Travel Requests Approved
Haileigh Baier requested $500 to travel to Kansas City, MO for Feb. 7-9 to attend the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference. She said attending the conference will help her as President of the UNF Pride club to have a better presence on campus. The request passed 7-0.
The Society of Human Resource Management requested $2,500 to send seven students to Orlando, FL from June 10-25 to attend the SHRM Annual Conference. The students will hear from keynote speakers and attend workshops to bring back insight on the Human Resources industry. The request passed 6-1.
The Better Together at UNF requested $1,311.12 to send four students to attend the Interfaith Leadership Institute in Atlanta, GA from Jan 31- Feb. 2. Students plan to bring back new strategies for building bridges across cultural boundaries and promoting religious tolerance. The request passed 7-0.
Jacksonville Christian Life made a request of $2,050 to send 17 students Asheville, NC to attend Faithwalkers, a conference containing workshops on international faith on Dec. 27-30. Students will network with other schools and bring back new strategies in spreading their faith. The request passed 5-2.
Travel Request Failed
Tyler Toomey requested $500 to travel to Kansas City, MO for Feb 7-9 to attend the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference. Attending the conference would allow him to gain experience in hosting a similar conference at UNF, the Florida Collegiate Pride [Coalition] Conference, in March 2014. The request died by not reaching a required ⅔ vote.
Special Requests Passed
The Executive Branch of Student Government requested a total of $49,274.20 for the Water And Field Enhancement and Revitalization Act, [WAFER] including renovating the practice softball field, and adding lights and hydration stations for students.
The practice softball field south of Lot 18, located between Hodges Stadium and the walkway to Lot 18. The clay would be removed and replaced with sod.
Director of Recreation, Becky Purser, said, it can be used by many different sports. She said the lights and renovations would be about a tenth of the cost of a brand new field and this will be a big help as an additional outdoor space for the students.
The game field wouldn’t be so torn up from warming up on it, said President of the Rugby Team, Alex Mross. Mross said an extra field would be great for a practice field, especially during tournaments.
“It’s a low fence over there [the practice field by Osprey Crossings] the housing residents use it, and they’re welcome to […] but it’s wear and tear on the field. It’s really dangerous for your ankles,” said Ryan Traher, Ultimate Frisbee team representative. “Renovations like these really help us compete against other big universities in the state.”
Installation of two light poles with four lights shining on the field will allow intramural teams to use the field longer than without lights.
Two industrial strength hydration stations would be installed. One near Eco Adventures and one near Ogier Gardens.
“There are currently no water fountains by the Eco Adventures area,” said Purser.
Two indoor hydration stations would be installed in the Student Union East. One in the food court on the first floor and one in Student Government on the third floor.
It’s being presented now so that construction can be underway sooner than being presented in the Spring semester, said Student Body Treasurer, Justin Turner. He said the result will be a field that should be ready for use by the end of the Spring semester.
“It would not add any long term cost,” said Turner.
The current maintenance crew would not charge an additional cost since there is no additional field.
The request passed 7-0.
Secondly, the Executive Branch of Student Government requested $19,505.58 for the Responsible Management of Technological Resources Act, a 5-Year Enhancement plan to modernize Student Government’s computer inventory as deemed necessary by Student Government’s Computer Technician.
There are currently 88 computers funded by Student Government.
The university is currently on a four-year replacement plan, said Turner.
“The computers need to be more robust,” said Conner Spielmaker, Station Manager of Osprey TV. “These computers will help us do what we need to do like high-def editing.”
The request passed 7-0.
Senate Meetings
Rich Rittichai was appointed to Club Alliance Assistant Director in a 29-0 vote.
Colin Waychoff, Budget and Allocations Chairman, said, “He [Rittichai] is an asset to Club Alliance.”
New Senate Seats were validated by Emily Antworth, Elections and Appointments Chairwoman and sworn in by Alex Goetz, Chief Justice.
General Seats From Fall Elections
Sixteen students were elected during the Fall: Raymond Bachmann, Meghan Cunningham, John Dirr, Lauren Donnelly, Shomari Gloster, Haley Guiette, Ryan Hellriegel, Connor Klein, Lauren Kontol, Jonathan Mack, Gurgen Petrosyan, Crystal Pino, Matthew Silberstein, Tyler Stovall, Collin Waychoff, Amanda Wollam
Two students were seeking appointment. Kyle Henning was approved in a 25-3 vote and Kate Savage was approved 24-5.
Coggin College of Business Seat
Morgan Wolf
College of Arts and Sciences Seat
Whitney Kamerzel
Graduate Seat
Louis Reich
Fiscal Requests
The aforementioned Responsible Management of Technological Resources Act for $19,505.58, brought up during the Budget and Allocations meeting on Dec 6 passed in the Senate 29-0.
It would modernize the 88 computers deemed necessary by the Student Government Computer Technician.
The aforementioned WAFER Act for $49,274.20, presented during the Budget and Allocations meeting on Dec. 6 passed 30-0.
The WAFER Act would renovate the practice softball field to be used by intramurals as a practice field, add lights to the practice field, and add several indoor and outdoor hydration stations.
“There’s currently a water fountain that’s consistently malfunctioning out by the northern rec fields, so the hydration station would solve that issue,” said Carlo Fassi, Student Body President. “Hydration stations finished third in the student surveys as one of the initiatives they wanted to see us get done.”
Elections and Appointments Chair Nominations
According to the SG Committee Legislative page, the job of the Elections and Appointments Chair is as the Elections Supervisor, and there are normally two elections per year.
Emily Antworth and Mitchell Moore, both General Senate Seats, were nominated.
Antworth, the current Elections and Appointments Chairwoman, won with a 23-7 vote in the Senate.
Closing Announcements
Christopher Brady, Senate President, said that Senate and Committee meetings should be considered being moved to Monday afternoons rather than Friday afternoons for the Spring Semester.
Star Caudio, Senator, said students are still on campus on Monday afternoons and would be more likely to attend the meetings. Fridays are considered part of the weekend and many students, Senators included, are spending time with family or meeting with other clubs on campus.
Senators were given two options for times of Senate meeting during the Spring semester: Friday at 1 p.m. and Monday at 6:30 p.m.
“In previous years when meetings were on Monday afternoons, we had a greater number of students in attendance”, Fassi said.
According to an email from Ryan Traher, Director of Communications for Student Government, Brady said,
“After much discussion between members of the Legislative Cabinet, Executive Branch, and members of our Professional Staff, your Legislative Cabinet has voted unanimously to move senate back to Monday nights at 6:30.”
The schedule for senate will be as follows:
Week A
Senate 6:30pm in the Senate Chambers
Week B
Ellections & Appointments Committee – 4:30pm in the Senate Chambers
Student Advocacy Committee – 5:00pm in the Conference Room
Constitution Statutes Committee – 5:30pm in the Senate Chambers
Budget & Allocations Committee – 6:30pm in the Senate Chambers
University Affairs Committee – 7:30pm in the Conference Room
Brady said he will work with Senators who have class conflicts to ensure they remain Senators for the Spring semester.
Email Brandon Thigpen at reporter2@unfspinnaker.com
