Government Oversight Committee Agenda
Chair: Gustavo Ascanio
September 21th, 2015
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the John E. Sapp
I.
Call to Order
 Meeting called to order at 6:01PM.
II.
Roll Call – Vice Chair
 Quorum has been established with 3 voting members; Thames, Sorrentino, Loh.
III.
Approval of Minutes – August 31st, 2015
 Senator Sorrentino: motion to approve the minutes from august 31st, 2015. Second. All
in favor. Moved.
IV.
Approval of Agenda
 Senator Thames: Motion to add Nina Lee under Senate Appointments and add Trafina
Salsman and Joseph Abdel-Malak under Judicial Appointments in New Business. Second.
All in favor. Moved.
 Senator Thames: Motion to approve tonight’s agenda as amended. Second. All in favor.
Moved.
V.
Student Remarks
 None.
VI.
Guest Speakers
 None.
VII.
Remarks of the Chair – sgagoc@unf.edu
 None.
VIII.
Old Business
IX.
New Business
a. Senate Application packet
 We have made changes in regards to due dates. Also we have added a signature
line that allows us the right to review the students GPA to make sure they are
up to the standards of Student Government involvement.
 Senator Thames: Motion to approve the changes made to the Senate
application packet. Second. Discussion. Roll call vote passes 3-0-0.
b. Senate Appointment
I. Kristoff Gavin Nicholson: I am a senior, accounting major. I am seeking senate
appointment because there is a lot of thing that I want to change, definitely Wi-
Fi and parking. Most students concerns are in regards to them wanting 24/5
library hours. I have also looked over the C&S and have found that OP has two
assistant directors now that needs to be changed in the Constitution to remain
in compliance.
 Senator Loh: What motivates you to be a senator? –I work with campus
life so I want to be of help and act as the voice of the students in
regards to their problems.
 Senator Thames: How would you change parking? –I would make sure
that enough tickets are being sold only out of how many spots are
available.
 Senator Loh: How do you like to approach students? –I speak to all
students from my campus life experience, I have a drive to speak to
students.
 Senator Sorrentino: What else are you involved? –Numerous UNF clubs.
 Senator Thames: Motion to forward Nicholson to Senate. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 3-0-0.
II. Patrick Saathoff: I am a freshman, finance major. I want to be a senator because
I want to be involved in Student Government; my high school did not have these
opportunities where we could actually lead and make decisions. I think that
transparency in Student Government is also a student’s role to inform
themselves as I want to do for myself by being a senator.
 Senator Loh: What are some of the first things you wish to do as a
Senator? –I want to be involved in the Budget and Allocations
committee. I have had few issues so far in my UNF experience.
 Senator Thames: Do you know where the money comes from? –Is it
from 1/3 of the tuition or something along those lines, I am not 100%
sure.
 Senator Sorrentino: What motivates you to serve the student body? –I
am a Christian so I am inspired to serve others and I want to be a part of
an organization that serves other students and informs our student
body.
 Senator Thames: Motion to forward Patrick Saathoff to Senate. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 4-0-0 (Akpabio arrived).
III. Seth Johnson: I am a freshman. I want to be a senator because I want to be
involved. I am still getting accustomed to the needs of the students and a feel of
the campus. I want to jump in and do my best.
 Senator Sorrentino: Being that you don’t have experience, what
strengths do you bring? –My weakness is that I have not been given a
chance yet in a position where I can help. I am a hard-worker and I can
work smart.
 Senator Loh: Being in the honors program, are you sure can you
dedicate the time and effort to Student Government? –I have
considered it a lot and at first I did not think so but I believe I can.
 Senator Akpabio: How often do you talk to other students about their
needs and problems, what changes would you bring? –It is all about
talking to students and being transparent with the Student Body. I am
slightly hindered because I am new here but I feel I can make
connections. I would encourage students to write a bill and to assist
writing it with them if they have any questions.
 Senator Thames: Motion to forward Seth Johnson to Senate. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote 4-0-0.
IV. Nina Lee: I am a freshman, Spanish and International Studies major with a
concentration in Foreign Language and Culture. I would really like to be
appointed for a seat because I have the experience and drive to do this. I was
NHS president and I assembled my schools Multicultural Fair. I feel I can lead by
example. I want to be a catalyst for change on this campus. I want to make and
implement biological changes (smoking), political changes (transparency), and
social changes (parking).
 Senator Akpabio: What would you do if appointed as senator in the first
few weeks? –I would try first and foremost for the smoke-free campus
movement to be stronger so that campus pride is increased and the
environment is better.
 Senator Sorrentino: What committee would you like to serve on? –I
would like to serve on USA because I want to get more depth as far as
what students want.
 Senator Loh: What are your means of communication? –I don’t have
trouble picking up a conversation and I can easily discuss changes.
 Senator Sorrentino: As a freshman, have you seen any other changes
you want made? –If it’s possible I would to add solar-energy aspects
into this campus if it’s feasible and in this budget.
 Senator Loh: Motion to forward Nina Lee to Senator. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 4-0-0.
c. Judicial Appointments
I. Trafina Salsman: I am a junior, International Business major with a minor in
Information Science. I want to be involved in Student Government because I
want to be better involved in student collaborations and getting to know
students.
 Senator Loh: Do you have any concerns about possible challenges the
job entail? –I think if ethical dilemmas come up, the team of the judicial
branch can make a collective decision, which brings accountability.
 Senator Thames: What do you want to work on when you become a
justice? –I agree with the CR that is being passed currently but I do not
believe I can answer that question fully.
 Senator Loh: Motion to forward Trafina Salsman to Senate. Second.
Discussion. 4-0-0.
II. Joseph Abdel-Malak: I am a senior, English major with Philosophy minor. I
believe there is no such thing as negative experience and that if you dip your
fingers into any experience you will learn from it. I have been involved in many
clubs but I do not feel that I have given back and I think this is how I can do it.
 Senator Loh: What have you learned in your past organizations? –I
lifeguard with the American Red Cross and the setup is very similar. I am
very comfortable in being involved with the staff of an organization and
am willing to defend the constitution.
 Senator Thames: What are the challenges with the job and how will you
face them? –Now it is slight uncertainty because I don’t know how
exactly things will go down but I feel that can only be improved through
experience.
 Senator Thames: Motion to forward Joseph Abdel-Malak to Senate.
Second. Discussion. Roll call vote passes 4-0-0.
X.
Amendments to the Agenda
 Senator Thames: Motion to open the floor for amendments to the agenda. Second. All
in favor. Moved.
 Senator Thames: Motion to add Ali Awan to Senate Appointments. Second. All in favor.
Moved.
 Senator Thames: Motion to close the floor for amendments to the agenda. Second. All
in favor. Moved.
XI.
Senate Appointments
a. Ali Awan: I am a biology major, sophomore. I submitted an application but I was unable
to state appointment at a committee meeting. I was told that my application could
remain and I could state appointment at the next meeting.
 Senator Sorrentino: What committee would you serve on? -I was on GO
committee and made changes to Election P&Ps. We made a lot of appointments
from Senate to Vice President.
 Senator Loh: Did you do anything that you initiated or took the initation of? –I
worked on changes in the Policies and Procedures to increase participation in
the Election process and then had the largest participation in the election thus
far.
 Senator Thanes: What date did you attend the Senate meeting and when did
the new application go out? –I attended the Senate meeting on the 14th and
that was the same meeting that incurred the application changes.
 Senator Akpabio: Motion to forward Ali Awan to Senate. Second. Discussion.
Roll call vote 4-0-0.
XII.
Announcements
 To those who are going up for confirmation, please attend your committee meetings on
time and get your paperwork turned in on time.
 I want to avoid future miscommunications.
XIII.
Final Roll Call – Vice Chair
 Quorum has been established with 4 voting members.
XIV.
Adjournment
 Meeting adjourned at 7:00PM.
Minutes taken by Farah Azzouz, Senate Secretary