University of North Florida Student Senate
Senate Meeting Agenda – March 25th 2013 – 7:00 PM – Senate Chambers
I.
Call to Order
Meeting is called to order at 7:14 pm.
II.
Pledge of Allegiance – Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Britt Stromquist
III.
Invocation – Senate Chaplain Star Caudio
IV.
Roll Call – Senate President Pro-Tempore Anthony Stevens (sgaspt@unf.edu)
Quorum is established with 39 voting members.
V.
Approval of Minutes
Motion from Sen. Brady to approve the minutes of March 11. Second. No objections. Moved.
VI.
Approval of Agenda
Motion from Sen. Brady to approve tonight’s agenda. Second. No objections. Moved.
VII.
Recognition of Students Seeking Appointment
None.
Student Remarks
Kaitlin Ramirez from the Osprey South Asian Association- Who knows what Color Me Rad Is? This event is the
same thing minus the running. It is this Saturday, I hope to see you all there.
VIII.
Michelle Staton- Rally in Tally is Wednesday April 3 from 7 am to 7 pm. Not mandatory this year, however it is
strongly encouraged. This is put on by FSA, which is the committee of all student body presidents in Florida. We
will be wrapping up the aim higher initiative. Will pass around sign up sheet. There will be a bus and food
provided. If you have classes we will send emails to teacher to hopefully excuse you. Email me if have questions.
IX.
Guest Speakers
a. Director of Athletics and Wellness – Tony Hendricks
Want to welcome you all back and let you all know the events going on. Toss it Back Tuesday is tomorrow.
Beer deals if you are of age. We would love to have a huge turnout for this baseball game. Our final
Swoopgating event for this year is coming up. There will be free food and drinks, shirts given out, and a DJ for
students. Love to see your support especially from SG. Finally, Swoop the Loop. We would like to get as many
of you guys out there to show our students and members of the community what UNF has to offer. It will be
on Sunday April 7 and registering starts at 7 am. Looking for a few more volunteers, thank you to those of you
who already have. It is $25 for non-students and free for students.
XIV.
New Business
a. Constitution and Statutory Changes on 1st Reading
a. SB-13S-2686: Title X Revisions – Senator Thomas Lundy
b. Senate and Joint Resolutions on 1st Reading
c. Legislation considered for 2nd Reading
a. SB-13S-2685: Validation of the Spring 2013 Election – Senator Corey Amira
Sen. Amira- this SB is to validate the election.
Motion from Sen. Brady to add the results of the approved CR of 187 to 21 to tonight’s bill. Second.
No objections. No discussion.
Motion from Sen. Brady for unanimous consent. Second. No objections. Moved.
Motion from Sen. Brady to approve SB-13S-2685 as amended. Second. No objections. Discussion- Sen.
Anderson: so 208 votes total, correct? Sen. Amira- 3 students logged in but did not vote, so yes 208
cast votes.
Electronic vote.
Passes 39-0-0.
Advisor Delaney- Point of information, anyone running in the election may not vote and must abstain.
d.
X.
Sen. Pres. Varshovi- Correct, we will revote and please abstain if you are running.
Passes 28-10-1.
Senate and Joint Resolutions on 2nd Reading
State of the Student Body Address
a. Introductory Remarks - Senate President Zak Varshovi (sgasp@unf.edu)
This concludes our business for tonight. It is my honor and privilege to introduce our student body president.
Our success this year shows the cooperation and hard work of our branches working together. I am excited to
see what he has to say.
b. Student Body President Carlo Fassi (sgapres@unf.edu)
Before I begin must recognize my two predecessors who are here tonight, John Barns and Matt
Brockelman. Thank you also to the senate president, vice president, and vice president elect. I would like to
take you back to March 19 and April 2 of 2012 when we passed signed legislature. I was able to sponsor the
Ospreys against Tuition increase. Our senate president also created the University Affairs Committee, which
is chaired by Sen. Bowman. This concept of investing in the future and guiding our students is what we stand
for. It is the concept of our students, administration, staff, and faculty working together for common purpose.
Hence, I have to thank you all for being a valuable portion of my branch, embodying the heart of our students.
To the students who entrusted in us with their votes, I would like to discuss what we have worked on. In
fall, we worked on a deal to bring Chick-fil-a to campus. Thousands of you requested this new food option. We
have worked with UNF to increase longer hours for food venues on campus. Therefore, our students and
faculty do not have to venture to other options and can stay on campus. Another resource that has been
brought is an online grade database with a grade breakdown and the reviews from other students. Think of it
as a rate my professor but for only Ospreys. We also worked on a proposed college scheduler project. This is a
program to input students mandatory extra curricular activities to rid the class that they cannot take from
being an option. Also, students requested more banking options on campus. We brought both Bank of
America and SunTrust ATMS to campus. We put a large emphasis on our campus’s activities. This includes the
new bleachers and equipment for our intramurals as well as, the new ropes course.
My administration has worked with President Delaney and President Moon and we have invested into
our athletic department. As opposed to raising fees for students, we have looked into donations and seasons
ticket sales for funds. Set aside resources for tailgating in future, our attendance and passion for athletics is at
an all time high. Last night FGCU, represented our own Atlantic Sun conference. They beat San Diego
University to make it into the sweet sixteen. This has increased FGCU’s number of applicants tremendously.
We lost to FGCU by 2 points in Ft. Myers and we are just as good. UNF is getting into the spotlight. Moon
submitted a cost assessment of a football program. A consistent question at orientation is “why not football?”
First, the budget for athletics would double. Money is already tight across the state. Right now, neither the
state of Florida nor UNF is ready to bring football to the campus. It will come, but now is not the time.
We are moving towards a smoke free campus to move more and more towards being a healthy campus.
This initiative will be discussed further because a lot of different opinions will be had on this idea. We have
looked into sorority and fraternity housing. Greek organizations have until this Friday at 5pm to submit their
proposals. Our new gym involvement has increased. This gym includes the only Jamba Juice in north Florida,
and indoor track, and rock wall- all receiving rave reviews.
Investments such as these are all part of what responsible student representatives look like. If students
are smart enough to get degrees from institutions, we are smart enough to shape UNF as well. With the
financial burdens, it is expected that our money be spent effectively and effectively. Our rope course was
spent from the fund balance that had been just sitting there. We were able to not raise a single penny for this
fee. We give more to the students with no additional cost. By acting fiscally responsible, we are moving
forward. One fee we had was for a one-time increase for a health fee for the deaf and hard of hearing students.
Our population of deaf students is a lot larger because of our location being so close to the school of deaf and
blind. Believe students should be able to attend this university, regardless of anything they face.
I would like to differentiate between tuition and fees. Tuition, the revenue is used by UNF and used for a
variety of needs to keep the institution running. Fees are 36% but the tuition has continued to rise. This is
happening statewide due to significant budget cuts by the state. Today the state gives less to a student’s
education. The reason we advocate for higher education is not just because we do not want to pay more. This
is about our future, our friends’ futures, our university, and on day our kids’ future. We will fight today and
continue fighting for tomorrow. We have made it a priority from our previous SG candidacy. This cooperative
effort has been a success. With enforcing Aim Higher all year, there is a large hint to a 0% tuition increase for
next year. We were the first institution to deliver over 1000 post cards and messages to lawmakers in
Tallahassee. As I watched our previous president make his speech about the tuition increase, I knew that this
year could be the time that we stop this. We are almost there and I am committed to seeing this outcome.
I am excited to announce. I will begin working with a student government initiative for the Week of
Welcome. I want every student to be able to share this campus. Each year students cast votes. I want students
to hold us accountable for what we don’t do and what we do. We want concerns voiced. I wish to make your
UNF experience the best it can be. Our guiding principles will continue. Efficiently and effectively using your
fee money, increasing student engagement, and using your voice as the common charge. This is an exciting
time for UNF. Everyday our students are gaining more knowledge and our faculty is instilling more
knowledge. Our staff makes this university the best it can be. The state of our student body is strong and I
can’t wait to see what is in store. Goodnight and God bless.
XV.
Announcements
a. Next Committee Meetings will be April 8th, 2013
b. Next Senate Meeting will be April 1st, 2013
XI.
Final Roll Call - Senate President Pro-Tempore Anthony Stevens – sgaspt@unf.edu
Quorum is reestablished with 38 voting members.
XVI.
Adjournment
Meeting is adjourned at 7:51 pm.