Attendance Discussed at Council of Organizations

The fourth Council of Organizations meeting was held on Monday, Oct. 18.

Council Chair Shayna Bentley opened with an announcement regarding attendance, informing the members that each representative must receive his or her organization’s plaque at the beginning of each meeting. These are to be found in the respective houses’ folders, and is an alternative to signing in.

Once all were made aware of the new system, clubs were given a chance to voice any announcements in a house-by-house manner. Among these were a brief announcement about the observance of Black Solidarity Day on Nov. 1, and Alpha Psi Ecdysia’s first burlesque show of the semester; this is a Halloween-themed show called “Invasion of the Booby Snatchers” will be held on Friday, Oct. 22 in McKenna Theater.

Student Sen. Samantha Kossin delivered updates on the last two senate meetings. These included the passing of legislation on the fire department going district – saying the board of trustees should give New Paltz residents the right to vote on the issue, along with the filling of all CAS Board seats.

It was then time for announcements and updates from the Student Association (SA) E-Board, although they did not occur in the typical order.

“Recently there has been a few issues regarding programming,” said Vice President of Programming Anthony Lino, who was the first to address the council.

He continued to speak of frequent problems with paperwork he has received, specifically the failure of line item organizations to appropriately check themselves off as so on the top of the requisition forms or attach competitive pricing for any requests. He also said there was a problem with the “chicken scratch” he was receiving.

“Take your time to fill this out so if there are any problems I can contact you and let you know what’s wrong,” he said.

Lino also spoke about reimbursement forms, and the importance of handing them in on time so that payments do not need to be made out of pocket.

Next was Vice President of Academic Affairs and Governance Caitlin Ryan, who discussed the first Constitution and Rules Committee meeting. It was set was to take place that night, and upcoming elections.

“Elections for SA will be coming up soon, so if you’re interested in senate, now is the time to start thinking about it,” she said.

Bentley followed Ryan in addressing the council, informing that a few clubs and organizations have yet to fill out charters, and that fliers and pamphlets are being accepted from any club that wants to be noticed during this weekend’s open house.

Senate Chair Terrell Coakley took the stand next, telling the group to get involved through attending senate meetings. Vice President of Finance Youssouf Kouyo followed with last week’s budget update, and Executive Vice President Eve Stern briefly addressed the council about the University Police Committee.

SA President Jennifer Sanchez gave the final E-Board report. She said she needed help with was the Pakistan Relief Effort, and that she needs volunteers to table for it from Nov. 1-12.

“If any of your clubs are interested, I’d love for as many people as possible to help tabling,” she said. “I’m sure the homeless people in Pakistan would really appreciate it.”

The meeting concluded with elections for the SA Productions committee. Of six nominees, Jackie Northacker, Thomas Garger, Liz Rubel and Danielle Gray were elected. It was required that the nominees run before the senate meeting on Tuesday night.

The next Council of Organizations meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 8 in Student Union 62/63.