The UMass Boston Student Senate held their first meeting of the fall semester on Sept. 13th, with Chancellor Michael Collins and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Patrick Day attending. Collins spoke at the beginning of the meeting, addressing the parking situation, the start of school, beginning-of-the-year festivities and the need for support of UMass Boston’s extracurricular activities.
While speaking, Collins acknowledged Day, noting his expertise in the area in which he was hired, and how the two of them, along with the Student Senate, would work together to inspire and spark school spirit among the student community.
After Collins finished speaking, the Senate opened the floor to questions from the student body. Two of the questions were related to CPCS, a touchy subject among the students of the college and among the administration. One of the questions specifically targeted the cancellation of classes.
“Cancellations happen all the time,” Collins said at the meeting. “It’s not a new phenomenon. CPCS isn’t the only area that had classes cancelled; every other college had classes that were cancelled, as well.”
Once the question and answer session was over, Collins and Day left the meeting. The Senate went on with the rest of the agenda, including voting on funding for different clubs.
Apportioning money to student clubs is only one of the tasks of the Senate. Just as well, they hope to encourage more students to become active in these clubs, among other things.
“It is my hope that the Senate will serve as the vehicle for the concerns of the student body, facilitate student development and educate the leaders of tomorrow,” Student Body President Michael Metzger said on the Senate’s official web site. “To do this, it is vital that you get involved, tell us your concerns, start a club or request funding for an event.”
The Senate itself is broken up into four committees. As described on the web site, they are the Student and Events Organization Committee, which oversee student-based events and organizations, the Budget and Finance Committee, which deal with plans and reviewing of the annual budget for their Student Activities Trust Fund. There is also the Campus and Community Affairs Committee, which concerns itself with public affairs, internal communications of the Senate and affairs of the student body. Finally, there is the Executive Steering Committee, which is comprised of the Executive Offices of the Senate.
The officers of the Senate are Metzger, Vice President Purnima Kompella and Trustee Alex Kulenovic.
To get a hold of the Senate, try emailing Metzger or Kompella, who can answer your question or direct you to someone who can, or try stopping by the Senate’s office on the third floor of the Campus Center.
If interested, more information can be found on the Student Senate’s web site at http://sga.umb.edu. For those who would like to attend, Student Senate meetings are held every other Wednesday in the Ryan Lounge on the third floor of the McCormack building. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 27th.