Meet Your New Senators
Last week, Wit’s End Café (located on the third floor of Wheatley) hosted two Student Senate debates. Aimed at bringing attention to the upcoming elections this week, nine students running for senate were there to put a face to their names: Colleen O’Malley, Bryan Smith, Jesse Solomon, Fritz Hyppolite, William Roach Jr., Nicole Motte, Robert Napier, Reuben Urmeneta Jr., and Sophia Wong.
Senators Fritz Hyppolite and William Roach Jr. are also running for the position of Student Trustee while Senator Bryan Smith looks to win a spot on the Board of Higher Education.
The candidates explained a little about themselves and fielded questions about their goals and the effectiveness of the Student Senate. Central to the discussions was the need to increase the campus’ sense of community as well as working to make the senate truly representative of the student body.
Elections will be held April 8-10. Students can vote online via the UMass Boston homepage or at the office of Student Life (Wheatley, fourth floor).
Budget Cutting
The Budget and Finance Committee met again last week to continue their work on next year’s budget. Several different measures to reduce expenditures were discussed during the meeting, including the reduction of the number of assistant center coordinators and removing funding for Student Senate travel.
Budget cuts are a necessity in order to cover a $44,000 reduction of the Student Activities Trust Fund after the University altered its system of fee payment. A two-tiered system of fee payment – one for full time students and one for part-time – was replaced with a system wherein students are charged an average per credit fee.
Homegrown Higher Education Made Personal
During their bi-weekly Campus Community Affairs (CCA) Committee meeting, Public Higher Education Made Personal (PHEMP), a letter writing campaign to state legislators, was discussed as a way of addressing the anticipated budget cuts. Spearheaded by CCA chair Fritz Hyppolite and Trustee Heather Dawood, the campaign ended this Thursday. Dawood and others manned stations in the McCormack, Wheatley, and Quinn buildings.
Also in the works were discussions about funding and sponsoring student initiated programs and events on campus in conjunction with the SEOC Committee and the trustee’s office. Such plans will be announced as they develop.
For Fund and Profit
A motion passed to award to the Chess Club $1,651.92 to participate in a tournament held at Foxwoods Casino. The tournament will be held from April 18-20 and five students will be sent. An issue arose however, over the fact that the funds might not be available to the club before the tournament begins.
The Center for Students With Disabilities was awarded $350 for the purchase of four specialized recording devices for the blind and dyslexic.
The Budget and Finance Committee approved a motion to fund The Watermark $750 in order to have U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky judge and present this year’s Academy of American Poets prize. Pinsky will also give a reading of his own poetry and hold a book signing. The event will be held April 23, Wheatley, 6th floor, room 47.
The UMass Boston Human Rights Working Group was awarded $3,000 by the Budget and Finance Committee to hold a conference on Saturday, May 3. The conference, War on Terrorism or Assault on Human Rights?: Civil Liberties, Homeland Security, and Democracy in the Post 9/11 World, will have several guest speakers, including President of the National Lawyers Guild Michael Avery and Nancy Chang from the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The conference will deal with issues involving civil liberties, the USA Patriot Act, Homeland Security, and government surveillance and will take place in the Ryan Lounge from 9am-6pm.
All budget requests go before the full senate the following week.