chance to thank everyone for participating
in this year’s Rays of Hope walk. They were able to raise
$675,000.00 to support breast cancer care services and
research in Western Massachusetts. So, thank you to
everyone who participated.
Following our next meeting we will have our SGA bonding
night where we’re going to play Minute to Win It games and
eat Pizza.
Regarding “Who’s Your Senator” posters, the information
portion is nearly done and I’ll just need to edit your
headshot onto the actual posters. I’m looking for
additional information from the following students, so
please come see me quick after the meeting.
I wanted to let you all know of something I’m hoping to
start for the month of November and also to continue in
the spring semester. I have this idea of featuring a
“Spotlight Club of the Month” in order to appreciate all
of the wonderful things or events that clubs or
organizations are achieving on campus. I am going to reach
out to club presidents to invite them to self-nominate
their club or another club and would like to open up the
conversation with you all; as I’m nearly positive you all
are a part of many more aspects of campus besides SGA. So
please, if you have in mind a club or organization whom
has done great work, lead great conversations or has lead
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awesome programming or volunteer efforts, let me know so
that I may reach out to them for more information. I am
hoping to feature these spotlight clubs at the end of
every month on our Facebook page, with a blurb of all the
great things they have done a long with a picture of the
students. I’ll also announce them all in SGA so that we
can recognize them and maybe even award them a pizza party
to have at their next meeting. Feel free to reach out to
me about this, especially if you have any suggestions.
K. Items not listed on the agenda.
III. BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ REPORT: Justin Connolly
A. All University Committee: No Report
B. Neighborhood Advisory Board: No Report
IV.
VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT-STUDENT LIFE: Matthew Carlin
A. Student Affairs Committee: No Report
B. Multicultural Committee: No Report
C. Food Services Committee: No Report
D. Health Committee: No Report
E. Parking Control Board: No Report
F. Student Athletic Advisory Board: No Report
G. Substance Advisory Committee: No Report
H. Community Relations/Fundraising Report: Marissa Cremin
1. The Turkey Drive officially began yesterday. Please
make sure that someone from your council takes your
envelope after SGA today to start collecting. The money
is due back to Barbara Hands office by Monday, November
16 at 11:00am.
2. I have posters to hang up in academic buildings and Res
halls so please come grab some after the meeting. This
is a super easy way to get a unit. Remember if your
group raises more than $140.00 for the Turkey Drive,
everyone on your council will get four units for the
month of November and the winner gets a pizza party.
V.
VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT-ACADEMIC LIFE: Jon Cubetus
A. I have a few items to discuss this week. After each point,
I will be looking for feedback from everyone, so let me
know if you have any questions.
1. I met with the chair of the English Department, Emily
Todd, and the Composition coordinator, Jennifer
DiGrazia, to talk about changes to the English
Composition classes. My original concern, that I brought
to them, was that in both composition classes, the main
citation ”Language “used is MLA, however we have a large
population of student who will be using APA for the rest
of their professional careers. Luckily, this issue was
not news to them and they are planning to revamp the
Composition classes sometime in the future. I also told
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them that I would send them feedback from Senate, so
please let me know if you have anything else.
2. Since registration has been going on, I have been trying
to listen to people with registration concern. The main
concern that I have heard this year as well as last year
is the issue of classes that have restrictions on them
in some manner. The most common that I have seen is the
“major restriction” response. I know that that is
extremely frustrating when one is going through the
stress of registration and the system is telling them
that they cannot register for a class that they either
need or would like to have. Frankly, it seems to mess
everything up. So, I will be meeting with the
appropriate people soon to see how we can solve this
problem and make the information readily available. Once
again, please let me know if you have anything you would
like me to hear.
3. I am back here to solicit the feedback that everyone
hopefully received from their appropriate population on
the Physical Assistant and Health Sciences proposals.
a. Andrew Morin: I went to my constituents and since
it’s not going to cost them money, they don’t seem to
care if the PA program is implemented.
b. Matt Carlin: The one thing that I’ve heard is the
same thing as Andrew, since the allocation of
resources doesn’t really affect undergraduate
programs, the undergrads seem to overwhelmingly
support tit since it seems to just give us money in
the end.
c. Brandon Trafford: The people who I talked to that
this program would affect, like Biology Majors, were
very pro PA, but the people that it does not affect
didn’t really seem to care.
If you are still looking for a committee to sit on, please
see me after the meeting or email me.
Academic Policies Committee: No Report
Curriculum Committee: No Report
Enrollment Management Committee: No Report
Campus Technology Committee: No Report
International Programs Committee: No Report
Library Advisory Committee: No Report
Writing Liaison: No Report
VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT-PROGRAMMING: Haley Batchelder
A. Programming update: Haley Batchelder
1. I just have a few announcements for you all today.
a. Tickets for the CAB’s annual NYC bus trip will be on
sale Monday, November 9 at 7:00 am. Tickets are
$10.00 and can be purchased online. There are 186
tickets available and they sell out very quickly so,
make sure you buy them right away if interested.
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b. On Thursday, November 5, the CAB executive board, our
advisors Matt Dellea, Lizette Rivera and six other
CAB general members will be going to NACA, our annual
four day conference in Hartford, Ct. We will be
exposed to hundreds of performers, vendors and events
to bring to our school. We’re very excited and will
be sure to share all of the excitement we experience,
along with any celebrity spotting.
c. We have cupcake wars on November 7 from 2:00pm to
5:00pm in the Owls Nest. Some supplies will be
provided.
VII. VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT-FINANCE: Brandon Trafford
A. Finance Report: Brandon Trafford
1. Tonight I am bringing forth two Finance Proposals
a. The first Finance Proposal in in regards to the EMS
Finance Proposal, they are requesting funds to go on
a trip to the National Collegiate EMS Foundation
Conference in Philadelphia. Here the Club will be
attending workshops that will increase their
knowledge and education on various medical
procedures, and it will also serve as a great
opportunity to do some networking for the club
members who attend.
b. If you look towards the bottom of your Finance
Proposal sheet you can see that the of the Finance
Proposal sheet you can see that the total cost of the
event is around $3098.00. When they had come down to
the Finance Committee they were seeking $2,400.00,
but due to the lack of funding this year the Finance
Committee has made the recommendation of allocating
only $621.00. These funds will cover half the cost of
their hotel costs.
c. Before I make the motion to allocate this money, I
would like to bring it to the attention of the
legislature that we have the pleasure of having EMS
club representative here to field any questions about
this event.
i.
Ryan Losco: How many students is the club
planning on taking to this conference?
ii.
Brandon Trafford: 15 students and one advisor.
iii.
Ryan Losco: Is each student and advisor paying
out of pocket for part of the cost?
iv.
Evan Moriarty: Our plan is to not have any
students pay out of pocket currently. We do have
fundraising plans in the near future; we are
looking at the possibility of students having to
pay a small amount out of pocket to attend, but
nothing major.
v.
Brandon Trafford: As you can see on the finance
proposal, they do currently have $775.78 in their
fundraising account balance, and I believe that
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money will go towards paying for this conference
and if it doesn’t, it will go towards medical
supplies.
Morgan Suddeth: What exactly is the conference
about?
Evan Moriarty: The conference is held every year
by the National Collegiate EMS Foundation. It’s a
group of Colleges and Universities from around
the country that have EMS programs. They get
together, it gives us a chance to network, get
continuing education hours for our EMTs which is
required for our recertification, skills
workshops, training workshops, and it helps us
grow and learn.
Rehana Yusif: Why are we giving EMS such a small
amount of money when, not to be rude, but they’re
going to get training to be saving our lives.
Brandon Trafford: It’s a great question. It’s a
very difficult process; unfortunately, the
members of Finance Committee have realized that
we have to be the bad guys this year because we
have to make the budget last and try to help as
many clubs as possible. It would be fantastic to
give all the clubs all of the money that they
have requested, but unfortunately, that’s not in
the budget for this year. We have to try to let
the budget last, so we want to give them a jumpstart to fundraise and get themselves to the
conference.
Rehana Yusif: There are other clubs that are
starting off with a bigger budget, and you said
that you guys need to be careful about how much
money you’re allocating to clubs. Personally, I
feel like clubs that are starting out with a
bigger budget should not be getting more money
than a club that started out with a small budget.
Brandon Trafford: These are taken on a case-bycase basis. The Finance Committee takes all these
into account, we know certain clubs will request
more money and certain clubs are going to be
given more money based on what the proposal
entails.
Ryan Losco: Is this a conference that you have
been going to every year?
Evan Moriarty: No, this would be the first time
we would attend.
Michael Janchuk: I’m fully for this proposal, but
you cut their proposal by about $1780, and you
only cut MTG’s proposal by $700 even though they
have a lot more in their fundraising account. Was
that considered?
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xv.
xvi.
xvii.
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xxii.
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xxvii.
Brandon Trafford: One of the deciding factors for
MTG to receive $1,300 is because their Spring
show is around $4,000, meaning they’ll have to
come up with $2,700 of their own dime. Another
thing about MTG is upon completion of the show,
all of the revenue obtained through ticket sales
will come back to SGA and in turn, be put out to
different clubs.
Michael Janchuk: Since you do get that money back
from the ticket sales, is there an option to give
EMS more money because you can’t really put money
on education.
Brandon Trafford: You guys, as the legislature,
can make an amendment to the motion. That being
said, if you guys decide that $621 is too little
an amount of money, then you are able to make an
amendment to the motion.
Marcus DiBacco: Are the workshops at the
conference administrative or for medical
services?
Evan Moriarty: It’s for medical services, a
chance to further our knowledge for medical
emergencies and policies, put out by officers of
EMS around the country. There are different
levels in this conference; we represent EMT
basics, so it gives us the opportunity to further
our skills.
Rehana Yusif: If this amount of money goes
through and you don’t get any more money, will
you have to cut how many people go to the
conference?
Evan Moriarty: Financially, I’m unsure. It isn’t
estimated to be too much due to fundraising, but
it all depends on how much money we receive.
Rehana Yusif: Is there any possibility of having
someone from the conference come to Westfield?
Evan Moriarty: It would cost money and we’d be
getting more education hours for our dollar going
to the conference than having someone come here.
Morgan Suddeth: When do you have to register for
the conference?
Phil Sheehey, EMS Club: Early registration begins
now until January 8th. After that, it will be
$125.00 per person.
Morgan Suddeth: Because its continuing education
credits, doesn’t that go through DGCE?
Evan Moriarty: These are for personal hours in
regard to each of our own EMTs. Every EMT is
responsible for their own hours, you need 20
hours of National Certification and 20 hours of
Local/State Certification in your renewal period,
so it’s on a case-by-case basis.
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Jon Cubetus: The purpose of the Finance Committee
is to consider and dissect each aspect of Finance
Proposals. As Brandon has said very well, they
have talked about this in committee already, and
not to say I don’t appreciate the criticisms, but
they have already really put thought into
weighing into how much money we have to spend for
clubs and organizations this year. I have full
faith that they have made the right decision, so
I just want everyone to consider that.
xxix.
Jon Kelland: Are there any conferences a little
closer, and are the workshops really applicable
to bring back to campus?
xxx.
Evan Moriarty: Absolutely. On campus, we respond
six nights a week. We’re on anywhere from seven
to 10 hours a night. We respond to a wide array
of emergencies on campus, we have to be prepared
to handle these at any point in time. This helps
us learn new things in the medical field, so this
is an excellent opportunity for us to learn how
to provide better treatment and work better with
patients.
xxxi.
Ashley Deleon: Is Finance Committee on a first
come, first serve basis?
xxxii.
Brandon Trafford: We are not on a first come,
first serve basis. We have to take each
individual club/organization into account.
Proposals that are past the $10,000 mark are
essentially why we can’t go on a first come,
first serve basis because those would completely
deplete us of our operating budget. We try to
allow as many clubs/organizations to benefit
campus in their specific ways, so
Finance Committee takes it all into account.
xxxiii.
Haley Batchelder: Do you have the people going on
the conference already picked out?
xxxiv.
Evan Moriarty: Yes, we do. We have the 15
students and the advisor; 14 and the advisor are
all EMTs, and the 15th is currently in the EMT
course.
xxxv.
Brandon Trafford: Just want to throw out that
this conference was open to anybody that was a
part of the club.
xxxvi.
Andrew Manchino: If we do allocate the money and
they do not go on the trip, where does the money
go?
xxxvii.
Brandon Trafford: The money goes back into the
operating budget since the motion is for this
money to be used specifically for this
conference.
d. On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, I
move to allocate $621.00 from the SGA Operating
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Budget to the EMS Club to allow them to attend the
National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conference. Motion
carries.
e. Now we are going to move onto the Second Finance
Proposal, which is going towards the MTG Club. MTG
came forward to the Finance Committee and requested
Funds from us to help cover costs for their annual
spring show. The total event is expected to cost
somewhere around $4,000.00. They came to SGA
requesting a total of $2,000.00 to cover the cost of
the Rights to the show as well as some other expenses
such as set pieces, costumes, paint etc…
f. As you can see the bottom of the page, the Finance
Committee is recommending that the SGA provide
$1,300.00 to MTG as to cover the rights of the show.
The rights for shows in previous years have varied
from $900.00 to $1,300.00 depending on the show.
g. Again we are very fortunate to have members from MTG
here to field any questions the legislature has about
his event.
i.
Rehana Yusif: What are the rights to the show?
ii.
Chelsea Orifice, MTG: It’s permission to use the
show, including tracks and scripts and such.
iii.
Marcus DiBacco: What’s the estimated return on
ticket sales?
iv.
Brandon Trafford: Previous years have brought in
six to eight hundred dollars, sometimes more. It
all depends on how many people go, so I encourage
you all to go.
v.
Ashley Deleon: Is there any way SGA can help MTG
advertise for their show?
vi.
Brandon Trafford: If MTG asks SGA to do that, I’m
sure we would. We’re not required to, but if
we’re willing to help out, we will.
h. On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, I
move to allocate $1,300.00 from the SGA Operating
budget to the Musical Theatre Guild to help pay for
the Rights of their Spring Show. Motion carries.
2. The next scheduled Finance Committee meeting is on
Friday, November 6 at 2:00pm in the SGA Conference Room
E020.
B. Foundation Report: No Report
VIII. SERETARY’S REPORT: Brendan McKee/Jacob Lotter
A. Executive Secretary Report: Brendan McKee
1. All I have for you all this week is Senator of the Week:
This senator is such an integral part of the Class of
2017 council. He is always the first to volunteer to get
things done and he never hesitates to put in his two
cents. Over the past few weeks, he has been
participating in Mr. Westfield interviews, recruiting
contestants by visiting hall councils, and running a
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bunch of small errands like printing flyers and getting
things approved by administration. He does all this with
a smile on his face while tending to all of his other
commitments. Therefore, our senator of the week is
Andrew Manchino. Congratulations.
2. Keep nominating fellow senators, and continue to keep an
eye out for Cotillion Committee
B. Legislative Secretary Report: Jacob Lotter
1. I’m going to do the Big Unit Award and Big Unit Lotto
for October. Our winner of the Big Unit Award for
October with 23 units for the month is Sean White.
2. I’m going to have Barbara Hand pull the Unit Lotto the
Unit Lotto winner is Shayna Arnott. Barb works in the
SGA/Student Affairs office and has been an SGA advisor
for 20 years. If you have the chance, please go meet
with her, it is worth a unit. The winner of the 25 Owl
Bucks for October is Shayna Arnott. Congratulations.
3. There will be three units for the month of November and
they will be due on December 1 by 3:30pm.
IX.
PARLIAMENTARIAN REPORT: Ryan Losco
A. Rules and Regulations Committee: Ryan Losco
1. Hello everyone an amendment was submitted to Rules and
Regulations last week and you should all have it in
front of you. Jacob Lotter submitted this Amendment to
create a process for reinstatement. If you remember we
never really had a process so this amendment will fix
that.
2. This amendment will replace Article 1 section 3 of the
by-laws section of the Constitution. It has been the
recommendation from rules and regs that this amendment
passes.
The following amendment shall replace Article 1, Section
3 of the Constitution of the Westfield State University
Student Government Association.
“A representative, once removed, may petition the
Legislature to be reinstated:
1. The appeal must be made to both the
Legislative Secretary and President in
writing at least forty-eight (48) hours prior
to the next scheduled SGA Meeting.
a. At this time, the Legislative Secretary
and President can neither reject nor
accept the appeal.
b. The Parliamentarian will be called upon to
go over the process with both parties
prior to the appeal being brought to
senate.
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2. The Legislative Secretary will announce the
appeal to senate during the Legislative
Secretary’s report.
a. The Representative’s appeal will be read
to senate by the Legislative Secretary.
b. Questions will be directed from the
Legislature towards the Legislative
Secretary for validity of absences of the
Representative only.
3. In order for the petitioner to reinstated the
Legislature must vote three fourths (3/4) in
favor of the person.
a. The vote shall take place via a roll call
vote. The President and Legislative
Secretary will be exempt from said vote.
b. The SGA advisor(s) will collectively tally
the vote.
Stipulations
1. The vote may not be reconsidered or vetoed.
2. The petitioner, if reinstated, begins again
with two (2) full absences.
3. If any Representative violates the attendance
policy a second time, He/she may not be
reinstated.”
3. The amendment, should it be passed by the Rules and
Regulations Committee and the Legislature of the Student
Government Association, shall take effect immediately.
4. I move to amend Article 1 Section 3 of the by-laws of
the SGA constitution with this amendment. Motion
carries.
a. Andrew Morin: There’s a typo, it should be amended to
the bylaws, not the constitution.
b. Matt Carlin: I move to amend the amendment to say
“bylaws of the constitution. Motion carries.
X.
COMMUTER COUNCIL, CLASS AND HALL REPORTS:
A. Commuter Council: Nyasia Velazquez
1. I move to appoint Lezlie Campbell as a Representative to
Commuter Council for the Remainder of the 2015-2016
academic year. Motion carries.
2. Our next scheduled meeting I November 5 at 6:00pm Ely
E044.
B. Senior Class: No Report
C. Junior Class: Andrew Morin
1. We have three different options for Class t-shirts
available for voting on the Class of 2017’s Facebook
page. Voting closes Thursday, November 5 at 4:00pm. So
if you haven’t voted yet, Juniors please do.
2. We have our judges confirmed for Mr. Westfield They are:
a. SGA President: Evelyn Dina
b. SGA Advisor: Barbara Hand
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D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
c. Dining Room Manager: Maria Lees
d. Former Contestant Dan Fullam
e. Dean of Students: Sue LaMontagne
f. Class of 2014 President: Brittany Moniz
3. We are still looking for contestants. Another round of
open interviews will be this Thursday, November 5 from
8:00pm to 9:00pm in Ely 003. If you cannot make this
date but you want to interview, please contact me.
4. Rehana Yusif our Rep to Senate will be leaving us to
study abroad next semester, so we will be interviewing
for her designee on November 19. Anyone interested
should contact me directly. We have flyers for Res Halls
and academic buildings and it is a unit opportunity.
a. Andrew Manchino: Point of Information: Mr. Westfield
interviews are 7:00pm to 8:00pm not 8:00pm to 9:00pm.
b. Allison Bancroft: can you hold two positions on SGA
simultaneously?
c. Andrew Morin: According to the constitution, you can
only hold one legislative seat at a time.
5. Our next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, November 5 at
4:00pm in Ely conference room E003.
Sophomore Class: Maddie Creamer
1. This past week voting took place on the Class of 2018
Facebook page for our Class t-shirt design. These two
designs are the final designs that our class decided on.
We’ll be looking to get electronic order forms out for
these very quickly and plan on running sales until the
first week in December.
2. Also, we have scheduled our Buzz-Off for Cancer event
for Sunday, April 10 in Scanlon Banquet Hall starting at
noon. Due to One Mission’s website construction we are
unable to set up our team event until November 17, but
we look forward to getting our page up and running and
beginning to fundraise. We’re also looking to get
athletic teams and various clubs on campus to
participate in this event and make a bald statement.
3. Our next scheduled meeting is November 9 at 5:00pm in
the SGA Conference Room E020.
First Year Class: No Report
Apartment Complex: No Report
Courtney Hall: No Report
Davis Hall: No Report
Dickinson Hall: No Report
Lammers Hall: No Report
Lansdowne Hall: Alina Bracken
1. I move to appoint Wayne Barnaby as Representative to SGA
for Landsdowne Hall for the remainder of the 2015-2016
academic year. Motion carries.
2. I move to appoint Oscar Mena-Deleon as Representative to
SGA for Landsdowne Hall for the remainder of the 20152016 academic year. Motion carries.
New Hall: No Report
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M. Scanlon Hall: No Report
N. University Hall: No Report
XI.
UNFIISHED BUSINESS:
.
XII. NEW BUSINESS: Rebecca Kennedy moved to open New Business,
motion carries.
A. Rebecca Kennedy: As some of you may remember, last year I
created the Facilities and Operations Appreciation Day
event to recognize the hard work the maintainers and
Trades departments put into our campus. This year I want
to expand the event and include more students in the
planning of the event. I am interested in seeing what else
we, as students, can do to recognize and say thank you for
all of the hard work the Facilities Department does for
us.
B. In order to do this I want to start an Ad Hoc committee to
plan this event. It would not count as a unit opportunity;
it is instead something to volunteer your time towards. I
think this committee would meet once a month, maybe biweekly, depending on how many ideas people have. I have a
sign-up sheet for people to put their name and email
address on, as well las the times you are available to
meet.
1. Shayna Arnott: What exactly is Facilities and
Operations appreciation day?
2. Rebecca Kennedy: Last year, we had a brunch in
University Hall for all of the Maintainers, Academic
and residential, as well as the Trades Department, to
thank them for all of the work they do on campus.
3. Nyasia Velazquez: When is this going to happen?
4. Rebecca Kennedy: I’m hoping for April 8, so next
semester, but I want to do more of a social campaign to
get people to know their maintainers and trades people.
C. Matt Carlin: I move to close New Business. Motion carries.
XIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A. Jacob Lotter: Can I see Nyasia Velazquez, Wayne Barnaby,
Oscar Menadilion and New Hall Council Reps after the
meeting?
B. Justin Connolly: Could I have my sign in sheet and pen
back?
C. Morgan Suddeth: Can I see Tara Lambert after the meeting?
D. Andrew Manchino: Please take the food services survey.
E. Dr. Carlton Pickron: It has been picked up that Sodexo
workers are smoking in between the facilities area and the
DC, so that will be watched.
F. Ryan Losco: Rules and Regulations will be convening 15
minutes after this meeting.
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G. Andrew Manchino: Thursday, November 19, Relay for Life is
putting on a Great American Smoke out outside of Ely at
7:00pm.
H. Marissa Cremin: Please see me after the meeting for Turkey
Drive posters, it’s a unit.
I. Brendan McKee: Nominate senators for Senator of the Week
and please talk loud so I can hear your voice in the
minutes.
J. Matt Carlin: All members of AUC and Parking Control Board,
please see me after the meeting.
K. Brandon Trafford: Finance Committee meets this Friday,
November 6 at 2:00pm in the SGA conference room E020.
L. Evelyn Dina: Can I please see Daisha Serranno, Will
Sondrini, Christian Capalbo and Patricia Aguilar for some
missing information for Who’s your Senator, and if anyone
has any suggestion for spotlight club of the month, let me
know.
M. Allison Bancroft: Everyone please go to Owl Madness
tomorrow night and support your sport teams.
N. Michael Janchuk: 199 days until commencement.
XV.
ROLL CALL: Ivana McGlinchey, Kelsey Butler, Nicole Orlando,
Tyquan Robles, Ariel St. Germaine, Lezlie Campbell, Daecia
Serrano, Brianna Pelloso and Nickalena Richards were absent.
Shannon Cullinane, Xavier Carmona, Michael Guertin, Danny
Chamberlain and Nathan Moreau were excused.
XVI. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 8:07pm.