Agenda of the 83rd Senate Hofstra University Student Government Association April 18, 2019 Student Center Greenhouse Call to order A. Quorum Call B. New Business a. Budget Appeals b. S.A.2019.83.027 c. S.A.2019.83.028 d. S.A.2019.83.029 e. S.A.2019.83.030 f. S.A.2019.83.031 g. S.A.2019.83.032 C. Approval of the Senate minutes from April 11, 2019 D. Approval of the Cabinet minutes from April 17, 2019 E. Executive Board Reports a. President - A.Normandin b. Vice President - D.Denton c. Comptroller - M.Kutsch d. Secretary - M.Nijjer F. Committee Chair Reports a. Appropriations - T.Grief b. Club Relations - B.Crofts c. Public Relations - A.Labrie d. Rules - C.Ramirez e. Spirit - C.Tomasso f. Student Services - I.Schmidt G. Special Reports a. Election Commission Report b. University boards/task force updates
H. For Good of the Order I. Announcements J. Snap Cup Adjournment
Hofstra University Student Government Association Two Thousand and Nineteen S.A.2019.83.027 Addition of Initiative Structure to Student Services Policy Series Taken from page 22 of the Student Government Association Policy Series. VII. STUDENT SERVICES COMMITTEE A. INITIATIVES: 1. INITIATIVE AREAS: To address relevant issues affecting students, the Student Services Committee shall commit to at least two (2) initiative areas each semester. A. Action plans for these initiative areas shall be presented to and approved by the Senate by a two-thirds (2/3) vote. B. Each initiative area shall be spearheaded by a subcommittee consisting of members from within the Student Services Committee. AB. PROGRAMMING: 1. STUDENT APPRECIATION WEEK: The Student Services Committee shall plan and direct Student Appreciation Week every fall semester at a date determined by the committee preceding ratification by the Cabinet. Student Appreciation Week shall include five (5) days of programming, surveying, and hosting an internal town hall event all aimed to increase communication between the Student Government Association and the student body. 2. SPRING PROGRAMMING: The Student Services Committee shall plan and direct a week during the Spring semester at a date determined by the committee preceding ratification by the Cabinet. This shall include five (5) days of programming, surveying, and hosting an internal town hall event all aimed to increase communication between the Student Government Association and the student body. BC. “It’s On Us” AMBASSADOR: 1. The Student Services Chair may appoint an “It’s On Us” Ambassador, whose duties shall be as follows. A. Attend “It’s On Us” committee meetings and other pertinent events at the discretion of the Student Services Chair to discuss prevention, awareness and education regarding Title IX related policies and initiatives. B. Collaborate with politically/socially active clubs, student organizations, non-profits and other relevant organizations and departments to facilitate programming and promote awareness of issues regarding Title IX policies and resources on campus. C. Work constructively with the Title IX Officers and advisors in the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement to promote a healthy environment in which all members of the Student Government Association are aware of policies and all available resources.
Respectfully Submitted, Gabby Spann Senator Catherine MacCarthy Senator Alexa Osner Senator Charlie Greenberg Senator
Isabelle Schmidt Student Services Chairperson DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Associate Erynn Philips Senator
Hofstra University Student Government Association Two Thousand Eighteen S.A.2019.83.028 Roll Call Vote Procedure This is found on page 29 of the Policy Series under XI: Student Government Association Procedures, B: Parliamentary Procedure. 5. VOTING: The method of voting shall be by voice vote, except in the following cases: a. Secret Ballots: The Secretary and the President shall count all ballots. The Vice President shall announce the tally votes at the end of voting. i. Voting on all matters of elections shall be taken by secret ballot, with no exceptions. ii. Any two (2) members of the Student Government Association may order a secret ballot be taken. b. Roll Call Votes: The Secretary shall call the roll of Senators, and when their name is called, shall clearly answer “Yea,” “Nay,” or “Abstain,” as the case may be. The record of the names and individual votes along with the tally shall be printed in the minutes. It shall be the responsibility of the Public Relations Committee to include a brief description of the roll call vote. The Committee shall then create a chart of the respective votes, to be found on the SGA website. i. The method of voting for all legislation to amend the Constitution and/or Policy Series and for all Resolutions shall be by roll-call vote, with no exceptions. ii. One-third (1/3) of the members present may order that an open roll-call vote be taken for all matters other than the ones aforementioned. c. Ordering of Roll Call Votes: The presiding officer may order that a roll call vote be taken on any question brought to the Senate. Respectfully Submitted, Kaylor Dimes Carissa Ramirez Senator Rules Chairwoman
Hofstra University Student Government Association Two Thousand Nineteen S.A.2019.83.029 Cutting Executive Sessions from Improper Place in Policy Series This is found on page 5 of the Policy Series under Section B: Appropriations Committee. B. APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 1. General Policies: g. Bi-Annual Budget: i. At the end of each semester, any club or organization seeking Student Government Association funds may submit a budget to the Appropriations Committee for the following semester. ii. This shall henceforth be known as “budget weekend,” to be held in November and April respectively unless otherwise specified by the Appropriations Committee. iii. The Senate shall review, amend, and approve the Bi-Annual budget, submitted by the Appropriations Committee. iv. Though the meeting in which the bi-annual budget is discussed and approved must shall remain open to the student body, the Senate may choose to remove a member of the gallery from the meeting should they repeatedly speak out of turn. For a person to be removed from the gallery, a vote of two-thirds (2/3) in favor of this action must be given by the present members of the Senate. a. A vote of two-thirds (⅔) may be instituted to remove a person or persons from the gallery. v. Should the matter of privacy be truly urgent and requisite the Senate may go into executive session or a closed session by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of Senate who are present. Respectfully Submitted, Kaylor Dimes Donovan Harvey Carissa Ramirez Senator Senator Rules Chairwoman
Hofstra University Student Government Association Two Thousand Eighteen S.A.2019.83.030 Update to Executive Session Procedure This shall be placed on page 29 of the Policy Series under XI: Student Government Association Procedures, B: Parliamentary Procedure. 6. EXECUTIVE AND CLOSED SESSIONS: Should the matter of privacy be of concern at any point during a Senate meeting, the Senate may use one of the following sessions to proceed. a. Executive Session: The Senate may vote to use executive sessions in situations where the traditional minutes that are taken may prevent senators from taking part in the conversation. i. Anyone in the Senate chamber that is not an elected SGA Senator is allowed to remain in the chamber so long as they do not take any written or recorded notes of the proceedings, with the exception of the Secretary’s minutes. ii. Minutes are taken throughout the duration of the session. All debate, motion, votes, and/or subsequent action that occur during the session are on record, but the names of the senators are redacted. iii. A two-thirds (⅔) vote of the members of Senate who are present is required to begin and end an executive session. b. Closed Session: The Senate shall only use closed sessions in situations when sensitive information regarding clubs or constituents is being discussed. i. Anyone in the Senate chamber that is not an elected SGA Senator or the Secretary shall vacate the space immediately until the closed session is over. ii. Minutes are not taken throughout the duration of the session. All debate, motion, votes, and/or subsequent actions that occur during the session are not on record. iii. A three-fourths (¾) vote of the members of Senate who are present is required to begin and end a closed session. Respectfully Submitted, Kaylor Dimes Donovan Harvey Max Kutsch Carissa Ramirez Senator Senator Comptroller Rules Chairwoman
Agenda of the 83rd Senate Hofstra University Student Government Association April 11, 2019 Student Center Greenhouse Call to Order at 6:36pm A. Quorum Call B. Special Business a. Continuing Conversation on SGA Restructure i. Senator Bathija and the Student Services committee present a plan that was formed at the end of the committee convention 1. Chairperson Schmidt states that these are just ideas and we can have a discussion about them 2. Senator MacCarthy states that this is not from an election ticket, it is a committee brought idea 3. Senator Phillips states that this plan reduces the number of committees and changes the distribution of members within each committee 4. Chairperson Schmidt states that Rhea’s plan talks about new member education a. Senator Spann states that Approporations would allocate both funds and office spaces b. Public relations would have the same responsibilities with outreach for clubs c. Rules would be more legislative d. Spirit would have the regular responsibilities along with SAW e. Student Services would have a more initiative based approach 5. Questions about this a. Chairperson Labrie asks for clarification for club recognition duties
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Chairperson Schmidt states the duties the rules committee does now Senator Fletcher asks if they include associates in this plan i. Chairperson Schmidt states that it doesn’t in this plan Senator Firooz asks what more programming would be included for Spirit with SAW i. Chairperson Schmidt states that student services and spirit will work with this Senator Alameda asks why Club Relations was not added to this idea above i. Chairperson Schmidt states that they could be included in this Senator Read states that perhaps splitting programming would be better since spirit is more pride based. She states that it is a bit too much programming for one committee i. Chairperson Schmidt states that this is what they discussed this during the convention Comptroller Kutsch asks why the PR committee has a less amount of senators i. Chairperson Schmidt states that working with clubs and promoting clubs could be something PR could be. ii. Senator MacCarthy states that PR usually has many associates Senator Read states that for appropriations, would comptroller be included i. Chairperson Schmidt states yes Chairperson Crofts states that appropriations committee does a lot with budget weekend but placing another weekend on their radar would be too much work i. Chairperson Schmidt states that our regular responsibilities would be moved. Some committees would do elections and or full office hours to balance this out ii. Senator MacCarthy states that similar to elections commission, a club office space allocations group could be made Chairperson Ramirez asks why specific categories were made for Student Services i. Senator Spann states that the three initiative areas would be chosen by the senators. It’s On Us would not be included in this.
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6. Senator Phillips states that for student services initiatives, the topics will be discussed by the entire committee. Actions plans would be written up and proposed at Senate for feedback. There will be certain focus people for each initiative. 7. Chairperson Schmidt states that the committee will talk about more details for each planning of programming. The external initiative groups would be doing the work but everyone in the committee would discuss this Senator Bathija states that she proposes a new member education process 1. This would be to inform new elected senators/justices about how SGA works. This would outline the policy series, the constitution and this will ensure efficiency. 2. Our advisor, Denise Boneta, would love to lead this presentation 3. The logistics would be that it could be after elections bash and returning senators can volunteer to present on initiatives they have done 4. Topics a. Senate, Commitments, and growth in SGA leadership 5. This would be done by a sub-committee who would take on this responsibility of undertaking this 6. This could be expanded to cabinet members, executive board members, justices, and the chief justice. 7. Questions a. Senator Fletcher asks if this would need to be passed i. Senator Bathija states that Denise Boneta states we can try it out b. Senator Tomy asks if this can be incorporated within retreat i. Senator Bathija states she wouldn’t have a problem with this c. Senator Read gives a suggestion for Robert’s rules d. Senator Fletcher asks if the elections commission could do this i. Senator Bathija states that this could definitely be done. e. Senator Fegley states that she loves this idea because when she came in a year ago she didn’t know what to do f. Senator Bathija states that this could happen whether restructuring happens g. Senator Read asks if there would be a person heading this “commission”
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Senator Bathija states that perhaps senate could suggest individuals for this like the nominations for elections commission is
Overall Questions 1. Senator Fegley asks what how long this info session would be 2. Senator Cotton asks if this structure would create some confusion due to the roles being broken up a. Chairperson Schmidt states that budgets and office space allocations done through one committee would actually lessen the confusion. Also, rules does oversee new club recognition. 3. Senator Cotton asks who clubs would talk to about concerns a. Chairperson Schmidt states that they could go to the appropriations committee 4. Senator Stark asks how a summary once again of what the student services committee would look like a. Chairperson Schmidt goes over what she had stated in her initial presentation. She also states that this structure allows for more senators to gain leadership opportunities. She mentions that the action plans made can be multidimensional for all initiative areas that are being worked on 5. Chairperson Ramirez asks why Senate has to approve initiatives a. Chairperson Schmidt states that through conversation a concern about relevancy came up. So, this approval would be a check on this committee. 6. Chairperson Ramirez asks what would happen if all initiatives proposed don’t pass a. Chairperson Schmidt states that the plans would be brought the semester before so there would be time to do some more work b. Senator Phillips states that since these initiatives would come from senators, hopefully there will be some input 7. Comptroller Kutsch asks if in this structure there would be things done by the Ad hoc Committee a part of this or would that not happen in this plan a. Chairperson Schmidt states that if there is an ad hoc committee covering a subject then it wouldn’t be one of the initiative areas that Student Services is looking at 8. Senator Stark asks if an initiative took longer than a semester, would it be carried over a. Chairperson Schmidt states that some of these will have multiple aspects of it. Some initiatives could keep going.
9. Chairperson Ramirez asks what would happen from here a. Chairperson Schmidt states that this would just bring the discussion that was had b. Senator Bathija states that she would like to hold a mock trial for the new member initiative this semester C. Chairperson Crofts moves to suspend the rules to see S.A.2019.83.026 first a. motion seconded b. motion passes D. New Business a. S.A.2019.83.025 i. The Spirit Committee and Senators presents. 1. This legislation would make a new position within the spirit committee called a programming deputy. a. This would be to assist with all the programming spirit does. Spirit would also like to focus on increasing school spirit. So, this position would be someone to go to for questions and such 2. Questions a. Chairperson Labrie asks if this would include staffing events i. They would do anything pertaining to stressbusters and programming. This person would help with putting reminders in the group chat and things like this. b. Senator Alameda asks why this programming is under the spirit committee i. They state that programming has been moved into the spirit committee. Every single event that the committee does is for the students. For stressbusters, there is spirit involved but it is more about stress relief. c. Senator Ottavio asks why spirit is taking on this programming i. They state that people felt that they fit the need of Spirit than other committees. The committee states that they don’t really feel that this programming is really fitting into the spirit committee’s role. Stressbusters and Build-A-Friend should be within Spirit but with restructuring we can look into this. This deputy would help the chairperson with overseeing.
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Senator Firooz states that this is similar to the social events coordinator position under the secretary d. Senator Tomy asks if this deputy would help the chairperson out i. Chairperson Tomasso states that they would e. Senator Alameda asks why can’t this be delegated onto the senators within the committee i. The Deputy is a position that people will apply or express interest for and therefore they will be held accountable to getting the work done. Accountability is a huge benefit from this position versus giving the responsibility to senators who won't be penalized if they don't do what they're supposed to. f. Senator Read states that these events are very big and need more help as well as advanced planning g. Senator Greenberg asks if they would chair meeting if the chairperson is not present i. They state that no, this person would be someone that is a point person for these two events. h. Senator Ottavio asks if there is a reason this would be something internal to spirit when restructuring is happening i. They state that some programming is related to school spirit and others are not. They are trying to find the middle ground of doing spirit stuff and other campus wide events. Senator Fletcher moves to pass S.A.2019.83.026 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion objected 3. Traditional Debate a. Senator Fletcher for i. States that this creates more opportunities for leadership in Senate. b. Senator Alameda for i. States that this creates a position of leadership and this might happen anyway c. Senator McDonough for i. States that the Chairperson is saying that this is needed. A formal position would help this move forward. d. Chairperson Ramirez against
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The COO did not passed so if this would be created then this would just be another appointed position. We are all signing up to do these jobs so then these responsibilities should be done. People have been made point people on other committees. The responsibilities could be split within the committee. We are all leaders sitting at this table. Chairperson Tomasso for i. States that this is important because we discussed being efficient, especially through talks of restructuring. If it is too much for a chair, then a position should be made. Comptroller Kutsch for i. states that these events requires structure Chairperson Tomasso for i. States it takes a lot of work and advanced planning Chairperson Crofts against i. States that since the restructuring talk is happening everything can be changed then. We do not need to legislate this. Chairperson Ramirez against i. States that delegation exists. This can pass this on to other people Chairperson Tomasso moves to extend traditional debate by two minutes - one speaker for and against i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passes iii. Debate 1. Chairperson Tomasso for a. States that the reason all of Spirit signed it is because they have first-hand knowledge of the amount of work required for Spirit. 2. Senator MacCarthy a. States that this has been two years of the same problem happening 3. Senator Fletcher a. States that it's about responsibility 4. Senator Battipaglia a. States that it is easy to hold one person responsible as compared to a group of people. It’s also easier for
a chair to check in with one person rather than multiple 5. Senator Tomy against a. States that this only changes taking something from one chair. It's a matter of internal restructuring instead of adding in a deputy. It could be better if the chair had less 6. Chairperson Ramirez a. States that it would give more people the opportunity to be point people 7. Vote a. By a vote of 21-13-0, that motion passes b. S.A.2019.83.026 i. Senators present this legislation regarding constitutional literacy. 1. There were many grammatical edits made before section g 2. Senator McDonough states that this assessment would be created by the rules chairperson and SGA’s advisor a. This would be about 20-30 questions with the format decided i. Everyone would have to take it except for associates b. This would be done during the fourth Senate meeting. Someone could be confused about the constitution and policy and its rules. c. There are also scoring guidelines. A 75 would be a passing grade. If one does not pass, they can be retested. If one gets above a 40 after the retest, the member can talk to the Rules chair. This meeting would be to help members understand and not meant as a punishment. If the retest is below 40 percent, a conversation can be had with the President and/or Vice President. If there is some negligence there, this could be brought to the Judicial Panel. If the President or Vice President themselves do not receive a passing score, it should be seen by the Judicial Panel. The results would be confidential between the Rules Chairperson and the Advisor with the exception of the President and Vice President for retests under 40 percent. d. Questions
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Senator Battipaglia asks if this would be implemented for the 84th Senate 1. Senator Bathija states that if this legislation passes, an email can be sent out to provide information Senator Battipaglia asks if the Rules Chairperson has the ability to tell the member 1. Senator McDonough states that if one doesn’t pass the second time the Rules Chairperson would help the member and see what would be going on. The member would know their score perhaps during this meeting. Senator Cotton asks that if a person is referred to the Judicial Panel, what would happen 1. Senator McDonough states that the J-Panel would be able to investigate if there was something about the test that was unfair or if the member deserves to remain in Senate Senator Read asks how the Rules Chairperson would be assessed 1. Senator McDonough states that their job is to know all the rules. The rules chair gets elected so through that process one could see if the chairperson would know these Rules Senator Read asks why they jumped from 75 percent to 40 percent 1. Senator McDonough states that the scores could be changed. Senator Fletcher asks if one would have to retake it each time they run 1. Senator McDonough states yes Senator Fletcher asks if it would be about committees or policies 1. Senator McDonough states that this test would be for everyone in SGA so the questions would be made for this. For instance, a question could be how much money does appropriations give for apparel Senator Alameda asks if members have to be brought to the President and Vice President and then they could be sent to the JPanel, why would
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the JPanel be better fit to discuss this. What conduct would this be based on 1. Senator McDonough states that it would be a check and balance. If nothing is going on in your life and you have failed this test, then something can be considered. If one has some sort of situation, then this could be a point that could be brought up Senator Tomy asks if the versions of the tests would be different given every year 1. Senator McDonough states that it is possible for this to happen Senator Tomy asks for three sample questions that would appear 1. How many office hours 2. What are the hours that you can complete your office hour 3. Amount of votes needed for Policy Changes Chairperson Crofts asks which fourth meeting would be 1. Senator McDonough states any members’ fourth meeting Chairperson Crofts asks what would happen if one passes 1. Senator McDonough states nothing, you passed. Senator Read states that some individuals are not strong test-takers so how would this affect those members 1. Senator Bathija states that if someone has a problem with taking the test, they could speak to the Rules Chair Senator Read asks if they have spoken to the Chief Justice or our Advisor about this. 1. They state no Senator Phillips asks about the meetings that will be had 1. Senator Mcdonough states that the meetings have been left broad for this reason. Senator Battipaglia asks for clarification for the fourth meeting, if one misses the second meeting.
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1. Senator McDonough states that there would not be a new test. It is the fourth senate of that term not individual members’ meeting xvii. Senator Cotton asks what would happen if someone cheats 1. Senator McDonough states that it will be proctored by the Rules Chairperson so something could happen xviii. Senator Cotton asks what happens if one couldn’t meet with the Rules Chair. Would there be a penalty? 1. Senator McDonough states that something can be put into the legislation if one wants. He states that it would be taken to JPanel then xix. Chairperson Labrie asks if the punishment would be if they would be asked to leave SGA 1. They would be looking at their ethics. It would be what J-Panel determines xx. Comptroller Kutsch asks about perhaps adding a probation period 1. Senator McDonough states that he had thought about probation but he thinks that would be the wrong approach. It can be discussed 2. Senator Bathija states that no one can state that one cannot vote anymore since that power comes from them being elected by the students Senator Read moves to have a straw poll with passing the legislation, editing the legislation, and not pass it tonight 1. Motion passes 2. Motion seconded Comptroller Kutsch moves to have an unmoderated caucus for ten minutes with freedom in the room 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion rescinded Chairperson Ramirez moves to have a ten minute unmoderated caucus to discuss issues at the table 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passes 3. Caucus
a. Senator Spann states that the concept of informing individuals at information sessions is important but individuals who are coming in this semester, they would have questions about this. Some may not run because they have to take this test b. Chairperson Crofts states that this problem happens every year. It doesn’t say anything about informing individuals during elections meetings. An exam just to test competency. c. Senator Fletcher states that he thinks we should wait to do this in the fall. d. Senator Read states that something similar was done in the past and it was not that great. Individuals were very upset. Everyone should know what is going on and there are other ways of doing that. There were some contradictions and maybes. She also states that this legislation is going to hurt us in the future e. Senator Phillips states that she is wary about it. There were many questions about it. She would like to see the language specialized. f. Senator Alameda states that he loves this idea but it shouldn’t be sent to JPanel since it is not conduct based. g. Chairperson Schmidt states that the numbers can be changed a bit. Perhaps JPanel could have a discussion with a member about what their role in Senate is. We do talk about policies so maybe it should be brought h. Senator MacCarthy states that sometimes individuals don’t know what to do for debates and this test would help this. This inhibits democracy if one doesn’t know what is being talked about. At least everyone will have the same basis of information. A benchmark would help with this information i. Senator Phillips states that having this test would promote knowledge but she doesn’t like that one could be kicked out for not doing well on this test j. Senator Fletcher states that he likes that it leaves it up to the rules chair to talk with members k. Senator Bathija states this legislation is about members. It would be discussing SGA’s future. The conversation would not be about impeaching. It is more about increasing knowledge and learning on the table. It is not to penalize them l. Chairperson Ramirez states that in the past, there wasn’t much notice given for the test. With this legislation,
everyone would be notified. The individuals elected for this semester would know now and would be able to study throughout the summer. If one has less than a 40 percent, then someone might not be able to represent their peers. This test is made to see the basics. The new member education should make this test easier to take. m. Senator Ottavio states that certain questions should not be tested n. Senator Doan states that this relies on the Rules Chairperson and in the future, a chairperson may not be able to do this. What about for individuals that need special services. She thinks this is the wrong attitude. Maybe this should be rewarded, and done in that type of manner. 4. Senator Greenberg moves to open the gallery a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes c. Chief Justice Michael i. The idea of a benchmark would help. We are elected into these positions and if one doesn’t do as well in this test. JPanel should have been approached about this legislation. We are students first and if one has to choose JPanel over education than it would contradict that. d. Senator Cotton asks if someone does keep failing i. States that he would reach out to the Rules Chair, if it is a trend. Perhaps another Senator could help them or the Rules Committee could help them go through this together. We are about helping each other. It would be beneficial. e. Senator Read asks how he would see this legislation i. He states that this shouldn’t move to JPanel to impeach individual. He thinks that this might be a learning experience. After the test is given, maybe there could be a meeting where the test could be discussed in length. 1. Senator Bathija states that once a legislation passes, this could be taken 2. Senator McDonough states that everything he suggested, is in the legislation. 5. Senator Bathija moves to close the gallery a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes
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Senator Fletcher moves to change section g to state that the assessment would be created by the SGA advisor a. Motion seconded b. Motion objected c. Motion rescinded vi. Senator Bathija moves to have debate to pass this legislation 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passes 3. Traditional Debate a. Senator McDonough for i. States that the format of the test, the scores. This is something important. He thinks that individuals need to be held accountable. Members should know the policies. Someone else who might want to represent students b. Senator Battipaglia against i. States that she doesn’t think that the justices have to take the same. Not everyone will trust the Rules Chair. Hofstra has an option for not taking test. SGA is an extracurricular but we are not a class. We are club. If one has been in Senate for four year, they know the policies c. Senator Alameda for i. States that nowhere does it state that JPanel will kick people out. Everything the rules chair does is checked by the advisor. There is a good check and balance d. Chairperson Ramirez for i. States that there is a history of exceptions given to individuals in circumstances. We are a club that affects all students on campus. e. Senator Greenberg against i. States that this would increase the amount of stress the Rules Chair would help f. Senator Read against i. States that the legislation. There is a conflict of interest with justices taking the g. Senator Philips against i. States that she does not like the language h. Vote i. By a vote of 20-14-0, that motion passes E. Senator Read moves for a seven minute recess a. Motion seconded
b. Motion passes F. Senator Dimes moves to reinstate the rules to see S.A.2019.83.025 a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes G. Approval of the Senate Minutes from April 4, 2019 a. Chairperson Ramirez moves to pass the Senate minutes i. motion seconded ii. motion passes H. Executive Board Reports a. President - A. Normandin i. President Normandin states that next week there will be budget appeals. The election bash will be at the beginning of the meeting. 1. Chairperson Tomasso states that there is a legislation that states that the bash needs to be at the third meeting of April. ii. President Normandin states that the Alumni Panel was great. What’s Happening Hofstra happened yesterday was also a great event. iii. President Normandin states that INTO stated that 400 students are coming to Hofstra in the Fall. 1. Senator MacCarthy states that there were panels today about the structure for this. a. They would be here for a semester. They are here to practice their english and then they would have the option of becoming a full-matriculated Hofstra student b. Vice President - D. Denton i. Vice President Denton states that they are working on their transition documents. She encourages chairs to do the same ii. Vice President Denton thanks Secretary Nijjer for improving over the course of the year in regards to minutes iii. They are also meeting with President Rabinowitz tomorrow. c. Comptroller - M. Kutsch i. Comptroller Kutsch states that even after transition, he will be signing paperwork. If anyone who has not expressed interest before about the position, please reach out. d. Secretary - M. Nijjer i. Secretary Nijjer states that graduation sashes are being ordered soon and will be delivered in 2-3 weeks. ii. She also states that the office furniture will be removed soon I. Committee Chair Reports a. Appropriations - T. Grief i. Chairperson Grief states that the emails for budget weekend were made at the meeting ii. Chairperson Crofts moves to pass the appropriation minutes 1. Motion seconded
2. Motion passes b. Club Relations - B. Crofts i. Last week’s report 1. Chairperson Crofts states there was a review session for office space allocations. They gave space to 34 clubs. There were two clubs that do not have space for reasons the committees determined. They have opened up the appeals structure. The appeals will be sent to the secretary and they will be seen at Cabinet. ii. Senator Read moves to pass the Club Relations minutes 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passes iii. This week’s report 1. Chairperson Crofts states that the club talked about Phi Alpha Delta (PAD). There have been claims about SGA recognizing one Greek organization. There was certain concerns within the committee and they made legislation without talking to PAD. So, this week, there were meetings with PAD. They did not inform PAD about a space allocation. If they were recognized, they would be given space and are now in the office they were previously in. 2. He states that we are giving up about 15% of our space for technical. V.P. Barkwill stated that the storage space will be remade due to this space being taken. Renovations will be taking place next week. On Sunday around 2:30pm, he will be moving boxes out of the space so he’d love some volunteers. 3. Senator MacCarthy asks if he can send a message in the group chat a. He states that he will iv. Senator Fegley moves to pass the Club Relations minutes 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passes c. Public Relations - A. Labrie i. Last Week’s minutes 1. Chairperson Labrie states that April 2nd was elections promotion. Tables in ABP will have our Spirit programming events. They teased the Spirit Week events. Language and content was sent to add to the website. They ordered the animals for Build-A-Friend. They also talked about the elections initiative. 2. Senator Colon moves to pass the Public Relations minutes a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes ii. This Week’s minutes
1. They talked about spirit week. They have social media posts coming. Flyers will be made. Video logistics have been talked about in terms of voiceovers and personal shots. Build-A-Friend promotions were also looked at 2. Senator Tomy moves to pass the Public relation minutes d. Rules - C. Ramirez i. Last Week’s meeting 1. Chairperson Ramirez states that they saw legislation and the constitution of a club but they did not pass through rules 2. Senator Candelaria moves to pass the rules minutes a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes ii. This Week 1. The club that came last week came. The constitution was still not that great so it was not passed. 2. She would like to thank everyone for signing up for elections. a. Make sure to use the master document when signing up. b. Senator Ottavio asked why they didn’t pass the constitution i. Their formatting was not clear, there were issues with content which the club stated they didn’t want there, and there were unconstitutional additions. c. Chairperson Crofts asks about the voting numbers on the minutes 3. Senator Dimes a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes e. Spirit - C. Tomasso i. Last Week 1. They talked about Spirit Week and emailed club sports. Club sports have volunteered 15 members from club lacrosse, club soccer, men’s rugby, and club softball. They also talked about the cookout which will be next week. On Friday there will be giveaways in the atrium. 2. Senator Read moves to passes the Spirit minutes a. Motion passes b. Motion seconded ii. This Week 1. Next week, Spirit Week will be happening. They are very excited. The giveaways are great, but there has been issues with receiving items on time. Everything else is going swimmingly. The graphics will be posted soon. Monday there is a cookout and breakfast, Tuesday is giveaways, Wednesday is the dunk tank, Thursday is
J.
K. L. M.
the food truck, and Friday is giveaways too. Also please sign up for tabling. 2. Comptroller Kutsch moves to pass the Spirit minutes a. Motion seconded b. Motion passes f. Student Services - I. Schmidt i. This week they talked about restructuring and legislation. Special Reports a. Elections Commission Report i. Voting is happening next week. Starts on April 17th at 9am and closes April 18th at 5pm. No campaigning on South side of campus. You will know if you got elected before Thursday. A bio and picture should be sent in by tomorrow at 5pm. Cannot do this in any academic space. For Good of the Order Announcements Snap Cup
Senator Greenberg moves to adjourn the meeting Motion seconded Motion passes Adjournment at 9:41pm
Cabinet Agenda Dean of Students Conference Room April 17th 2019 I. II.
Call to Order at 6:40pm New Business A. Club Office Space Appeals 1. Hofstra Filmmakers Club a) Chairperson Crofts states that they currently do have an office space with the Chronicle. They cannot get that space again. They did not submit the application on time. The committee had a check in form in February which will impact office space allocations. They did not submit the check in form. It was sent to them and this was double checked. They reached out after the deadline, March 28th, 2019. They said that the deadline is passed and said that they would like to apply. The committee said that since they did not submit the check in form, they decided not to allocate them. Denise Boneta even sent out an email to all advisors to let their clubs know that the deadline is coming up. All the other clubs were able to reach out before the deadline while this club did not. Chairperson Crofts states that they are the only ones that are appealing. He did not know if we should hold appeals since it would only be this club and one other. He is glad that they are holding appeals. He would like cabinet to see if we agree with the committee. b)
President Normandin asks if there are any empty office spaces (1) Chairperson Crofts states that most spaces are at capacity and the only space they could go, theoretically, would be with two other clubs, Model UN and Phi Alpha Delta (PAD), in Room 209.
c) Chairperson Labrie states that they stated they did not receive the check in form email (1) Chairperson Crofts states that Denise Boneta, our advisor, stated that the form was sent to the President of the club. (2) Chairperson Labrie states the claim that they did not receive an email is invalid d)
Chairperson Labrie asks if we can give them a storage space (1) Chairperson Crofts states that we could them space within the storage room. It is just going through reconstruction right now. Then, they could evaluate the amount of space that would be available.
e)
Comptroller Kutsch asks when reconstruction would be done (1) Chairperson Crofts states that he does not know.
(2) President Normandin states that it should be done quickly. f)
Chairperson Labrie moves to uphold Club Relations’ decision on this matter (1) Motion seconded (2) By a vote of 5-0-0, that motion passes
g) Chairperson Labrie states that the club should be sent an email detailing how they can move forward B. S.A.2019.83.27 1. No comments C. S.A.2019.83.28 1.
Vice President Denton asks why there won’t be roll call for policy series a) Chairperson Ramirez states that for resolutions and constitutions it is appropriate to do roll calls so that an individual’s stance will be known.
D. S.A.2019.83.29 1. No comments E. S.A.2019.83.30 1. Chairperson Labrie states that we should clarify if the secretary can stay in the room for executive sessions F. S.A.2019.83.31 1. Chairperson Crofts asks about holding investigations a) Chairperson Ramirez states that this would be preliminary conversations before an issue is given to JPanel for investigation G. S.A.2019.83.32 1. No comments III.
Matters at Hand by committee A. Spirit Committee 1. No report B. Club Relations Committee 1. Chairperson Crofts states that the committee talked about the storage space. They made a plan for the future committee. They signed up for tablings and elections. 2. President Normandin states that when clubs are told to move, there has to be a process. In case certain clubs move and their office space is not empty. a) Chairperson Crofts states that he doesn’t see that as an issue. Those that don’t have a club space need to be out by May 5th, which would be six clubs. There are also 8 new clubs moving in to spaces and about 10 clubs that are going to be moving around. The only problem rooms would be the ones moving over. b) President Normandin states that for clubs that specifically need the help, there should perhaps be a conversation for a time table C. Rules Committee 1. Chairperson Ramirez states that she sent out an email to those that have not signed up for elections.
2. Chairperson Ramirez states that many senators have said that they have been bullied into signing pieces of legislation. She states that all of these senatorial actions, which were brought to her attention, already had co-signers. Just something that we should all be aware of. a) Chairperson Grief asks if perhaps individuals were pressured and not bullied (1) Chairperson Ramirez states that it could be pressured but the individuals who brought this to her used both of these terms. 3. Chairperson Ramirez states that she met with the Chronicle. They went over their constitution and the issues that Rules had with that. She helped them clarify their policies. The constitution passed through Rules and the election was held on Monday. D. Student Services Committee 1. No report E. Appropriations Committee 1. Chairperson Grief states that he would like to discuss seating arrangements. a)
The Appropriations committee should sit together.
b)
In previous budget appeals, there have issues with members of SGA chatting. We could perhaps do random seating for the rest of SGA.
c)
Vice President Denton states that the podium should be positioned at a different spot so that they can be seen by everyone.
2. Chairperson Grief asks that he would like to include the budget for each club appealing into the minutes a)
President Normandin states that we could print it and then recycle it afterwards.
3. Chairperson Grief states that they have enough to fund all clubs appealing fully and still have more money left over. 4. Chairperson Grief states that six clubs will be coming to appeal. 5. Chairperson Grief states that the committee finished writing the appropriations section of the policy series. a)
They added internal allocation policies.
F. Public Relations Committee 1. The committee got the Build-A-Friend invoice. 2. Spirit Week is happening now. 3. The committee is promoting the current elections IV.
Comptroller Updates A. Comptroller Kutsch states that the contracts for Music Fest have been signed. B. He asked advisors to check in with their clubs since the paperwork deadline is approaching.
V.
President and Vice President: Week 21 Updates A. Senate this week 1. Election Bash a)
The Bash will begin at 6:00pm. Senate will officially start at 6:30.
2. Budget Appeals
B.
Final monthly with President Rabinowitz 1.
C. VI.
VII.
He said that they will look at the budget for a night shuttle driver.
Transition Planning
Chairperson Ramirez moves to adjourn this cabinet meeting A.
Motion seconded
B.
Motion passes
Adjournment at 7:33pm