University of North Florida Student Senate
Senate Meeting Minutes – August 25th 2014 – 6:30 to 9:30 PM – Senate Chambers
I.
Call to Order
- Meeting is called to order at 6:40PM
II.
Invocation (Senator Talley)
III.
Pledge of Allegiance(Senate President Ramirez)
IV.
Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Shomari Gloster– sgaspt@unf.edu
-
Quorum is established with 27 voting members
V.
Approval of Minutes – July 21st 2014
- Senator Galligan: I move to approve the minutes from July 21st 2014. Second. No discussion. Moved.
VI.
Approval of Agenda
- Senator Talley: Motion to take SR-14F-2790 off of the Agenda. Second. Discussion. All in favor. Motion
passes
- Senator Kennedy: Motion to add SB-14F-2792 to the agenda on 1st read. Second. Discussion. All in favor.
Motion passes.
- Senator Gloster: Motion to add SB-14F-2793 to the agenda to 2nd read. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
- Senator Gloster: Motion to approve the agenda as amended. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
VII.
Recognition of Students Seeking Appointment
- Connor Akers. Freshman. Business major. General senate seat
- Hugh D. Woodward III. Freshman. Undecided. General senate seat.
- Jonathan Rader. Junior. Political Science. General senate seat.
- Alin Cepoi. Senior. Financial service. General senate seat.
- William Thomas Ewer. Sophomore. Sports Management. General senate seat.
- Leah Melquist. Freshman. Public Relations and Marketing. General senate seat
- Caleb Grantham. Freshman. Mechanical Engineering. General senate seat
- William Newborn. Freshman. Business Marketing major. General senate seat.
- Noah Gomez. Biology. General senate seat.
VIII.
Student Remarks (3 minutes per Student)
NONE
IX.
Guest Speakers
a. Advisor Shore (5 minutes)
- I would like to welcome you all back to the fall semester. Your leadership have been busy all summer. They
made a lot of changes; they expect great things from this senate. They have high expectations of themselves
and you. So I would encourage each of you to take these positions extremely seriously, ask questions, read the
constitution, and know the legislation that’s being passed. This senate has high expectations and will get a lot
done because of you or in spite of you. So I would suggest it’s because of you.
X.
Office of Elections
a. Elections Commissioner – True Rains sgaelections@unf.edu (5 minutes)
- For those of you who were not here this summer, I know I’m a new face. The position was created to reform
the whole elections process. Last year there were no elections because of the lack of candidates. I started in
about July and worked on creating the new elections policies and procedures. If you would like to read more
about it it’s on the website. There will no longer be a signature requirement for candidacy. It still requires a
couple signatures acknowledging FERPA. It is a lot easier to declare candidacy. There are a lot of empty seats,
and I want to get those filled. The senate isn’t really a representation of the student body when there are no
actual elections. So, I want to fix that this fall. I am hoping to have a lot of students declare candidacy and a
lot of students running. I want elections to be a big deal. For those of you whose term expires this fall, the new
packet can also be found online. I would encourage you to fill that out and run again. I will tell you that if
everything goes as planned there will be a lot of competition. You’re going to have to do a lot of campaigning.
Have the expectation to come and work hard for your seat.
XI.
Judicial Branch Report
a. Chief Justice – Daniel Powers sgajc@unf.edu (5 minutes)
- I’ll start by addressing title 5 that is on first read tonight. There are some things that I want to address but I
feel like it would be better if that was done in committee. The council had their first meeting of the semester
this morning. We established our vision for the semester. Our next meeting is September 8th at 9:00AM, please
feel free to attend.
XII.
Executive Branch Reports
a. Osprey Productions – John Chwalisz opdir@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- First thing I want to tell you guys are about our upcoming events, since you won’t be having senate again I
won’t be seeing you for about another 3 weeks. Our first one is the OP interest meeting next Tuesday 9:00 in
the ballrooms. Second, will be our first movie of the year next Wednesday, Captain America 7-9:45 in the SU
auditorium. Our third is the walking dead event; we have an interest meeting for it on September 10th. Lastly
the I heart UNF ultimate pool party Saturday September 13th, with the band Split Tones. That is great that we
have 9 students going up for appointment. You guys understand how important it is to attend the agency
events. You guys allocated $450,000 to OP this year alone. How can you allocate that and then never come to
the events? We are the extension of your hand. Come out there and support us. Starting next senate I will be
bringing one of my coordinators to every senate that we have. You will get to hear from them, Andrew and I
do a lot of work but they do more work than anybody I have ever seen. In closing, I challenge each of you to
do more than your expected responsibility. It is yalls responsibility to make this school better. For us to move
forward you need to be there as the elected officials, not only supporting but representing. Come to our events
it is highly important for you to be there. There is an event tomorrow night (the rally). It’s a pep rally to start
off the year; it’s in the arena at 8:00PM. There will be a dunk competition, t shirt launchers will be there, and
John Delaney will be there. Every other report will be more light hearted.
b. Club Alliance – Justin Dato sgacluba@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- Club Alliance has been pretty busy over the summer. Last night with the luau, partnering up with campus life,
over 2,000 students were greeted, including 70 clubs and 30 departments. We passed out shirts and frozen
drinks, which ran out almost instantaneously, which was a good problem to have, so next year we will prepare
a lot better. I just want to let you guys know about some events that we are planning. The first is the General
Body meeting for club alliance on September 12th, so if you wanted to know about what clubs are doing come
to that meeting. I know last year there were specialized club fairs every single week. Rather than focusing on
quantity we are focusing on quality. So, every other Tuesday starting September 23rd there will be a specialized
club fair. Last but not least, Club Fest is going to be on September 29th, it’s a game night theme so feel free to
come out to see all the clubs that will be there.
o Question: Where will the General Body meeting be held? - That will be held in the Ballrooms.
c. Attorney General – Matthew Harris sgaag@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- Henry Clay once said, “Government is a trust and the officers of the government are trustees. Both the trust
and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.” I am also going to quote to you this evening the
preamble to our Student Government constitution. “We the students of the University of North Florida in
order that we may maintain the benefits of constitutional liberty and may create a representative government
through which the individual student voice can be heard and where students can actively participate in this
university by promoting cooperation among the student body, faculty and administration do herby ordain and
establish this constitution of the University of North Florida.” Never forget why we sit in this room every 2
weeks. Never forget that we the students ordained and established this government almost 40 years ago to
benefit the people by letting the voice of the students be heard. Never forget that it was for that purpose that
this Student Government exists. Henry Clay was right to say that government is a trust. It is a relationship
between those who offer their voices to be heard and those who guard and speak them. Never forget that you
as the senate are entrusted as the bastions of representation of the student voice. Never be afraid to take a
stand to do what you know is to be right. As we embark on this next semester together and prepare to work
hard yet again, to better our university and the student body, let us not forget that sometimes the right choice
is not always popular. As Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said, “Yes the medicine is harsh, but the
patient requires it to live.” When you take a stand, stand firm on the principles that this great association was
founded upon. Never be afraid to speak up or change the status quo. Often times the medicine is indeed
harsh, but principle is required. Do what you know to be right even it’s unpopular, as long as it’s legal. All of
you know that my job as Attorney General is to serve as your chief legal officer; I love my job and what we do
here. My job is to be here as a service for you. Please come ask me questions, I hope to get to know each of
you personally throughout the semester as we continue to do great things.
d. Treasurer – Morgan Wolf sgasbt@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- Welcome back to those of you were gone this summer, it’s nice to see the room a little more full. The
executive branch has had a very good summer; we have worked on a lot of initiatives. July 1st began our new
fiscal year. The SB-14F-2792 that was put on first read tonight, that allows for all of the un-dispended funds
and un-dispersed funds to be allocated to our new fiscal year. I encourage you all to go over it; it will go
through B&A in two weeks and back to senate on 2nd read on September 15th, the total was $18,330. Matthew
and I have also been working on lots of revisions to title 8, which is the finance code for senate. Student
Government officially has a new business manager, Dawn Knight. According to title 8 chapter 831.7 I am
required to report back to the senate about all of the funds that were associated with the search positon. The
search cost for this position cost a total of $347.50. $345.50 was expended for her air fare and $2 for her
parking pass. Chapter 831.7 states that we may use this fund to search for our operating reserve. However
Director McGuire left it not to do, but instead use this money from our B&A index the travel line items. This
positon is for the business and accounting office. One of the projects that I have been working on this
summer is our scholarships that Student Government gives out. The scholarship committee has finalized the
scholarships and will be posted on the Student Government website on September 2nd. They are available to
everybody in this room, and they are available to every A&S fee students that meet the requirements. We will
be doing our own marketing, road signs, social media, and so forth. But I ask that you also advertise on your
social media and just through word of mouth. There are a lot of students on our campus that are struggling
financially. They are available to you as well. We have a new senate leadership scholarship, and that is going to
be two scholarships awarded, $750 fall and spring semester. I hope you have a great rest of the week and enjoy
the next Monday off.
e. Vice President – Anthony Stevens sgavpres@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- I just wanted to say welcome back. For those of you who were not here during the summer, the lounge
furniture was ordered, and should be coming in the next few weeks. During the summer we adopted a bed in
the Ogier gardens. We now have our own Student Government bed that we are going to be planting and
harvesting. I encourage you all to come out there at any time; I know John and I will be out there on Fridays.
Lend-A-Wing also just got a big bed out there for students to come out and volunteer.
f. President – Joseph Turner sgapres@unf.edu (5 minutes)
- I just wanted to update you on a few projects that we have been working on. Hopefully you all got my email
today. Last Thursday and Friday we took a trip around the state, we saw 4 universities, 3 of which are major
institutions with beach front areas that we went specifically to look at: UF, FGCU, and UCF. They all have
lake front recreational areas that I perceive to be the best in the state. We have a beautiful lake front area here
at UNF and we do offer some amenities for our students but I think we can do better; we want to make sure
that we have the best in the state. We can do more and we should do more for our students especially if we
have the resources to do so. Over the summer we passed a free printing bill, I said there would be a possibility
for a free print lab for the fall, and we were able to do that. Starting next Tuesday students will have the
unlimited free prints, in the free print lab located in the club commons. We are going to start marketing that
and let students know that we are providing a more improved service now. We will need your help promoting
because you are the best messengers for what Student Government is doing. Some of you might have known
if you were here over the summer that the university is investing 2 million dollars of nonrecurring performance
funding into major renovations of the Thomas G Carpenter library. Those projects initially came in over
budget so we had to go back to the drawing board and cut a few things. The new and improved library will be
opening in February. I have a meeting with the dean of the library on Thursday to talk about some of those
things that we had to cut from the project budget to see if there is anyway Student Government can pick up
some of those things. I didn’t know this but twice as many students use the library every year than the
recreation center. That is something that is coming down the pipeline. In my email I mentioned the text book
affordability; the state wants to keep college affordable. The cost of college is rising for students and a big part
of that are the textbooks. A big push for the executive branch is to address the textbooks. I am looking for
feedback from you, your personal stories about textbooks. This will help move this issue in the state. These are
all large projects. September 16th we will be hosting executive branches your choice your voice rally. I spoke to
Chase Baker and he will consider having this in place for your osprey voice for the month of September. The
final thing is, we will be hosting the rally tomorrow night; it will get students pumped up for athletics. It is
important for us to support athletics financially, but also to recognize the importance of athletics and go out to
the games. Come out tomorrow night and show athletics that we are going to have a great year.
o Senator Kennedy: Is the free print available only in this building or campus wide? – Only available in
club commons. So there was a tradeoff from what we had before. It is not as convenient, but more of
a service.
XIII.
Legislative Cabinet Reports
a. Constitution and Statutes Committee – Chairman Shomari Gloster sgacsc@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- There was just some legislation that went through this summer in CSC. OB-14SA-2771 that was the
establishment of the GO chair and office of elections. CR-14SA-2772, change of senate apportionment. JR14SA-2773 which was for the inbound shuttle at the crossings. CR-14SA-2776 which was the refinement of
the judicial branch. We had two judicial decisions, JD-14SA-001 and JD-14SA-002. We also had the simple
resolution of the senate policies and procedures. September 8th will be our next committee meeting.
b. Budget and Allocations Committee – Chairman Michael Rotella sgabac@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- NOT PRESENT. You all have added SB-14F-2792 to 1st read and SB-14F-2793 to 2nd read.
c. Government Oversight Committee (3 minutes)
- Senate President Ramirez: We will be taking nominations tonight, September 15 will be elections. I will be
chairing it on September 8th.
d. University and Student Affairs Committee – Chairman Chase Baker sgausac@unf.edu (3 minutes)
- For the USA committee we made Osprey Voice online now, we will be using iPads now. The surveys for
summer we asked about the reusable cups on campus. Most people didn’t know about them. Also we asked
about the 10% discount, and we asked about if the incentive was good enough. Most people said yes to the
incentive. End of summer b we asked how they rated their summer experience on a scale of 1-10. It averaged
to 6.7. We asked what would’ve made it a 10; most people said more events, longer library hours, and more
parking. The next osprey voice is this week on the Green and the Student Union Plaza. Everyone has to do
one hour. I will teach you how to use the iPad in the osprey voice workshop. We all have to sign a liability
waiver to use the iPads. I will also pass around the signup sheet for Osprey Voice.
e. Senate President Kaitlin Ramirez sgasp@unf.edu (5 minutes)
- I would really like to echo what Attorney General Harris said in his report. You are senators representing
students on campus, upwards of 16,000 fellow ospreys. Make sure you are doing your due diligence with
everything here. Prepare for committees and prepare for senate. Take note in the Roberts rules workshops
tonight. As for polo’s, I have them so just stick around after senate. CR-14F-2787 and SR-14F-2789 have been
withdrawn, and earlier in tonight’s meeting SR-14F-2790 was stricken and we have added SB-14F-2792 to first
read and SB-14F-2793 to 2nd read. I will have Senate President Pro-Tempore Gloster hand out the committee
sign-up sheet so please put down your top 3 choices. You will be getting your assignments this week.
Committees will not be meeting next Monday, due to the Labor Day holiday. Committees will meet on
September 8th. We had a really busy summer; we had Interfaith and LGBT safe space trainings. It is really good
to push yourself out of your comfort zone. They will be offered again in the fall and in the spring. I will be
giving you a calendar with all the dates that we discussed tonight.
XIV.
Robert’s Rules Workshop
a. Senate President Ramirez and Parliamentarian Stovall (15 minutes)
- *shows PowerPoint on Roberts Rules*The handout is for you to look at after we leave here you can study and
know the Roberts Rules. Roberts’s rules lay a framework. It is the best way for large groups to make decisions.
Quorum is established to make sure decisions aren’t made by a small amount of people. You cannot motion to
not hear something. Make your motions are clear and concise, so senators know what they are voting on. You
should not argue with another senator. If you would like to stop, you would motion for recess. All questions
must go through the chair. When you make a motion, I would ask that you stand up. The three motions that
you can make at any time: point of information, point of order, point of privilege. You will always say “I
move” make sure you say the bill number and the title of the bill. Please brush up on this. I know that you all
are not shy, and you have the greatness to be in this role. Be with the program, and if you’re not it will cost
senate as a whole.
XV.
Osprey Voice Workshop
a. Chairman Baker (15 minutes)
-
XVI.
*shows PowerPoint on Osprey Voice* We completely redid Osprey Voice. Why? This is a new way to show
that we are reaching out to the student body. When you are surveying make sure you mention other things that
Student Government has accomplished. iPad usage: instead of signing in on a signup sheet you will click on
the app to sign in. Ask for the students n numbers to put on the survey. *does a skit of how to survey a
student with the iPad* Osprey Voice starts tomorrow, then Wednesday, and Thursday. The locations will be
on the green, Student Union Plaza, and then the green again. If someone doesn’t show up to survey, take the
iPad and bring it back to the Business and Accounting office. The schedule with the senators contact
information is on the iPad.
o Senator Galligan: Is there still a certain amount we still have to get? No, but the goal is 25.
Unfinished Business
a. SB-14SB-2784 S.L.A.B. 2nd Read September 15th Sen. Rotella
XVII. New Business
a. Legislation considered for 1st Reading
i. SB-14SB-2782 Title V Reform Sen. Gloster
ii. SB-14F-2786 The Compliance and Balance Act (CBA) Sen. Ramirez
iii. SB-14F-2792
b. Legislation considered for 2nd Reading
c. Senate and Joint Resolutions on 2nd Reading
i. SR-14F-2788 Revising Senator Scholarships in Senate P&Ps Sen. Ramirez
- A lot of cuts had to be made in the scholarship committee. You are all grandfathered into what is stricken in
the policies and procedures right now. The senators elected in the fall will be going under this new process.
This really does need to pass so that we are complying with what was decided by the scholarship committee.
On the 2nd page, the scholarship is now $750 in the fall and spring. Scholarship awarded to two outstanding
senators.
o Senator Mack: Motion to approve SR-14F-2788. Second. No objections. Discussion.
o Senator Baker: I Move for unanimous consent. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
ii. SR-14F-2791 Revising Senate Offices and Orientation in Senate P&Ps Sen. Ramirez
- The 1st change, this is allowing the senate president with the approval of an ad-hoc committee can make the
proposition to change something in the P&Ps. It would not be content at all, just formatting. For senate protempore, it states that the proxy votes are turned into the senate president as opposed to the pro-tempore. The
legislative cabinet elections shall occur during the senate meeting after the new senators are sworn in. for
senator orientation; this gives more flexibility on scheduling senator orientation, the 3 weeks as opposed to 2.
For senate secretary I would like to make a motion to line 3 to change from 1 business day to 3 business days.
o Senator Talley: I move to change the wording in SR-14F-2791 on line 3 from 1 business day to 3
business days. Second. No discussion.
o Senator Baker: Motion for unanimous consent. Second. No discussion. All in favor. Motion passes.
o Senator Kishek: I move to approve SR-14F-2791. Second. No discussion. All in favor. Motion passes.
o Senator Galligan: Motion for unanimous consent. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
iii. SB-14F-2793 Amendments to Fiscal Year 2014-15 A&S Fee Budget Provisionary Language
Sen. Ramirez
- President Turner: I was approached by a student that works in the Spinnaker about two particular regulations
put forth in our provisionary language. I met with the concerned individuals. It is on second read tonight, it is
something that should be done by September 1st. I think we should change this quickly
o Senator Mack: I move to approve SB-14F-2793. Second. No discussion.
o Senator Galligan: I move for unanimous consent. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
XVIII. Nominations for Government Oversight Committee Chair
- Senator Hartsfield: I would like to nominate Senator Wollam: accept
- Senator Matejka: I would like to nominate Senator Kontol: accept
- Senator Gloster: I would like to nominate Senator Tunjic: decline
- Senator Baker: I would like to nominate Senator Kennedy: decline
- Senator Kontol: I would like to nominate Senator Mack: accept
o Senator Brown: I move to close the nominations. Second. No objections. Moved.
XIX.
Announcements
- Please make sure you put your choices for committees.
- I have your polo’s at the end of the meeting
- When you make a motion don’t forget to rise
XX.
Final Roll Call - Senate President Pro-Tempore Shomari Gloster
- Quorum is reestablished with 27 voting members
XXI.
Adjournment
- Meeting is adjourned at 8:01PM
Minutes prepared by: Leah Tolisano, Senate Secretary.