University of North Florida Student Senate
Senate Meeting Minutes – February 22nd, 2016 – 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM – Senate Chambers
I.
II.
Call to Order
a. Meeting called to order at 6:37PM.
Invocation – Interfaith Chaplain Clare Stern
III.
Pledge of Allegiance – Sergeant-at-Arms Burton
IV.
Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Dallas Burke
a. Quorum has been established with 28 voting members.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Approval of Agenda
a. Senator Chance: Motion to add SB-16S-2944 to Legislation considered for 1st Reading under New
Business. Second. Adopted.
b. President Pro-Tempore Burke: Motion to add SB-16S-2942 to Legislation considered for 2nd
Reading under New Business. Second. Adopted.
c. Senator Bottom: Motion to move SB-16S-2942 as the first order of business, SB-16S-2936 as the
second order of business, and SB-16S-2934 as the third order of business under Legislation
considered for 2nd Read in New Business. Second. Adopted.
d. Senator Mims: Motion to approve the agenda as amended. Second. Adopted.
Approval of Minutes – February 8th, 2016
a. Senator Platts: Motion to approve the minutes from February 8th, 2016. Second. Adopted.
Recognition of Students Seeking Appointment
Student Remarks (3 minutes each)
a. Farouk Smith – Political Science major, junior. Please get involved as a mentor (social, academic,
fitness, etc.) for the students in the on-campus transition mentor program.
b. Sami Mims – Political Science and International Studies major, sophomore. There is a student
organization that is asking for $500.00 tonight to attract a different crowd of Ospreys and represent
our school to a new community so
c. Tim Roche/Junine Castin: Junior; Junior. Dance Marathon is a 12-hour event that takes place on
April 2nd, 2016 to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. It’s a lot of fun and it’s for a
good cause. You all represent what the students want and it would be great to have you out there.
Register online at unfdm.com by April 1st.
Guest Speakers
a. Assistant Director of Athletic Marketing – Josh Baker (5 minutes)
a. You have all made a great impact but there is so much more impact to be made that will take
this university to a national scale. All of our teams have won championships in the past 12
months, over 180 of our 185 student athletes have maintained a 3.0 GPA. We have a big
game on Thursday against JU at the JU campus but JU has only allotted 50 tickets to UNF
that will go to the athlete’s family members. We are going to have the largest watch party in
Jacksonville here at our arena on Thursday to watch the game live. Baseball plays tomorrow,
Friday, and Saturday free for students here at home. Support our athletes as they are also
students in our university and your job is to represent the entire student body. I was also a
Senator here at UNF and you have the opportunity tonight to leave a legacy and be a servant
to the students.
b. Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services – Albert Colom (5 minutes)
X.
XI.
XII.
Office of Elections Report
a. Elections Commissioner Brad Johnson (3 minutes)
i. Elections are March 1st and 2nd and I hope to see you all out there. Email me or come talk to
me if you haven’t signed up to volunteer. If you do not volunteer, you will receive an
absence point. I have also been involved in the process of selecting a new Elections
Commissioner with President Guerra.
1. Attorney General Baker: Are you still accepting plebiscites for the ballot? –yes, if you
have an idea please see me.
Judicial Branch Report
a. Chief Justice Ben Jaeger (5 minutes)
i. We have one judicial candidate going up for appointment. The election process for the
judicial branch is the most intense interview process of any branch or position in Student
Government other than that of the President so I ask that you confirm her tonight.
Executive Branch Reports
a. Osprey Productions – Director Katie Jackson (3 minutes)
i. I hope you had a great Homecoming Week. First went to the Carnies, second to the Catholic
Ospreys, and third to Swoop Squad. Night of Fun brought in about 3,000 people which is
wonderful. We were blessed with great weather. We have Hunger Games at 7PM and
9:45PM. We start Campus Movie Fest tomorrow at 6PM. Campus Movie Fest is a
competition that involves students making movies and whoever wins goes to Hollywood
and the winner in Hollywood goes to the worldwide competition and a UNF Student,
Trevor Walsh won in Hollywood last year so it’s a great opportunity to put UNF on blast.
b. Club Alliance – Director Zachary Mease (3 minutes)
i. Club Fest is tomorrow, please come by even if you aren’t volunteering. We need volunteers
around 10AM, 11AM, and 3PM. We are accepting applications for club work space in the
Club Commons. Pick up a shirt for Club Fest if you haven’t and wear it tomorrow.
c. Treasurer Cameron Duffy (3 minutes) – no report
d. Attorney General Dana Baker (3 minutes)
i. I was supposed to have an OB for you all for 1st Read tonight but a technical issue occurred
so I will keep you updated on that. I want to encourage everyone to think about a plebiscite
to add to the ballot and contact Elections Commissioner Johnson if you have any ideas.
1. Senator Adamson: What is a plebiscite? –A non-binding question we ask to the
students in the ballot about important issues such as Conceal and Carry in Fall 2015.
e. Vice President Caleb Grantham (3 minutes)
i. Thank you to the senators who attended Town Hall and the MLK Luncheon. Eugene Butler
Middle School is looking for a male leader to be there to talk about Student Government
and leadership this Friday. In March they are looking to do the same thing but for women so
if you are interested please contact me. Apple and android chargers are on check-out in the
library now for up to 3 hours. We have a lot of Lend-A-Wing uber cards. There are Lend-aWing workshops tomorrow.
1. Senator Butler: What kind of impact will we have on the youth at the panel on the
Eugene Butler Middle School? –Since they are in middle school, they are extremely
impressionable at this age and I think it would be great to talk to them about
leadership and get it into their head at a young age.
f. President Hailey Guerra (5 minutes)
i. Thank you to everyone’s hard work on the A&S Fee Budget and I believe they have created
a sound budget. We had a group of students attend Rally and Tally on February 10th. We
were able to talk to state officials. I met with President Pro-Tempore Burke and Coach
Moon and President Delaney to talk about student fee coverage for the ASUN
Championship games. Athletics pays for the first 500 students, SG will pay for the next
1,000 students from the Executive Programming Fund, and President Delaney will be paying
for the rest after 1,500.
XIII.
Legislative Branch Reports
a. Pro-Tempore/Constitution and Statutes Committee – Chairman Dallas Burke(3 minutes)
i. We had our first absence point appeal last week and we have worked very hard in creating a
sound system
b. Budget and Allocation Committee – Chairman Troy Bottom (3 minutes)
i. We had a lot of requests in the last B&A Meeting and we denied two of them. If a motion
dies or does not pass in B&A then the bill enters an appeal process in which the Senate
Sponsor finds 8 senators to sponsor the bill and it comes before Senate which is what has
happened tonight.
c. Government Oversight – Chairman Vaughn Sayers (3 minutes) – read by Senate President Baker
i. Chief Justice Jaeger spoke about his position and his branch in our last meeting and I would
like to thank him for that informative presentation. We approved a judicial appointment and
I have my full support in her. We also added an essay portion to the Senator Appointment
Application.
d. University and Student Affairs – Chairwoman Cassidy Keefe (3 minutes)
i. I have the sign-up sheet for Round Table which is a tabling event where you wear your
Senator polos and you engage the students on their concerns. {February Osprey Voice results
were discussed; will be posted online}. Senator of the Month is Christopher Jordan and he will be
featured in our Student Government Newsletter.
e. Senate President Chase Baker (5 minutes)
i. {Absence points were reviewed in a PowerPoint}. Engage in Senate and add your input and any new
ideas I have, I promise it will be heard and respected. You can only abstain from voting
because of personal affiliation, your votes always count. Senator Orientation is on March
26th, 2016 at 9AM and the theme is sports.
XIV.
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
XV.
New Business
a. Simple and Joint Resolutions on 1st Read
b. Legislation on 1st Read
i. SR-16S-2935 Vitalization of the Senate Policies and Procedures
ii. SB-16S-2944 (The Vacancy Solution)
c. Simple and Joint Resolution on 2nd Read
d. Legislation considered for 2nd Read
i. SB-16S-2942(IR) Iuri Lucius Lima de Jesus – President Pro-Tempore Burke
1. Iuri is a student looking for the opportunity to compete in a Jiu Jitsu competition in
California as a national athlete. He pays for every competition out of pocket and if
denied this request, it will be his last competition. He works hard and deserves this
and it will put UNF on the map.
2. Iuri Lucius: I am here to represent the UNF grappling club. This competition is 2nd
most important competition in the United States, right behind the world
championships. I will be advertising UNF in all ways through my clothes adorning
the UNF logo on everything. I have been asked for I am attending this competition
and I have said that I might be receiving money from UNF Student Government
and I am so proud to say that. Every competition I attend I advertise UNF through
my social media accounts. When I compete, I learn and I will bring back anything I
learn to the UNF Grappling Club. This will show to the nation that UNF supports
every kind of sport, not just basketball and baseball but unique sports like Jiu Jitsu. I
was denied last week but if I pay for everything on my own this will be last
competition and it will be the end of my competitive career. I work at ACE tutoring,
I coach kids, and I am a student so I am asking for support in paying for this
competition because I have worked so hard for it.
a. Senator Burton: Have you done any tabling by the Student Union? –Yes we
did.
b. Senator Adamson: How would this advertise UNF and bring more students
here? –If I place in this competition, it will put UNF on the map and bring
more recognition recreationally and socially to the campus.
c. Senator Mims: Would you be willing to come talk to the Senate about your
experience after the competition? –Yes, of course and I would hopefully be
bringing back a medal.
d. Senator Sorrentino: Why were you denied the first time in B&A? – I was
denied because I stated that if I was not funded that I would still attend the
competition but it would be my last one. There is beauty in competition and
the continuity in working hard to win something and I would not have that
opportunity if I was not approved for this request.
e. Elections Commissioner Johnson: Did the motion die or was it voted
against? –There was a motion on the bill to approve it but it was not
seconded.
f. Senator Bottom: Motion to approve SB-16S-2942(IR). Second. Discussion.
Roll call vote passes 28-0-1.
ii. SB-16S-2936 Office of Elections – Senator Villavicencio
1. Student Government needs to upgrade its laptops very badly, it is not only for the
Elections but for all aspects of Student Government. It can be used for presentations
and many other things.
2. Elections Commissioner Johnson: I know this is a lot of money, I know it may come
off as a “sticker shock” because it is asking for a lot. My goal is to leave this office as
well as it can be and this is another example of me trying to do that. I am asking for
10 Dell Latitude E7250 laptops for $12,772.10. They are wonderful quality and the
old laptops are slightly antiquated. They will be used for anything we need, such as
elections, minutes, and presentations. If the Office of Elections was asked to pay for
it on its own it would take three and half years to pay for it.
a. Senator Butler: Do you think it would be unwise to have students use these
laptops that may not respect them the same way we would? –They would be
strictly Student Government laptops so only Student Government members
would use it.
b. Senator Sorrentino: When would we be able to use them if this request was
approved? –I was hoping to get them in by this election season but that
might be cutting it close so they would definitely be used by fall elections.
c. Senator Smith: Is there a reason that 10 laptops were requested and not any
less? –There are two voting stations with four per station.
d. Senator Jordan: Are these laptops hardwired at the voting station? –Yes, I
made it illegal to have a voting mechanism that cannot be hardwired and the
iPads cannot be hardwired. The laptops have provided for a huge decrease in
voting error because they can be hardwired.
e. Senator Cisneros: What would happen to the current laptops? –They would
still be in our inventory as a backup and once an update is needed it would
be evaluated to see if it would be financially efficient.
f. Senator Thames: Is there a warranty? –Yes.
g. Senator Keefe: Would Student Government agencies be allowed to use the
laptops if needed? –Yes, of course they would certainly be allowed to use
them and I hope that happens so that they are fully utilized.
h. Senator Adamson: Would it be better to have fewer laptops because I have
never seen a line at the voting ballot? –There have been times when there is a
line and I am aiming to get those students that say “no, I don’t have time” to
vote.
i. Senator Adamson: Why not push this until the summer or fall? –The model
we would get in the summer would be the same laptop so we would still have
the same shelf life and if we order them now we would
j. Senator Butler: Have you considered buying refurbished laptops or
refurbishing the laptops we have? –I bounced ideas with our IT tech,
Andrew and it was decided that if we get new laptops we would have a much
larger shelf life and it was decided that this was the best option and I am not
sure if the contract the University has with Dell would allow for 3rd party
purchases.
k. Senator Adamson: If you were to increase or decrease the amount of laptops
purchased and there is a bulk deal, how would you go about that? –It would
have to be contracted again.
l. Senator Bottom: Motion to amend SB-16S-2936 by striking lines 10 and 11
and replacing it with “The Office of Elections, is requesting to secure
funding from the Special Request Index 402097 for the purchase of laptops
for Student Government;” Second. Discussion.
m. Senator Thames: Motion to approve through unanimous consent. Second.
Adopted.
n. Senator Beaucham: Motion to approve SB-16S-2936 as amended. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 26-0-3.
iii. SB-16S-2934 2016-2017 Activity and Service Fee Fiscal Budget – Senator Bottom
1. I have never supported a bill as much as I do this one. My committee, Treasurer
Duffy, and many others have worked very hard on this budget and it has my full
support. The B&A committee has asked a numerous amount of questions and made
appropriate changes.
2. Treasurer Duffy: The B&A committee has truly dissected this budget and I am very
proud of the end result they have created. Nothing was passed without extreme
scrutiny and deliberation which is wonderful because this budget allocates
approximately $4,500,000.00. The current situation refers to the University
decreasing 349,000 credit hours to 345,000 credit hours which results in a cut of
approximately $300,000.00. Enrollment will hopefully be going up in the future to
allow for growth because the budget this year did not allow for much growth.
Student Union demand has gone up so they were allotted $10,000.00 more from
$315,000.00 to $325,000.00. Any index that got fringe benefits was decreased across
the university. Lend-a-Wing has become an agency so they were funded a student
assistant and the B&A committee decided to amend it such that coordinators were
also funded; this allows them to fund a coordinator until they see if they are eligible
for federal work study. Osprey Productions received an increase in funding because
we decided to include their event funds in their budget rather than have them special
requests for them. Student Conference Travel received a $10,000.00 increase because
all travel will now be done through the B&A committee instead of through Club
Alliance. The Student Wellness Complex received a small increase because they are
required to keep their gym machines up to date and health code standards and that’s
a matter of student safety. Club Alliance received a decrease because B&A will
handle all travel requests now. The Student Body Vice President received a decrease
because they should not be required to be here during intercession or winter break
unless they are needed to like the President. The professional staff is vital so I
increased their funds in professional staff development because everything they do
comes back to us and bettering our students. It was decided that Student
Government is responsible for approximately 60% of Spinnaker and the remaining
40% is up to Spinnaker to get on advertisements so that translated to about 6% of
the A&S Fee Budget which is $239,616.00. They are being lump-sum funded but
there will still be checks and balances. {Budget provisionary language changes were reviewed}.
a. Senator Thames: Were there any other places that the B&A committee
changed the budget? –Yes, there was some money saved through salary
reserves and that money was used to create the Lend-a-Wing coordinator
positions.
b. President Pro-Tempore Burke: How would you advise the Senate when
dealing with large special requests such as the Homecoming request? –The
justification needs to be brought before the senate and the checks and
balances really needs to be enforced.
c. Senator Thames: Motion to approve SB-16S-2934. Second. Motion
rescinded.
d. Senator Jordan: Motion to amend SB-16S-2934 such that Line Item 12 states
822.3. Second. Adopted.
e. Senator Thames: Motion to approve SB-16S-2934 as amended. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 23-0-6.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
Judicial Appointments
a. Paige Kaplan: I am a junior majoring in political science. I have been involved in numerous courses
that are related to the judicial process.
i. Attorney General Baker: The process for a judicial candidate is a lot different than for any
other branches. The candidate is given two scenarios in which they are required to create an
opinion that sources the Constitution & Statutes, the Policies & Procedures, and other
university documents and then Chief Justice Jaeger and I grill them in an hour-long
interview. Paige did a wonderful job in staying firm in her opinions and she has my full
support.
1. Chairwomen Keefe: Motion to approve Paige Kaplan as a Justice. Second.
Discussion. Roll call vote passes 28-0-0.
Swearing In – Chief Justice Jaeger
Announcements
a. Please pass the documents up on 1st Read to the front so we can reuse them for the next Senate
meeting.
Final Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Dallas Burke
a. Quorum has been reestablished with 28 voting members.
Adjournment
a. Meeting adjourned at 9:23PM.
Minutes taken by Farah Azzouz, Senate Secretary