MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION SENATE MEETING MINUTES FOR Tuesday, February 8, :15 p.m.

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1 MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION SENATE MEETING MINUTES FOR Tuesday, February 8, :15 p.m. Forum (3-130) Student Senators: President: Campus Center Advisor: At-Large Senator Abdi Jason Childers Elizabeth Stewart Interdisciplinary Studies Senator Wassel-Saxe Vice President Faculty Advisor: Liberal Arts Senator Hale Christopher Hollander Joseph McCauley-Absent Science, Health & Business Senator Snyder Speaker/At-Large Senator Campus Center Advisor: Social Clubs Senator Yost Jack Hills Rebecca Herzog Acting Deputy Speaker/At-Large Senator Michael Gray Visitors: Dr. Susan Salvador, Dick Ryther, Student Services; Chris Piro, Jose Roman, Public Safety; Craig Proctor, Office of Student Life & Leadership Development; Margarita Ortiz, Paul D Alessandris, Christian Nelson, Honors Council; Lisa Armstrong, Jemi Patel, Kelly Bynes, Presidential Cabinet; Tim Seegler, Phil Lavonas, Travis Sharp, Scott Blue, Michael Snyder, students; Donna Brennan, Secretary. I. CALL TO ORDER (2:17 p.m.) A. Roll Call (See attendance above) B. Approval of February 1, 2011 Senate Meeting minutes. Speaker Hills called for a motion to approve the February 1, 2011 Senate Meeting Minutes. Senator Snyder so moved, seconded by Senator Hale. Vice President Hollander asked that the minutes be amended on page 2, line 5 in Speaker Hills report, senate should be Senate. A vote to amend the minutes was taken. The amendment was approved. A vote to approve the amended minutes was taken. Senate unanimously approves the February 1, 2011 Senate meeting minutes as amended. II. SPEAK TO THE SENATE Tim Seegler expressed concern on a couple of issues. The first issue was the admission, financial aid and registration process for becoming a student at MCC. He came to MCC on January 26 to register for the Spring semester Culinary Program. It took him 9 hours, the day he was here, to get through the entire process. He stated that he has talked to many students who have had the same problems. He would like to see the Brighton Campus adopt the same all-in-one process that the Damon Campus has. He also had an issue with getting his student ID on that day because the Photo ID Office was closed. He would like to see a student survey and/or a sit down with students and administration to talk about the issues; in some instances, he feels that if people would just take the time to explain the process it would help students understand. His second issue had to do with the 2 nd amendment right to bear arms. He is concerned for his safety and the safety of all students on campus because students are not allowed to carry legal firearms and the Public 1

2 Safety officers who monitor the halls do not bear arms; anyone can come on campus with the idea to kill someone. The colleges don t even have metal detectors but the high schools do. Speaker Hills suggested that there are many things that go into creating a conducive learning environment which make it necessary for everyone who comes on campus to sacrifice certain amenities. Chris Piro, Interim Assistant Director of Public Safety, stated that this is not a new subject. The college has taken steps to arm the officers who patrol outside and many of MCC s public safety officers are Peace Officers who have gone through extensive training. Municipal Code and State Law make it illegal to carry firearms on college campuses. He said that there is no correct answer, but letting students carry weapons would be a mistake. Mr. Ryther stated that he met with Tim to discuss his concerns. He said that many of Tim s concerns are very timely because many faculty and staff are currently working on an initiative from President Kress called Serving Students Best. This initiative was brought forward to address concerns such as these. Advisor Stewart informed Tim that she has forwarded his name to someone on one of the Serving Students Best committees. Speaker Hills thanked Tim for coming forward and voicing his concerns. III. REPORTS A. Deputy Speaker Deputy Speaker Gray Clubs he met with members of the Campus Ambassadors and the American Sign Language Club to discuss how things were going within their various clubs regarding attendance, recruitment, and events. He will be meeting with more clubs and organizations to discuss their concerns. Events Committee he was named Chair of the committee and met with committee members Hollander, Perez, Muniz and M. Snyder to discuss efforts to help Horizon and/or the MCC Child Care Center. In the next two weeks the committee will be researching currently scheduled club activities as well as implementing some of their own. Recruitment he visited two Intro to Political Science classes to speak about student government and to invite all students in the classes to join SGA. Thank you to Professor Michael Lenz who allowed him to speak in front of his Intro to Political Science class. In the upcoming weeks he will be contacting the students from the classes and from Activity Day who expressed interest in the SGA. He and Coordinator Perez are working on a new tear off flyer which will be two-fold: the students will have SGA information and the SGA will have information on students who showed interest. Activity Day and Blood Drive he volunteered at both events and thanks the Senators and Cabinet members who also volunteered their time at the events. B. President President Childers Rochester Inter-Collegiate Council since the beginning of the Spring semester, they have met at SUNY Geneseo and at the Eastman School of Music. Discussions included the incident at the UofR and what is in place to help prevent violence on our campuses and participation with the Earth Explorers and Rec on the Move at the North Street Recreation Center on Saturday, February 12. St. Patrick s Day Parade - Monroe Community College will be represented in Rochester s St. Patrick s Day Parade on Saturday, March 12, at 12:30 p.m. Up to 50 students, faculty, and staff representing SGA, SEGA, Celtic Society, WMCC the Fuse, and other clubs and organizations are expected to participate. C. Senators Senator Abdi Activity Day he assisted at the Student Government table. Presidential Cabinet - he has been working with Coordinator Peters on the UNO s Dough Raiser. He also attended the Presidential Cabinet meeting and the Tuesday Public Senate meeting. 2

3 Senator Snyder Finance Committee the following requests for funds have been approved: Chinese Culture Club for China Night: The Splendor of China, Hospitality Club for attendance at the National Restaurant Association Conference in Chicago, and the Honors Council for attendance at the Northeast Regional Honors Conference. Currently under consideration are fund requests from the Psychology Club and the Student Art Organization. D. Office of Student Life & Leadership Development Advisor Stewart Student Tribune at the meeting last week, Student Trustee Eddie Visagie, talked about changing the name of the Student Tribune. He will be handing out a survey; if you get one please get it back to him as soon as possible. AWACC is sponsoring a fundraiser for the MCC Child Care Center. They will be collecting school supplies and other donations. Lisa Armstrong has all of the information in the Presidential Cabinet office. E. Office of Student Life & Leadership Development Advisor Herzog Leadership Institute/Certificate Focus Group to work on creating a new identity will be held Wednesday, February 10. CAB three members of CAB will be traveling with her to the NACA Conference during break. CAB is currently recruiting for next year s E-Board. Gay Marriage Debate will take place on Wednesday, February 16 at noon. Cheryl Jacques, Massachusetts State Senator and President of the Human Rights Campaign and John Rogers, House Majority Leader for the Massachusetts House of Representatives will be participating in the debate. IV. NEW BUSINESS 1. ACTION ITEMS (Items requiring a Senate vote) a. Resolution to approve the funding of $ to the Honors Council Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate consents to the funding of $1, to the Honors Council. This resolution came from Committee; Senator Snyder read the resolution. Christian Nelson, Honors Council President, explained that the Northeast Regional Conference provides an opportunity for students to share their independent work and research to a large number of scholars, very similar to the MCC Scholar s Day. Attendance at the conference will also provide the students with a broader understanding of the group they are now affiliated with. Senate unanimously approves the funding of $1, to the Honors Council. b. Resolution to appoint Christopher Hollander to the Travel & Finance Committee Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate consents to the appointment of Christopher Hollander to the Travel & Finance Committee for the remainder of the academic year. Speaker Hills called for a motion to approve the appointment of Christopher Hollander to the Travel & Finance Committee. Senator Yost so moved, seconded by Senator Hale. Vice President Hollander explained that he would like to participate on the committee so that he will be able to answer questions about the fund requests and to make the process smoother and more efficient. He also feels that his experience as Budget Coordinator for SEGA last year will help. Senate unanimously approves the appointment of Christopher Hollander to the Travel & Finance Committee. 3

4 c. Resolution to approve Michael Snyder as the Recruitment Coordinator Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate approve the appointment of Michael Snyder as the Recruitment Coordinator for the remainder of the academic year. Speaker Hills called for a motion to approve Michael Snyder as the Recruitment Coordinator. Senator Gray so moved, seconded by Senator Wassel-Saxe. Michael Snyder introduced himself and stated that he is a third semester Political Science/Economics major and he feels he can do great things as Recruitment Coordinator. He also stated that he is very capable of handling time-sensitive projects. Vice President Hollander explained that the position is being created to help recruit for the currently empty positions in the Student Government and to recruit students for the elections. Deputy Speaker Gray stated that he feels this position is not necessary because the Elections Coordinator is responsible for recruiting for elections. If this position is approved it would mean another position in the Presidential Cabinet that would need to be filled every year. He asked if the position could instead be Assistant to the Elections Coordinator for this year s elections. President Childers explained that this is an ad hoc position and it would be up to the next President to decide whether or not to keep the position. He explained that Elections Coordinator Bynes is responsible for recruiting only for elections. He stated that there are currently 9 positions open in the Student Government and Michael Snyder has contact with students in the Political Science program who may be interested in getting involved now. Deputy Speaker Gray stated that it is the responsibility of every Senator and Presidential Cabinet Coordinator to get out there and recruit. If this is an ad hoc position then it would be better to make it an Assistant to the Elections Coordinator. Senator Hale stated that if it is everyone s responsibility to do recruitment, then apparently more help is needed. He is in favor of the position. Advisor Stewart stated that she agrees with Deputy Speaker Gray that it is everyone s responsibility to recruit and asked if the position could be two-fold since Michael Snyder will also be working on the Elections Commission. Vice President Hollander stated that he feels strongly about bringing him on as Recruitment Coordinator because the current officers are stretched very thin. Senator Snyder stated that more and better recruitment needs to be done. He agrees with the position. Speaker Hills summarized by stating that Michael Snyder is very qualified for the position of Recruitment Coordinator, but asked the Senators to consider if the position is really necessary. Senate approves Michael Snyder as Recruitment Coordinator with one opposed. d. Resolution to Support SUNY Student Assembly s Legislative Agenda Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate approve the 2011 SUNY Student Assembly Legislative Agenda as written. Speaker Hills called for a motion to support the SUNY Student Assembly s Legislative Agenda. Senator Hale so moved, seconded by Senator Gray. Vice President Hollander summarized the agenda and explained that with the changes in the government and in the SUNY System, the SUNY Student Assembly felt it was necessary to create an agenda. He also mentioned that SEGA has approved their support for the Agenda. Senate unanimously approves support for the SUNY Student Assembly s Legislative Agenda. e. Resolution to allow the Student Association Secretary to make Grammatical Corrections to Resolutions and Minutes Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate allow the Student Association Secretary to make grammatical corrections to agenda and minutes without seeking Senate approval, and furthermore be it, 4

5 Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association Senate may revoke this privilege with a majority vote at any Public Meeting or Executive Session. Speaker Hills called for a motion to approve the resolution to allow the Student Association Secretary to make grammatical corrections to resolutions and minutes. Senator Wassel-Saxe so moved, seconded by Senator Abdi. Senate unanimously approves the resolution to allow the Student Association Secretary to make grammatical corrections to resolutions and minutes. V. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS Senator Snyder announced that the MCC Hockey Team has reached the championship level and will be hosting the Regional Tournament on February 26 & 27. Speaker Hills stated that the by-laws committee has discussed restructuring the Senate positions. They have discussed creating Senate positions based on departments instead of Deans or Directors. He stated that having a Senator in the area he/she is majoring in would make more sense. He also suggested taking out an At-Large Senator position and trying to find the best way to represent the students most effectively. Senator Hale suggested the positions remain as is and to continue the discussion next year. Elections Coordinator Bynes stated that she agrees with the restructuring but questioned how it would work with this year s elections. Speaker Hills asked everyone to think about restructuring with the positions based off of departments. VI. VII. ADJOURNMENT At 3:48 p.m. Speaker Hills called for a motion to adjourn. Senator Wassel-Saxe so moved, seconded by Senator Yost. The motion passed; the Senate meeting was adjourned. EXECUTIVE SESSION Respectfully submitted, Donna M. Brennan SA Secretary 5