STUDENT SENATE
SESSION XXXVII – MEETING 15
February 14th, 2016 – 6PM – Paul College Room 165
AGENDA
(Submitted by Jesse Austin)
I.
II.
III.
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
COMMUNICATIONS
A. Vice President Ryan motioned for the Approval and Removal of Senators
Bills to be acted upon first, followed by the resolutions, for the sake of the
guests and their time. It was approved unanimously.
B. Senators and Guests
i. No Communications.
C. Graduate Student Senate
i. A Senator of the Graduation Student Senate reported that the body
met for the first time this semester last week, and have asked
administration to evaluate the student health plan, as well as asked
for them to consider adding dental coverage.
D. Liaison to Administration
i. Not Present.
E. Senate Executive Board
i. Parliamentarian Doug reported that University President
Huddleston signed the non-discriminatory policy amendment. He
also asserted that “we need people on judiciary, and we need
people tonight.”
ii. Executive Officer Amanda reminded everyone that the Student
Leadership Award Banquet ballots are out and that members
should consider filling them out. She also asked that new senators
see her after the meeting. Lastly, she clarified that senators are
expected to put in four hours in the senate office.
iii. Public Relations Manager Emerson is in the process of making
flyers for election committee along with her “task force,” and is
open to more Senators willing to join the task force.
iv. Student Activity Fee Committee Chairperson Abby announced that
she is in the need of a SAFC senator to fill the current vacancy.
1. Senator Zach asked if SAFC operations were still going
well with the new meeting time, in which Abby confirmed.
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
F.
G.
H.
I.
IV.
2. Speaker Gabe clarified that every Senator is required to
join one committee.
v. Chief Executive Financial Officer Alexander: No communications.
vi. Historian Sarah’s Proxy: No communications.
vii. Academic Affairs Chair Justin asked that Senators interested in the
committee to contact him.
viii. Campus Structure Chair Christian: No communications.
ix. External Affairs Chair John advertised the Boston Forum, in which
he encouraged Senators to go so as to advocate themselves and the
Senate to the alumni.
x. Fraternity and Sorority Liaison Allison: President Cam served as
her proxy and announced that her committee is meets Thursdays at
5PM.
xi. Health and Wellness Chair Emily expressed Campus Rec. Director
Stacey Hall’s thanks for those who helped at Demolition Day and
for the Student Senate’s support.
xii. Judicial Affairs Chair Sam announced that he will send out a
survey about the student lawyer, and asked the Senators to “check
out the interesting things going on with our council”
xiii. First-Year Senator Katie stated that she was almost done with
First-Year Student Guide, and that everyone should feel free to ask
her any questions about it.
Student Trustee
i. Lincoln stated that he was “looking forward to strong teamwork
with president’s office to push awesome stuff”, as well as that he
was open to chat in the Senate office.
Student Body Vice President
i. Ryan thanked everyone for their support over the past weeks in
light of recent events.
Student Body President
i. Cam asked that if anyone was interested in what the President’s
office is doing that he or she should find him. He also announced
that a discussion on the parking ban will take place next week.
Student Senate Speaker
i. Made the Senate aware that Historian Sarah is stepping down from
her position and that he will send out an application for the
position along with the agenda very soon. He also reminded
Senators to get name tags in they do not have one already. Lastly,
he reported that Election Committee met on Thursday and
reminded the Senate that the election petitions are due tomorrow.
NEW BUSINESS
A. XXXVII- 3.14- Removal of Senators
i. Stoke 4: Navjot Gill (read in)
ii. Lord 1: Russell York (read in)
iii. Jake Adams (friendly amended)
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
B. XXXVII- 2.15- Approval of Senators
i. Speaker Gabe explained the process of amending oneself to the bill
for the sake of the new members.
ii. Tyler Berube was added as Non-Resident 4
iii. Bailey Lefero was added as Engelhardt 1
iv. Gin Gar Bo was added as Mills 1
v. Trustee Lincoln and Speaker Gabe explained the representative
responsibilities of Non-Resident Senators for the sake of the new
members.
C. XXXVII- 43- Approval of Judiciary Committee Members
i. Parliamentarian Doug asserted that “play time is over” and that
“we need people on this committee, at this point we have very few
people.”
ii. Trustee Lincoln, Senator Nick, Senator May, and Senator Bailey
were added to the committee.
D. XXXVII- 44- Approval of Student Activity Fee Committee Members
i. No action.
E. XXXVII- 45- Approval of Business Manager
i. Speaker Gabe spoke in behalf of the selection committee that
nominated Jake for the position, commenting that the he was
“recommended unanimously and whole-heartedly by the officers.”
ii. External Affairs Chair John raised a question on whether Jake
would receive a full stipend if approved. SAFC Chairperson Abby
clarified that it would not be likely, but that it was ultimately the
decision of the Speaker.
iii. Jake was approved unanimously.
F. XXXVII- 46- Approval of Constitutional Amendments
i. Vice President Ryan reported that after long discussion, the
officers decided to put the role of non-traditional student liaison
position back into community development chair position, due to
similar roles and the difficulty in finding a willing candidate
ii. It was approved unanimously.
G. XXXVII- 47- Approval of Bylaw Amendments
i. President Cam reported that he and his cabinet evaluated the
Bylaws and decided to remove the non-Traditional Student
Liaison, which required some logistical and wording changes.
ii. External Affairs Chair John commented that he has looked at
changes, in which he thought were very good.
iii. The bylaw changes were approved unanimously.
H. XXXVII- 48- Removal of Historian
i. Speaker Gabe reported that Sarah Vallon was stepping down from
the position due to personal reasons, and clarified that the
application for the position would be sent out with the agenda on
Monday. He intends that the positon would be filled quickly, and
have interviews if necessary.
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
ii. Speaker Gabe also stated that Senator Jesse would be serving as
Sarah’s proxy for the evening, which was decided between the two
of them based on his previous service in taking minutes.
iii. The bill passed unanimously.
I. XXXVII- R28- Building Access on Campus
i. Academic Affairs Chair Justin summarized the resolution, stating
that its purpose was to encourage the creation of a space available
24/7 for the purpose of studying.
ii. Senator Zach questioned if a current building or location was
currently in mind, and Justine stated that there was not a specific
place in mind and that it can be decided once the resolution was
passed.
iii. President Cam commented that the idea had been brought forth to
him, and that it was part of the Student Master Plan. He also
addressed that the idea was “already being looked at across the
board”, as well as clarified that this is not a plan of implementation
but of conversation.
iv. The Bill was passed unanimously.
J. XXXVII- R29- Pursuing the Ban on the Sale of Single-use Plastic Water
Bottles
i. President Cam spoke on the resolution, commenting on the
extensive behind the scenes work, including talking to
administration, and other things that are also going on
simultaneously.
ii. Vice President of Business Affairs Dave May presented some facts
relating to the number of water bottles that are currently sold on
campus, as well as the revenue that is generated from these sales.
He also addressed that they are still testing the efficiency of water
hydration stations, where new ones should be placed on campus,
and potential expenses. He commented that “students ought to
have liberty to choose” and that the banning of water bottles could
lead to an increased consumption of soda.
iii. Community Development Chair Danny commented that the water
bottle ban that was implemented in his school did not result in any
significant financial change.
iv. Guest Keegan Smith applied his knowledge from his internship
with Coca-Cola and expressed concern that water bottle shipments
to the University will actually increase instead of decrease if a ban
was enacted. He also expressed that students would likely seek an
unhealthy alternative if water bottles were banned. Lastly, he
commented that students are capable of making their own wise
choices, and that the Senate should increase recycling efforts
instead.
v. Speaker Gabe clarified the limits on comment time.
vi. Senator Zach pointed out that nothing in the resolution demands
that university must ban water bottles.
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
vii. President Cam asked Vice President Ryan the intention of this
resolution, which he answered was to serve as an opportunity to try
and move the University’s sustainability goals forward by pursuing
better sustainable options with the Coca-Cola contract.
viii. External Affairs Chair John asked if the authors would be willing
to change the name of the resolution because it does not actually
include a “ban,” in which the authors agreed.
ix. SEEK commented that what happened at the University of
Vermont, as Guest Keegan had cited, did not have hydration
stations on their campus.
x. By request of SAFC Chairperson Abby, Speaker Gabe briefly went
over Robert Rules of Order.
xi. Fraternity and Sorority Liaison Allison asked for SEEK to clarify
where they found its sources, in which they said they could be
found on the university sustainability website
xii. SEEK commented that VP Business Affairs Dave’s estimate on
lost revenue from banning water bottle sales ($3.295 million) is not
correct because SEEK is working with other companies that would
help offset the loss.
xiii. Trustee Lincoln asked VP Business Affairs Dave if he had
received confirmation that any business would be offsetting the
lost revenue, in which he said there was no confirmation.
xiv. Senator Shannon asked where the $3.95 million goes toward, in
which VP Business Affairs Dave answered that $2 million went
toward athletics and the Whitmore Center, and the rest goes toward
keeping the dinning plans low for students.
xv. Senator Emily asked what people would think of the University if
the ban was instituted, in which SEEK asserted that people would
look at it positively and as a source of inspiration.
xvi. Senator Jake asked if Dave had talked to SEEK prior to that
evening and whether he would like to continue the conversation
with SEEK as they move toward a more sustainable campus. Dave
reported that he had two meeting with SEEK and was
“disappointed that I was not contacted about this resolution”.
xvii. Vice President Ryan made friendly amended the title of the
resolution to “Working to Implement a More Sustainable Beverage
System at UNH”
xviii. Guest Keegan commented that the title change does not change the
fact that SEEK’s plan is not actually “sustainable.”
xix. Fraternity and Sorority Liaison Alison commented that she has
done research on how plastic waste effects ocean life and stated
several statistics. She also pointed out areas of the world that have
gone further on the issue of plastic waste and have succeeded (i.e.
Hawaii, areas of New York).
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
xx. Trustee Lincoln asked Senator Peter what was the opinion of his
resident hall on the resolution? He said that his constituents didn’t
mind, for most don’t use plastic water bottles.
1. Doug enforced the rule of limiting the asking of repeated
questions on individual senator opinions.
xxi. SEEK apologized that they did not formally invite VP Business
Affairs Dave to the Senate meeting, for they perceived that the
resolution was meant to be a resolution for students to express the
opinions of the students. They asserted that administration would
get there say after the fact.
xxii. President Cam clarified the purpose of the resolution: pursuing
sustainable options and creating a dialogue/conversation between
students and administration.
xxiii. VP Business Affairs Dave commented that he would be happy to
work with students, and that he had been misled by title of the
resolution. He attested that he was simply addressing the risks to
students and that the resolution was promoting the end game of a
water bottle ban.
1. Gabe clarified that the resolution is simply a
recommendation, not legally binding or a mandate.
xxiv. Senator Arron expressed concern over the loss of revenue, and
recommended a surcharge be enacted to make up for the lost
revenue.
xxv. Senator Jake urged everyone to support the resolution because it
was a reasonable list of recommendations, with a cost that cannot
truly be determined at this point in time, and because it promotes a
conversation that can led to an environmentally/financially
sustainable plan of action.
xxvi. External Affairs Chair John purposed an amendment from “urge to
University’s administration” to “continue to work with
University’s administration,” believing that the current wording
implies that the university is doing nothing on the matter. It was
approved unanimously.
xxvii. Trustee Lincoln expressed that he liked idea, but was also
discouraged that it is not official that any outside groups are going
to make up for the lost revenue. He also stated that students have
the right to choose and that he would encourage more recycling
initiatives.
xxviii. VP Business Affairs Dave asserted that 50% of Coca-Cola’s sales
on campus is water.
xxix. Guest Keegan commented that “alternatives” to water bottles
would be counter-productive for both use plastic.
1. Doug clarified that this detracts from the resolution.
xxx. Senator Jake commented that the many student signatures on the
water bottle ban petitions obviously reflect student interest.
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato
xxxi. Senator Erik commented that the Senate needs to focus on the
resolution, and that all the resolution does is facilitate dialogue
between students and administration. Based on Dave’s numbers, he
calculated that a water bottle ban would cost each student $229.
xxxii. Academic Affairs Justin motioned for a Call to Question, which
passed.
xxxiii. The resolution passed with five nays.
K. XXXVII- R30- Regarding a Campus Parking Structure
i. External Affairs John motioned to suspend rule on reading the
resolution for the sake of time and past precedent. It was approved
unanimously.
ii. Senator Zach summarized the resolution, in which asked the
university to take no immediate action on creating additional
parking complexes in light of financial constrains from current
projects.
iii. External Affairs Chair John asked for clarification on the resolves
that had changed from the original resolution to the present
resolution. Senator Zach asserted that there were no significant
changes or “anything that was greatly expanded.”
iv. External Affairs Chair John asked “how much money would we
lose from paid parking going six to five hours?” Zach suggested
that students should be allowed to take a spot early, but pay more
for parking, so as to regain lost revenue from the change in hours.
v. Senator Erik commented that this resolution, if enacted by
administration, would have “long term benefits to commuter
students,” for parking is hard to come by.
vi. The resolution was passed unanimously.
V.
VI.
OTHER BUSINESS
A. Vice President Ryan motioned to go back to Removal of Senators Bill.
i. Rye Westen was added due to attendance.
1. SAFC Chairperson Abby stated that SAFC will need
another senator to fill this absence.
2. Executive Officer Amanda will make sure that Rye is made
aware of his removal.
3. Bill was passed unanimously.
B. SACF Chairperson Abby motioned to move back to SAFC Add Bill.
i. Senator Emily was added.
ii. Bill was passed unanimously.
C. Vice President Ryan Introduced a Constitutional Amendment, explaining
that due to short number in seats, the officers seek to increase
representation per senator (100 to 150). The Senate will vote on next
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.”
-Plato