MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENT ASSOCIATION SENATE MEETING
MINUTES
FOR
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Present:
Senators: Senator Affinito, Senator Bickel, Senator Dentico, Senator Haefner, Senator Lawson, Senator Pannoni, Senator Quider, Senator Stevenson, Senator Wagoner; President Kyle W. Madden; Vice President Brian Pruden; Speaker/At-Large Senator Joe Marini; Deputy Speaker/At-Large Senator Dan Elliott; Campus Center Advisor Elizabeth Stewart; Faculty Advisor Joseph McCauley
Visitors: Dick Ryther, Student Services; Annette Agness, MCC Assn., Inc.; Shirley Batistta-Provost, Jodi Oriel, Tom Priester, Craig Proctor, Campus Center; Elizabeth Johnston, English/Philosophy; Nate Arrowsmith, Michael Marino, Clenita Thomas, Alumni; Tony DiFabio, Peer Mentor; Vincent Chirico, Student Trustee; Mike Lenhart, Peace & Justice Club; Carrie Kennedy, Presidential Cabinet; Lucy Malcolm, Yanina Yockel, Carl Ross, Students; Donna Brennan, Secretary Campus Center.
CALL TO ORDER (2:20 p.m.)
Roll Call (See attendance above)
Approval of December 12, 2006 minutes
Speaker Marini called for a motion to approve the minutes for December 12, 2006.
Senator Maravilla so motioned, seconded by Senator Wagoner.
A vote was taken.
Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Brighton Campus Student Government Association unanimously approves the December 12, 2006 minutes as written.
SPEAK TO THE SENATE
Vince Chirico, Student Trustee, mentioned the naming of the future athletic center, PAC. He spoke about Dr. Samuel J. Stabins and Carl S. Hallauer, two of MCC’s founding fathers and asked the Student Government to look into having something on campus named after them. He also asked that someone from the Senate take over former Senator Dudley’s job of working on the procedural change for the Wellness program which connects students with the Counseling Center.
Senator Maravilla resigned his position as Academic Clubs Senator.
Lucy Malcolm, a current MCC student, and Clenita Thomas, alumnus, spoke in response to President Madden’s article in the Monroe Doctrine. They both expressed disappointment in his statement that MCC was a “decent” school because they feel it is a “great” school. They are very proud to be/have been students at MCC and feel he was putting the school down. They asked that he be careful with what he says and how he says it because of how it can be perceived.
President Madden apologized to every student who was offended stating that he did not intend to downplay MCC in any way; this is an amazing institution which has changed his life. He was trying to highlight some of the concerns students have expressed to him so that everyone can work on correcting those concerns in order to make MCC the number one two year institution.
Deputy Speaker Elliott read a statement from Charles Theis, President of HGSP, stating his disapproval of the proposed mandate that all clubs change their constitutions to include a mandatory Roundtable representative.
Vice President Pruden announced that Jaime Smith is the new Campus Activities Board Coordinator and welcomed him to the position.
REPORTS
President’s Report
President Madden…
Ø Student Government Visits – January 12, 2007 he visited the Student Government at RIT and will be visiting the Student Government at St. John Fisher on Wednesday, January 24. Discussion is taking place regarding a feature article about his visit in the Cardinal Courier, the St. John Fisher student paper.
Ø SGA By-Laws and Constitution – discussion has been taking place regarding how out of date these two documents are. A Commission for Constitution and By-Law Review committee will be assembled to look at the documents and propose changes.
Ø Committees – effective immediately, all committees are suspended indefinitely and all remaining Student Government committees for this year will be on an ad hoc basis.
Ø Brighton/Damon relations – he and Trelawney McKnight, President of SEGA, have met to discuss ways to increase communication between the two campuses and collaboration in future events.
Ø ASACC – members of SEGA and the SGA have met to discuss their upcoming trip to Washington, DC for the ASACC Annual Conference.
Ø Student Email Accounts – he successfully lobbied for increased storage space for student leaders. Any student leader who is experiencing problems with their email account due to storage space should let President Madden know.
Ø Activity Day – Wednesday, January 31, in the Atrium and Brick Lounge, he stressed the importance of this event.
Ø State of the Students Address – sometime in February he will address the student body about matters that directly concern or affect them. Several members of the Presidential Cabinet, WMCC, the Monroe Doctrine and the Faculty Senate will work together to raise awareness of this address. Information about the content of the address will be released prior to the address.
Senator Reports
Senator Lawson…
Ø Student Affairs Committee – due to the resignation of Vice Chair Kelly VanderHorst, a new Vice Chair will be appointed. Advertising for MCC Idols, promotions for the Student Government, and fundraising will be discussed at the next meeting.
Senator Pannoni…
Ø MCC Athletics - the men's and women's basketball teams won championships at the Community College of Rhode Island tournament. The hockey and swimming teams aced their games and meets, keeping the standards high for the MCC athletics program. Kazuma Uda managed to break two MCC swimming records, one of which belonged to head coach, Dan Dubois. The Hockey team began the second half of the season strong, improving their overall game average to 13-2-1. Congratulations to all of the MCC athletic teams!
Senator Stevenson…
Ø By-law modifications - he and Speaker Marini have been working on several sets of by-law modifications; the revisions regarding sexual harassment and hazing should be wrapped up within the next week.
Ø Monroe Doctrine – the initial report to the Monroe Doctrine did not get printed due to a technical mishap. They are hoping to streamline the process so reporting can be done as specified in the by-laws.
Ø WMCC The Fuse - senate reports are now being aired during Fuse News specials; Battle of the Bands event is being planned for this semester.
Ø Intersession projects – he was busy reviewing the by-laws and constitution and with writing and formatting a model constitution for future use with club chartering.
NEW BUSINESS
ACTION ITEMS (Items requiring a Senate vote)
Student Organization of Women Leaders
Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association approve the chartering of the Student Organization of Women Leaders.
Speaker Marini called for a motion to approve the chartering of the Student Organization of Women Leaders.
Senator Wagoner so motioned, seconded by Senator Affinito.
Discussion:
Elizabeth Johnson, Faculty Advisor to the club, explained how and why the club was formed and that the constitution from a currently chartered club was used as a model for writing their constitution.
Senator Stevenson informed the senate that there are issues with the constitution as it is written and he cannot agree to approve it as is.
Advisor Stewart informed the senate that someone should have met with the Advisor and/or club officers prior to the senate meeting.
Deputy Speaker Elliott motioned to table the chartering of the Student Organization of Women Leaders until the January 30, 2007 Senate meeting. Senator Lawson seconded the motion.
A vote was taken.
Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Brighton Campus Student Government Association passes the motion to table the chartering of the Student Organization of Women Leaders until the January 30, 2007 Senate meeting.
Latin Dance Club
Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association approve the chartering of the Latin Dance Club.
Due to the same issues as the above item, Senator Stevenson motioned to table the chartering of the Latin Dance Club. Senator Affinito seconded the motion.
A vote was taken.
Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Brighton Campus Student Government Association passes the motion to table the chartering of the Latin Dance Club.
Club and Organization Constitutions
Resolved, that the Brighton Campus Student Government Association approve the resolution that all clubs and organizations adopt to their constitutions an amendment to have a mandatory Roundtable Club Representative.
Speaker Marini called for a motion to approve the resolution that all clubs and organizations adopt to their constitutions an amendment to have a mandatory Roundtable Club Representative.
Senator Lawson so motioned, seconded by Senator Pannoni.
Senator Lawson read the resolution (se attached).
Discussion against the resolution:
- this could be a very burdensome process, all club/organization constitutions would have to be changed and brought to the senate for approval.
- the different times Roundtable is held makes it difficult to find one person who would be available to attend every Roundtable meeting.
- the Media organizations are strongly opposed to amending their constitutions to make it an official position since they already have difficulty finding students to fill the positions they already have.
Discussion for the resolution:
- the job of attending Roundtable could be added to the responsibilities of a current officer, not a new position.
- most of the clubs Senator Maravilla represented in the fall semester were in favor of the resolution.
- a different representative each week could result in a different interpretation of the information received at Roundtable.
- Roundtable is becoming a tool; it should not be lookd at as an obligation.
- Roundtable creates a sense of awareness.
A vote was taken.
Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Brighton Campus Student Government Association votes down the resolution.
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
Nathan Arrowsmith, Alumni of MCC and former member of the SUNY Student Assembly Executive Committee, asked the Senators to be careful when considering changes to the Constitution and By-laws because the MCC Student Government Association Constitution and By-laws are solid documents which are used as a model by many other colleges.
ADJOURNMENT
At 3:12 p.m. Deputy Speaker Elliott motioned to adjourn; Senator Lawson seconded the motion. The Senate meeting was adjourned.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Brennan, Student Association Secretary
Donna Brennan
Campus Center
02/01/2007 |