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University of North Florida Student Senate
Senate Meeting Agenda – November 19th 2012 – 6:30 PM – Senate Chambers
I.
Call to Order
Meeting is called to order at 6:51 pm.
II.
Pledge of Allegiance – Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Britt Stromquist
III.
Invocation
IV.
Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Anthony Stevens– sgaspt@unf.edu
Quorum is established with 41 voting members.
V.
Approval of Minutes
Motion form Sen. Stevens to approve the minutes of November 5. Second. No objections. Moved.
VI.
Approval of Agenda
Motion from Sen. Jones to add parliamentary nominations after New Business. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Salem to add SB-12F-2753 to first read. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Wolf to add Gordon Rokeda to guest speakers. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Tutwiler to add Josh Baker to guest speakers. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Witcolf to strike Alex Geott’s report from senate tonight. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Brady to add SB-12F-2657 under special request. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Brady to add SB-12F-2658 under special request. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Barrs to add SB-12F-2659 under special request. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Brady to add SB-12F-2660 under special request. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Brady to add SB-12F-2661 under fiscal requests. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Trayer to add JR-12F-2663, the Aim Higher joint resolution to second read. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Jones to approve the agenda as amended. Second. No objections. Moved.
VII.
Recognition of Students Seeking Appointment
Gurgan Petrosan seeking a general senate seat.
VIII.
Student Remarks
Gergon Petrosan- My application was late and was disqualified. There is a request for money for food to help increase numbers
during elections. This type of culture is increasing negativity to voting. For other elections, you do not receive food to
compensate for voting. Voting is a responsibility. Like to share this with you.
IX.
Guest Speakers
Carlo Fassi introduces Dr. Gordon Rokeda.
Dr. Rokeda- Pleased to speak to you all. Thank Pres. Varshovi and Fassi for attending our last faculty meeting. As Faculty
Association President, I am the presiding officer, overlooking the budget, running the meetings, coordinating the work of the
association, and serving as a representative on the Florida council, also work with President Delaney. Operates as a direct
democracy. All members can vote on all initiatives. 2012 marks our 40 th anniversary and we have grown much since. I also
serve on the board of trustees. As for the Aim Higher initiative and the importance of it, it can help to keep the fees down.
Florida is still at or below the higher education funding. UNF is the third most selective university in the system. Our work plan
reports that our E and G funding has dropped. We see declining funds of the university. Implications as declining services and
courses offered with higher caps and reduced grants. Aim Higher supports a system that works. Study abroad and extra
curricular all included. Faculty also benefit from Aim Higher, we have received a pay cut. Pres. Fassi and Varshovi made a
passionate presentation to the faculty on Aim Higher. Your voice is the strongest and the most likely for state legislatures to
listen to. It is great to be among those involved in leadership and your dedication and service. So thank you.
Josh Baker- Earlier this semester, bills were passed for tailgating to increase the school spirit. Thank you for doing that. It made
a difference and the proof is in the numbers. The goal is to get more numbers. Our men’s soccer league finished first in
attendance. Had over 1000 students in attendance at one game. Thank you. What you are doing for the students is working.
Want to say thank you. Students ask when are we going to get football, but we need to support the sports we have. Now it is
basketball season. We need everyone to be in attendance. Tailgating is a big aspect, the other part is osprey nation. Right now
879 students are in osprey nation. If you are a leader of the students, we need you all to be apart. It is $10 for the year
membership. Florida Georgia is one of the biggest weekends in Jacksonville but if we can bring that passion for our own
athletics, that would make a huge difference. November 29, I want to see you all at 7 pm for the men’s basketball game.
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X.
Senate President’s Remarks: Senate President Zak Varshovi- sgasp@unf.edu
Have a lot of business tonight. Been a long semester, but for some this is your second senate and I’m excited to work with you
all.
XI.
Senate Committee Chair Reports
a. Elections and Appointments Committee – Chairman Corey Amira – sgaesac@unf.edu
Today in committee decided on spring election dates and have appointees coming up. Also have a request tonight for
elections.
b. Constitution and Statutes Committee – Chairman Jerry Barrs – sgacsc@unf.edu
Meetings will be at 6:30pm in the spring.
c. Student Advocacy Committee- Chairwoman Megan Jones- sgasac@unf.edu
Set the final frenzy dates. Senators must work one day.
d. Budget and Allocations Committee – Chairman Christopher Brady sgabac@unf.edu
Have 4 special requests and 1 travel requests. The travel request failed but 8 senators signed to bring it back.
e. University Affairs Committee - Chairwoman Monica Bowman – sgauac@unf.edu
General education council is going through a lot of changes. There is an external reviewer who is coming December 2-4 to
talk to the council about general education. She is very knowledgeable about it. Dec 3, Monday from 12:00-1:15 pm Dr.
Kim Wolf has requested that we have 15-20 student talk about general education. What you liked and didn’t like. Will be
free food. Would love your all’s support in this. Have a sign up sheet and will follow up to remind you. Love to see support
for this.
XII.
Student Government Executive Reports
a. Attorney General – Joe Turner - sgaag@unf.edu (3-minutes)
Wish you all and your families a happy thanksgiving and happy holidays as well. Good luck on finals too!
b. Treasurer – Billy Namen - sgasbt@unf.edu (3-minutes)
SFAC is the committee that selects the fee for the next fiscal year. After a long deliberation, SG fought for no increases. The
athletic fee got a $1.50 increase to help them generate revenue so they can have more traveling and such. Because SG
didn’t receive an increase and because of a decrease in credit hours over summer, we will see a loss of 90,000. So look
forward to those cuts.
Sen. Anderson- as for the $2000 where will that be pulled from?
The special request cannot be used for that. Our budget is a recurring budget. Since a decrease in hours, is a decrease in
revenue. Indexes all have there own allotted amounts. Will be going through each index and find were there is rollover
amounts and make up for the cuts.
c. Vice- President – Mike Naughton - sgavpres@unf.edu (5-minutes)
The annual SG banquet will be Thursday, April 11, reception at the wellness center. Tentatively is 6:00pm. It will be
formal and is a lot of fun. Great way to look over the past year and what we have done. Happy Holidays. Aim Higher is very
important.
d. President – Carlo Fassi – sgapres@unf.edu (7-minutes)
Ask how many of you are in osprey nation? Pretty sure you can set aside $10 to be a member. Greatest longer-term
investment of a university is its athletics. Touch on what our treasurer talked about. Every year, money is put aside so no
to answer your question, Sen. Anderson, because you would be spending more then what is coming in. SFAC SG did not
request a fee because of all the money that has been swept up and accumulated. Our vision is if you are paying x you
should be getting x out of it. Currently what the students are getting is not equal. Discuss the Blue Ribbon Task Force. The
governor 7 months ago talked individuals, Pres. John Delaney was one of those individual, talking about the funding of
universities. Can’t talk about funding without holing institution accountable for that funding. Had 3 recommendations.
Recommendation 1- should have data collection and report it to the board of governors on a weekly basis.
Recommendation 2- how do we hold the school accountable? Where those data collections go. If a state cannot pay for
something, the student will have too. Recommendation 3- degree programs are in stem degrees. If you are in state student
you will not see tuition go up, but it does not pin point how that will happen. Will it be other students paying or the state
legislature? Bright Future and Florida Pre Paid will be affected. These are the experts recommending this to the state
legislator. I bring up Aim Higher, education should be a priority. Our country’s founders believed a democracy would only
work if the people were educated and were making educated votes. Need all of you to be speaking in your classrooms and
out there on that day. This is the number one issue on student’s minds.
XIV.
Student Government Agency Reports: (3-minutes each)
a. Volunteer Center - volunteercenter@unf.edu
Lend a wing pantry had a food drive and students won jags ticket for the most donations. Can’t wait for the events to come
in the spring.
b.
Osprey Productions - opdir@unf.edu
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c.
XV.
XIII.
Presentation on OP events and the cost per student. All events are approximately below $3 per student. Saturday events
are a little more. Over all had 41 events in the fall. Average for movies was $2.79 and it includes popcorn and a drink. For
the spring have 46 events planned including 2 festivals and 2 main stage events.
Sen. Anderson- Does 2.79 include the food?
About 42 cents additional cost for food.
Sen.- numbers on the 3oh3 concert?
2000-2500 estimate, don’t have the exact number yet.
Club Alliance - sgacluba@unf.edu
Had final meeting last Friday. Have all our dates ready for the spring. The site is thriving and the clubs are happy with it.
The spring bash, president gala, and first meeting will all be the first events of the spring semester.
Student Government Judicial Report
a. Chief Justice – Alex T. Goetz - sgajc@unf.edu (5-minutes)
Fiscal Requests
a. SB-12F-2657 - Corey Amira
Free printing request. This initiative has been very successful and we are asking you all to support it again.
Sen. Anderson- are the students going to get more for the students who are not using?
Whatever is not spent will come back. We will receive a bill from what is used. Correct copy says special request index
Sen. McGuire- this money sits in the fund balance and then the exact amount that is used will be spent.
Motion from Sen. Dikes to approve SB-12F-2657 for the correct amount. Second. No discussion.
Electronic vote.
Passes 43-0-0.
b. SB-12F-2658- Monica Bowman
Presentation on Aim Higher. Looking to host a rally to increase state funding for the university system. Will have free pizza and
we will be out there speaking on how important this rally is. Will be having a letter writing campaign. Goal is to have 1500
letters. Promotional items to get the word out such as t-shirts, A frames, road signs, and banner pens. The banner pens will be
more informative of what Aim Higher is. Will be giving facts in regards to the cuts in higher education. These letters are
important to get the legislators to notice and to also spark movement for other Florida universities.
Sen. Lundy- any more information on where the cuts from the budgets have been reallocated?
Doubt the money has been reallocated, just used for other state spending.
Motion to approve SB-12F-2658 for the full amount. Second. No objections. Discussion: Sen. Bowman- its important that we
support those students who are on the edge of being able to afford higher education. Sen. Keen- like to echo something Sen.
Trayer said in B and A, it is great to support this but also the participation is needed at this rally as well.
Electronic vote.
Passes 43-0-0.
c. SB-12F-2659- Corey Amira
Pres. Varshovi- Request is very important because we need sufficient funds for the spring elections.
Previous E and A chair and I came up with goals over the summer to have record-breaking numbers. In order to do this and
make sure the students are aware that the elections are going on. The better thing then would have been to special request
however this is where we are now. What Sen. Amira needs to make this a big election is the resources.
Sen. Brady- about how much did you spend each day?
$900 each day, however anything not spent can roll back,
Sen. Galanti- will the sticker for Chick-fil-a still happen?
Yes.
Sen.- what about spending more money toward other incentives that will turn out more knowledgeable votes?
Can’t make the assumption that students are just voting for the food. Don’t think the food detracts the informed voters. The first
time we did food the numbers turned around tremendously.
Sen. Bowman- Weren’t road signs purchased this semester?
The semester’s were not rounded up or were collected by the university but these round signs would not be misplaced.
Sen. Bowman- to clarify these new sign purchased would not be lost?
We will do our best.
Sen. Bowman- is there any way this will be implemented?
Just us being responsible.
Sen. Brady- how many shirts were purchased and how many are left over?
Don’t know how many are left over. But ordered the same amount as last election.
Treasurer Nahem- the new polling station is next to the café, do you believe the food incentive will be needed?
Yes I worked at that station and students came back for seconds or donuts.
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Sen. Galanti- will this be implemented in market days or osprey voice?
We have flyer to hand out then.
Sen. Anderson- do you think the money will be better to distribute absentee ballots?
We can do that but we do not need to allocate extra funds for that.
Sen. Ramirez- could the pizza be allotted for the debate forums rather than polling stations?
Absolutely. The way it was draw up is worded differently but it can change.
Advisor McGuire- will need to change some of the wording if that is wanted.
Motion from Sen. Ramirez to close the floor. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion form Sen. Tutwiler to amend line 15 and 16 to state for food. Second. No objections. No discussion.
Roll call vote.
Motion passes.
Motion from Sen. Brady to strike food item from 3000 to 2000. Second. Objection: Sen. Caudio- if food makes the students want
to vote, that’s okay. Sen. Brady- to spend an extra $1000 we would need an extra increase of 2200 voters. We don’t know the
food was what made the increase; we added an extra polling station. Pres. Varshovi- elections are critical and I don’t want to say
that we didn’t do our best to increase numbers. It is inevitable that food brings out that large numbers.
Motion from Sen. Brady to open the floor for discussion. Second. No objections. Sen. Tutwiler- because we amended it to other
events usage as well this will help bring students out to other forums so they are making a more educated vote. Sen. Barrs- need
to look at the best interest of the students. Have spent a lot of the students money. We need to think about what we are doing
here. The extra $1000 is not fiscally responsible and not going to get us the votes we want. Sen. Trayer- do not have a problem
with the 1extra $1000 but think it could be used in something more beneficial for other initiatives on the E and A committee.
Think there is more to it than food, like to see other ideas. Pres. Varshovi- we are also using our budget to purchase banners and
flyers as well. Sen. Anderson- very picky on knowing exact numbers, feel that if the money if needed we can come back and ask
for more. Sen. Bowman- there is an exponential growth of food being an incentive. If pizza is always the incentive, it is not going
to be an incentive anymore. Sen. Brady- the B and A committee has already approved $5000 and this is for $7000, do not need
this spending.
Motion from Sen. Brady to close the floor. Second. No objections. Moved.
Electronic vote.
Motion Passes.
Motion from Sen. Garcia to approve SB-12F-2659 as amended. Second. Objection: Sen. Amira- like to change t-shirt to election
and marketing materials to have more freedom to work with that. Advisor McGuire- suggest you don’t make this change
because the cost of shirts and other promotional items are different. That kind of change should be made in B and A. Treasurer
Nahem- take another $1000 for giveaways.
Motion from Sen. Brady to approve SB-12F-2659 as amended. Second. No objections. No discussion.
Roll call vote.
Passes 37-0-4.
d. SB-12F-2660 Student Leadership Advisory Board- Jerry Barrs.
Requesting money for a speaker they want to bring.
Request to bring Adam Carroll. He is an entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Presentation about the speaker. Adam Carroll
is a published author and public speaker. Has a presentation on “your dream job is waiting” and would like to bring this to UNF.
It is a 60-90 minute presentation. Help you ultimately discover you are closer to your dream then you think. January 30, 2013 is
our target date. Expect 300 guests and in the ballrooms. His fee is $3,500 for travel, lodging, etc and for marketing and
refreshments, asking $142.50.
Sen. Anderson- what day of the week?
Wednesday, date and location are tentative because we have not booked him without the funds.
Sen. Anderson- there are actually two events on that night.
We understand that there is a lot going on the campus at all times and we will do the best to work with other events.
Sen.- If you change the location will it be on campus?
Yes definitely.
Sen. McGuire- not the senate’s job to plan the logistics, the club has done that. There are always things going on this campus.
Ask questions about the actual funds.
Sen. Antworth- have you done any other funding for this event?
We have reached out to Coggin and clubs and they directed us to come to SG.
Motion from Sen. Brady to approve SB-12F-2660. Second. No objections. Discussion: Sen. Caudio- this is a great idea and it
benefits the students. Sen. Anderson- great program. Sen. Tutwiler- this is a great opportunity for any student on this campus.
Great way to get every member on campus involved in something that pertains to him or her. Sen. Barrs- there ability to reach
out to all the students is going to be beneficial for all students who attend. Those 300 students will be impacted greatly.
Electronic vote.
Passes 43-0-0.
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e. SB-12F-2661 Jacksonville Christian Life – Heather Deyarmin
Jacksonville Christian Life is an on campus ministry here. Faith Blockers is a conference for college age students, families,
couples. Club status- we are 13 years old, been in good standing since then. Since founded, have had over 100 students go to
faith blockers. Total amount requesting has decreased since submitted because SG found cheaper buses. Held a fundraiser and
an anonymous donor. Out of pocket we are asking students to pay for their own meals there. If SG doesn’t fund, some student
will not be able to go. After B and A, want to bring up that we did not do a good job fundraising, I take full responsibility for that.
I know that is important to you all but that was my fault and in the future we are going to put a larger emphasis on this. This is
on behalf of 14 students who would like to go.
Sen. Garcia- how were these members chosen?
These 14 are the members that signed up first during the cheapest registration time.
Sen. Galanti- how many rooms will you be purchasing? It states 2.
Each room holds 7 people.
Motion form Sen. Brady to approve SB-12F-2661. Second. Objection: Sen. Estrada- would like to remove the registration from
the request. Sen. Brady- since this being in this position, they have been the easiest club to work with. They tried to fundraise.
We are not paying for all of the trip, just to help these 14 students.
Roll call vote.
Objection dies.
Sen. Brady- great club to work with
Electronic vote.
Passes 32-0-10.
Motion from Sen. Stevens to revisit the agenda. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Stevens to add SB-12F-2649 to second read. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Barrs to table parliamentary elections to next senate meeting to have candidates more time to better prepare.
Electronic vote.
Passes.
Motion from Sen. Caudio to approve the agenda as amended. Second. No objections. Moved.
XVI.
New Business
a. Constitution and Statutory Changes on 1st Reading
b. Senate and Joint Resolutions on 2nd Reading
a. SR-12F-2649: Support of Brand Name Dining Enhancements – Sen. Zak Varshovi
Surveys were done for the osprey clubhouse pool dining options. Support selection of either an Angie’s or Pita Pit.
Motion from Sen. Barrs to approve SR-12F-2649. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Brady for unanimous consent. Second. No objections.
Passes.
c. Legislation considered for 2nd Reading- Sen. Salem
209.3 – all items must be at fair market value. Defines fair market value.
210.2- “monies” is not used any more.
Add after polls close to the final Election Day.
Sen. Anderson- if you are in charge of that, you cannot run?
Not in charge but apart of that process.
Attorney General- recommend to amend the line to read: A student is not eligible to run if they are involved prior to their
candidacy.
Motion from Sen. Dikes to amend the bill per recommendation of the Attorney General. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Barrs for unanimous consent. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Brady to amend the bill per changes of Sen. Salem. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Brady for unanimous consent. Second. No objections.
Attorney General- have more recommendations. Like to amend line from saying ballot may not change to say ballot may
not change per blank date.
Motion from Sen. Dikes to amend the legislation to the further recommendations of the Attorney General. Second. No
objections.
Motion from Sen. Dikes to approve the legislation as amended. Second. No objections.
Motion from Sen. Barrs for unanimous consent. Second. No objections. Bill passes.
d.
JR-12F-2663 Aim Higher – Sen. Trayer
It is our responsibility to encourage students to participate in this act. To further fight tuition increases.
Motion from Sen. Tutwiler to approve JR-12F-2663. Second. No objections.
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Motion from Sen. Dikes for unanimous consent. Second. No objections.
Bill passes.
XVII.
Announcements
a. Good luck on your finals and have a good winter break!
XIV.
Final Roll Call - Senate President Pro-Tempore Anthony Stevens – sgaspt@unf.edu
Quorum is reestablished with 41 voting members.
XVIII.
Adjournment
Meeting is adjourned at 9:14 pm.
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