University of North Florida Student Senate
Senate Meeting Minutes – January 9th, 2015 – 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Senate Chambers
I.
II.
Call to Order
- Meeting is called to order at 12:09PM.
Invocation – Senate Chaplain Noah Gomez
III.
Pledge of Allegiance – Sergeant-at-Arms Jonathan Rader
IV.
Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Caleb Grantham
- Quorum is established with 18 voting members.
V.
VI.
VII.
Approval of Agenda
- Senator Wollam: I motion to add SB-14F-2823 to 1st read. Second. No discussion. All in favor. Motion
passes.
- Senator Wollam: I move to remove the Elections Commissioner confirmation off the agenda. Second.
No discussion. All in favor. Motion passes.
- Senator Wollam: I move to add the confirmation of the Vice President candidate. Second. No
discussion. All in favor. Motion passes.
- Senator Kennedy: I move to approve the amended agenda. Second. All in favor. Motion passes.
Approval of Minutes
- Senator Rader: I move to approve the minutes from November 24th. Second. All in favor. Motion
passes.
Recognition of Students Seeking Appointment
- none
VIII.
Student Remarks (3 minutes each)
- Noah Gomez. Freshman. Biology. I just wanted to give a report on the Brooks College of Health since I
am the senate liaison for this college. I met with Dr. Christie; we had a really good discussion. She was
really open to the idea of communicating with SG. She really appreciated that we showed interest. We
also discussed meetings and how I am going to meet with her. We are going to meet once a semester
and keep up with emails. The Student nursing program is really excited to work with student
government. Suggestions for other senate liaisons, if you haven’t been or talked to anyone you should.
Just be concise, they are busy. Have a plan for when you go in and anticipate what their needs may be.
Also listen and be proactive. Also communicate with other liaisons.
IX.
Guest Speakers (5 minutes)
a. General Council Marc Snow
- I am here to discuss FERPA. Make sure you are complying with the requirements. FERPA is federal law
regarding confidentiality. It is designed to protect the confidentiality of student educational records.
Record information is what is considered what can be given to the public without your consent. You
guys are involved in student government. It allows the university to release your name because you are
involved in student government. You essentially wave that right. Student government is conducted in an
open meeting environment. You can’t keep your name private. If you have concerns about your phone
number or address, contact the registrar’s office. These requests aren’t handled through SG its self.
Public records law covers everyone here in SG; it is so broad that it covers your text messages. If you do
text something regarding any branches, you can always screen print those and save them. The only
sunshine meetings that occur are your legislative meetings. We are going to close judicial meetings, since
there are punitive actions. We made a big change there. The meetings of the judicial and executive are
like staff meetings, they are closed to the public. Any two of you that get together and discuss legislative
branch, you need to do that in public so people are aware. There is no right for public participation
unless the chair calls for it. Minutes must be taken and it must be recorded. Sunshine meetings may be
taped by others, be aware of that. Additionally, you have got to make sure that you wait to talk about
legislation until you are here. It is a crime to violate sunshine law. We have been contacted by the
attorney’s office; they take sunshine law very seriously. It is easy to comply with and also easy to mess
up.
X.
Judicial Branch Report
a. Chief Justice Ben Jaeger (5 minutes)
- Hope you have enjoyed your break. We have our first meeting this Tuesday January 13, 2015 at 8:30AM.
When we do get a full bench, we will be appointing someone to the Senior Associate Justice position.
XI.
Executive Branch Reports
a. Osprey Productions – Director John Chwalisz (3 minutes)
- Although we have been on a break, Andrew and I were getting stuff done. Next week the homecoming
packet will be released. This past Wednesday we had our first movie, we showed the movie Gone Girl.
We had 350 people in attendance. We had pizza, popcorn and candy at the movie. We have lost 3
coordinators and our graphic designer. We have been conducting interviews for that. Lastly, next
Wednesday, instead of the movie, we have the FGCU game. Next Friday is our first OP general
meeting. I will get you the time at a later date. We would like to thank Tony Stevens for your dedication.
Chris Brady you have big shoes to fill.
b. Club Alliance – Director Justin Dato (3 minutes)
- Not much has been going on since the fall semester ended. Tomorrow we will be working with campus
life continuing on with the first week of welcome. It will be a tabling event from 7:00-9:00 in the
Student Union plaza. The first general body meeting will be January 23rd. January 30th will be the
specialized board meetings.
c. Treasurer Morgan Wolf (3 minutes)
- Our annual budget process starts next week. Hearings are the next two Fridays and the 3rd Friday will be
the deliberations. This is where different entities on campus propose their budgets for the year, and then
the deliberations is when the money is allocated. Since you will be voting on the budget I encourage you
to attend these hearings. They take place from 9:30 to 3:00. If you have any questions, please email me.
d. Attorney General Matthew Harris (3 minutes)
- Treasurer Wolf reads Attorney General Harris’s report: I would like to welcome you all back to session and I
apologize that I will not be able to give my report in person. Over the break I have had a lot of time to
think about the state of our student government. I will set a series of proposals to this body in an effort
to take action. I hope you will join me in taking action. Today this starts with the title 5 bill which is on
1st read. This will eliminate potential conflict of interest. I once again apologize for my absence.
e. Vice President Anthony Stevens (3 minutes)
- As most of you already know I have decided to resign as Student Body Vice President. It was not an
easy decision to make, but at the end of the day it was the right decision for me. Being a part of this
organization the past three years has truly been an honor. I have learned a lot, grown as a person, and
-
XII.
most importantly have met some of the most amazing people and created amazing friendships. I’ve
imagined this day for a while now; I didn’t think it would be under these circumstances. Every time I
imagined it, I thought I would include three things: Wisdom, something inspirational, and get a louder
swoop from the senators than John. For the wisdom I leave you with this quote from Dr. Seuss: “How
did it get so late so soon, its night before its afternoon, December is here before June, my goodness how
the time has flown, how did it get late so soon?” We are all here for a short period of time, I started
right were you all are. Here I am now. Take a moment by yourself to enjoy the moment. For inspiration,
all of you joined student government for a reason. Regardless, now that you are here remember your
purpose you are student leaders. I know it can be frightening to have a different opinion or to speak up
for something you don’t believe in. The students are counting on you to be their voice, so be it. Lastly,
to get a louder swoop than John. It has been a pleasure serving with all of you, I wish you all the best,
and if you need anything go to new VP.
f. President Joseph Turner (5 minutes)
I just want to say, I just want to thank Tony for putting up with me and for all the hard work he has put
into this organization. We will miss him but we will finish strong. We have a couple projects making
progress that we will be able to provide to the students. It is going to take time to allocate some of our
money, but we will talk about that in detail. We want to give the students what they want, and this starts
with a request going to the B&A committee for additional items at ECO adventure. Also I would like to
say a few words about Chris Brady who I appointed to VP. He has been working in my cabinet and he
helps me out a tremendous amount. He will be the most successful candidate for this. I have a couple
positions I need. Elections commissioner, we need someone to pick up that torch. As Ben mentioned
there are 3 vacancies in the Judicial Branch.
Legislative Branch Reports
a. Constitution and Statutes Committee – Chairman Caleb Grantham (3 minutes)
- I don’t have much to report. We have 3 bills that are going up on Monday. Please be prepared for
business at 7:15.
b. Budget and Allocation Committee – Chairman Blake Kennedy (3 minutes)
- I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. I am very excited for this semester; I hope
you all are as well. We have an incredible opportunity up here. It is a lot of fun to be up here. We have a
great responsibility to our students and to this school. I just hope you take it seriously, but in the
meantime, get to know the senators and have fun. Make moves and make mistakes. I hope it is a great
semester. We start budget hearings on the 16th. We have a lot of money and it is cool to see where that
goes. For my committee, I need sponsors. We have our meeting on the 12th at 6:30.
c. Government Oversight – Chairwoman Amanda Wollam (3 minutes)
- I am really glad to be back. We have a lot of expectations this semester. It is really hard to get involved if
you aren’t knowledgeable. We are always there, if you have any questions. Senator orientation is January
24th, you are all required to be there. If anyone wants to help plan with that let me know. We had an
emergency committee meeting and we didn’t meet quorum. There is a statute states that the business
gets forwarded to senate. That is why we couldn’t interview Brady in our committee. I am also
sponsoring the title 5 reform, if you have any questions let me know or Attorney General Harris.
d. University and Student Affairs – Chairwoman Leah Melquist (3 minutes)
- I don’t have much to report other than finals frenzy. We handed out green books and granola bars. We
handed all the bars out too quickly. We can only go up from here. Let me know how you think we can
improve finals frenzy. USA we will be meeting here at 5:30, Vice Chair Brown will be chairing the
meeting since I have a class conflict.
e. Senate President Chase Baker (5 minutes)
- Welcome back everyone. We are here for a purpose; we are here to help the students. I want to reiterate
what Senator Kennedy and Senator Wollam said, have fun with it. We have the power to change the
school. We hope to plan a fun and educational senator orientation. If you are interested in helping with
the orientation, let me know. Thank you for taking the time out of your Friday to serve the students.
Unfinished Business
a. Legislations considered for 1st Reading
b. Simple and Joint Resolutions on 1st Reading
c. Legislations considered for 2nd Reading
d. Simple and Joint Resolutions on 2nd Reading
XIII.
XIV.
New Business
a. Simple and Joint Resolutions on 1st Read
b. Legislation on 1st Read
c. Simple and Joint Resolution on 2nd Read
d. Legislation considered for 2nd Read
X.
-
XI.
XII.
-
Confirmation of Executive Appointment
a. Elections Commissioner
b. Vice President
Chris Brady: I am a senior double major in Finance and Economics. I joined Student Government back
in March 2012 as a senator. I served as the Pro-Temp, B&A chair, and as the Senate President. This past
year I served as the Director of Analytics and Research. This semester I have a lot more time. I am really
excited for this opportunity. I have been very involved here at UNF. I am also excited to work with the
agencies; they are going to teach me a lot.
o Senator Ascanio: Since you are a senior, do you think you have the time to commit? Absolutely, I made my senior year my easiest year.
o Senator Wollam: Can you elaborate your past positions, leadership roles so we are assured that
you can handle VP? - Outside of SG I had other leadership roles including serving as president
of my fraternity. All those gave me different skills. I think all of my experiences combined will
make me a successful VP.
o Senator Rader: How long have you been with exec? - Since august.
 Senator Kennedy: I move to approve Chris Brady as the Vice President. Second. No
discussion. Motion for unanimous consent. Second. All in favor. Moved.
Announcements
none
*Vice President Brady sworn in by Chief Justice Jaeger*
Final Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Caleb Grantham
Quorum is reestablished with 18 voting members.
XIII. Adjournment
- Meeting is adjourned at 1:03PM
Minutes prepared by: Leah Tolisano, Senate Secretary.