The 57th Student Senate met Wednesday, April 2 in Student Union (SU) building 418 at 8 p.m.
Student Association (SA) President Manuel Tejeda spoke about the “Let’s Talk About It” forum held on Sunday, March 30. Tejada said the diversity consultant the administration is hiring will be coming in the fall to train leaders on campus in areas of diversity.
Executive Vice President Zachary Rousseaus said that University Police Department (UPD) Committee met on Tuesday, April 1 and spoke about the marijuana protest.
Rousseaus also said the Queer Student Union is hosting an HIV rapid-testing Friday, April 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in SU 331.
Vice President of Finance Youssouf Kouyo presented the budget that the Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) had put together over the weekend for the 2014 year. General Programing and conferences will slightly increase. The research grant will decrease to $8,000, and the Rainbow Coalition will decrease to $2,000. Money left over from Black Solidarity Day and unappropriated funds, a total of $10,000, was moved to general programming for the remainder of the semester.
“Last weekend was BFC weekend. It was long and we were tired in the end, but we did a good job, it was very successful,” Kouyo said.
The Council of Organizations Council Board accepted three new clubs: New Paltz Young Democrats, New Paltz Women in Science and Engineering and Brazil Without Borders. Council Board also plans on controlling the number of SA approved clubs by accepting fewer new charters so that more money can be meaningfully allocated to existing clubs on campus.
Senator Rabih Ahmed announced the spring concert will be Friday, April 25 with Rubblebucket and Jhene Aiko as the musical performers. Students are asked to contact Yaritza Diaz for volunteering opportunities.
The Student Activity Fee Task Force met Tuesday and said extending the Loop Bus service to weekend would cost a little more than $18,000. The Task Force also discussed allotting $12,500 for non-SA recognized groups and coming up with stipulations for how that money is used.
Senator Rebecca Berlin said the Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) Board meeting is Thursday, April 10, at which they will vote on bylaw changes. They will discuss adding a student food service worker to the board.
Senator Cait O’Connor shared an analysis and statistics she compiled showing how UPD uses their resources in regards to sexual assault in comparison to drug-related arrests.
The next senate meeting will be Wednesday April 9 in Lecture Center 104 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The program will be held like a regular senate meeting and will serve to inform the public about the Student Association, what senate does and what the E-board’s duties are. Students will get the chance to mingle with the current senators and get information on running for candidacy.