The 50th student senate denied an appeal, discussed potential Conferences funding line bylaw amendments and discussed changes it would like to see implemented into Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) forms at its Nov. 16 general meeting.
The legislative body rejected a $108 appeal made by Amnesty International President Samantha Kossin. Last week, a political science professor and Amnesty International advisor spent $108 on pizza for attendees of a movie screening hosted by the club, Kossin said.
Kossin said she informed the advisor that in order to be reimbursed by SA, certain paperwork must be filled out six days before an event. A few senators expressed that despite the information given by Kossin, the professor proceeded to buy the pizza and the appeal was denied.
After the appeal, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Governance Caitlin Ryan asked the legislative body for suggestions on questions it would like to see on an SEI draft made by Academic Affairs. According to Ryan, Academic Affairs will vote on a final draft of SEIs and present it to the SUNY New Paltz faculty. Among many other suggestions, senators proposed that the final SEI draft include a question on a professor’s attendance, a question on whether or not a course’s syllabus informs the student of how they will be graded throughout a course and whether or not professors use textbooks adequately.
Ryan said she would make sure the suggestions provided are taken into consideration when revising SEIs.
“I am really happy that we have suggestions because a lot of the time in these meetings, and I don’t know if the faculty does it on purpose, but they kind of take it into the faculty realm,” said Ryan.
Ryan also initiated a discussion regarding potential bylaw amendments for Conferences which the legislative body will continue to discuss throughout the semester. Sen. Megan Grieco presented a draft that she, Sens. Kossin, Marc Pottak and Chris Thurston worked on regarding the funding for student presenters and attendees of conferences. The potential bylaw amendment said presenters or Tier 1 applicants should be given precedence over attendees or Tier 2 applicants if they are requesting funding for the same conference.
At the next student senate meeting, the legislative body will discuss whether or not Conferences should be split into two lines– one for Tier 1 applicants and one Tier 2 applicants–so conflict on who came first could be avoided.
During her Executive Board report, Ryan said elections for senators will be held on Dec. 7 to 9.
Vice President of Finance Youssoff Kouyo said he is organizing a workshop to train club representatives on how to fill out paperwork such as line item budget forms. There will be three sessions planned for different times on Thursday, Feb. 4. If a club has a line item, it is mandatory to attend one of the sessions. Sign-up sheets will be available on the first week of the spring semester.
During his report, Vice President Anthony Lino announced that the music festival is scheduled for Dec. 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. This year’s concert is titled “New Paltz Winter Fest” and will feature local artists like Adir Cohen, Arielle Lindstrom and The Notion Stompers.
The next general student senate meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 30 in Student Union 418.