STUDENT SENATE MINUTES
February 21, 1995
The meeting was called to order by Senate President Kevin Mayeux at 7:34
p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Roll call was taken by A&E Chairman Shelton Bridges. Quorum was
established with 67 senators present.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
Attorney General Holly Benson led the Senate in the pledge of
allegiance.
AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA:
Senator Niederhausen moved to remove SB 95-1023 from committee and add it
to the agenda. Senator Carroll objected, saying the bill had not been heard in
committee. The bill is to transfer funds from Special Requests to Elections to
add polling locations for the second day of elections. After Senator Carroll
spoke con, and Senator Niederhausen spoke pro, the motion failed 19/46.
AMENDMENTS TO THE MINUTES:
None
PUBLIC DEBATE:
Dina Kondor, from the Student Council of the DisAbled thanked
those senators who had helped with Disability Awareness Week. Events for the
week include activities at the Reitz Union on Wednesday, wheelchair basketball
on Thursday at P.K.Yonge, beepball on Saturday at family housing, and the
performance by the National Theatre of the Deaf, which will be free for
students, on Sunday.
Senator Imanuel announced the Alpha Lambda Delta social at the
Orange & Brew on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. It is free, and everyone is
invited.
Senator Marrone encouraged everyone to try to attend the Veritas
Forum.
Senator Galloway announced her resignation from the Budget
Committee.
David Silvestain said the Men's Leadership Conference will be on
March 18. The fee is $15.00, and applications are due by March
1.
Senator Moran said that Senator Dial was second runner up for Mr.
UF.
Senator Fuller spoke on Senator Hershenson's absences. At this
time, he has accumulated one excused and three unexcused absences. The A&E
committee has not resigned him because of their interpretation of the
rules.
Charles Hart stated his apology that the co-author, Brendan Vargas,
and sponsors of the resolution being heard tonight had not been added to the
bill at the time of printing. He hopes the bill, which will be passed
tonight.
Senator Niederhausen referred to Senate Bill 94-1059 which had
passed establishing two-day elections. He felt that having fewer polling
locations on the second day defeats the point of have an additional day to
allow students to vote, and that additional funding would be
justified.
Senator Cosenza said there will be an open forum with Senator
Kirkpatrick next Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. He asked that senators in the back not
talk because it is being picked up on the microphones. He said Gator Rock Cafe
had been successful, and reminded everyone that constituency requirements are
very important. This is National Engineering Week. Engineers Fair will be
March 30.
Senator Grapski said that voting is the most important aspect of any
democratic society. Not providing adequate polling locations for students to
vote shows that you don't care if they vote or not, and was not the intent of
the two day elections bill. The campus must be informed about the election in
order to have a good turn out. He hoped that someone would move to reconsider
adding the bill to provide additional funds for the election.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
Supervisor of Elections Ken Nanni explained that the
Elections Commission is making every effort to advertise the elections. An
information session had been held tonight, but only 15 to 20 students attended.
The commission does not feel that providing more polling locations would
justify the expense. He reminded Senate that the Elections Commission is an
independent entity, not requiring Senate approval for the operations of
elections.
President Tompkins said that FSA will be meeting here on Saturday.
The SG banquet will be held on April 11 with the Commissioner of Education as
the keynote speaker. All senators are invited. The senate meeting scheduled
for that night will be canceled. Legislative Day will be April 12. The first
phone-in registration will be held for the Law School. Registration for Summer
will be February 24 and Fall registration will be February 27. Funding has
been made available for new recycling bins. President Tompkins, Treasurer
Siemienas, Paul Koukos, and Senate President Mayeux are working on a proposal
to lower A&S fees by ten cents per credit hour. He encouraged the passage
of the resolution being heard tonight.
Steve Malter, Chairman of the Reitz Union Board of Managers, said
that the new chillers for the building are now online. Mike McCracken,
Chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee, has started meeting on the next
plans for Reitz Union expansions. Applications for the Board of Managers will
be available in March. Meetings are held every other Wednesday at 7:00 a.m.
Everyone is invited to attend.
President Mayeux congratulated the Senate on providing for two day
elections on March 21 and 22. He asked that everyone encourage all their
constituents to come out and vote. He had received a resignation letter from
Jeff Lesser.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
R&A:
Chairman Stadlen said the committee met on Sunday and have the
following recommendations: Christopher Rich for Pharmacy, Senator Jones for
Budget, Senator Gay for Finance, and Senator Imanuel for A&E. All were
approved. The next meeting will be February 26 at 8:00 p.m. in room
285.
Open Seats: District C (1); District D (1); District E (1);
Dentistry
Committee Seats: I&I (1); IRO (1); Budget (1)
BUDGET:
Chairman Gordon announced that the Special Event Budget requests
will be due on March 3, and Organizational Budget requests will be due March
16. Ads will be run in the Alligator. He encouraged everyone to try to
see the performance by the National Theatre of the Deaf.
FINANCE:
Chairman Delafield waived
A&E:
Chairman Bridges said the committee met on Sunday, and have the
following absence recommendations: Senator Gay tabled because there was no
date of absence on the excuse; Senator Jones on 2/14 excused for attending
memorial service; Senator Stadlen on 2/14 excused for attending memorial
service; Senator Fernandez on 2/14 excused for death in family; Senator Johnson
one half on 2/14 tabled for more information; Senator Salgado on 1/31 excused
for sickness. These were approved as a bloc. Chairman Bridges said the matter
concerning Senator Hershenson will be discussed at the next committee meeting.
Judiciary:
Chairman Carroll had no report, but offered to answer questions.
There were none.
I&I:
Chairman Niederhausen said the committee met on Thursday and
considered constituency requirements. There should be an updated report on
constituency requirements tomorrow. Committee members are asked to hang fliers
for open seats. He reminded everyone speaking to please use the microphone.
The next meeting will be February 26 at 6:00 p.m. in room 287.
IRO:
Chairman Wotocek asked everyone to submit "Senator of the Month"
nominations by February 28. There will be a social at Bennigan's tonight if
the senate meeting ends early enough. There will also be a social next
Wednesday. Information on shirts should be ready soon. The next meeting will
be February 28 at 7:00 p.m.
SECOND READING:
None
FIRST READING:
95-1015 Amend Rules and Procedures Section VIII, D (4) - Presented by
Senator Bridges, this bill would remove the section which states that not
voting will constitute a one half absence. If approved, Section (5) would then
be renumbered (4). He stated he had previously been unaware that this
requirement existed, and has not enforced it to date. Now he will be required
to enforce the rule, and feels that members should not be penalized for being
out of the chambers during a vote. Senator Tarquinio said that abstaining from
a vote requires a valid conflict of interest, and absences should be assessed a
one half absence if the abstention is not excused. Senator Grapski said this
section had been included to prevent senators from abstaining, and that
abstentions should be considered pertinent votes. Senators present at roll
call, but not having a vote recorded, may submit a vote within 24 hours. No
more than one full absence can be assessed during a single meeting. Senator
Carroll urged someone to move to have this referred to committee. Pro speakers
felt that senators should not be given absences for being out of the chambers
for personal needs. Senator Cosenza called the question at this time. This
would require a 2/3 vote, and failed 32 to 31. Senator Heavener's motion to
send the bill back to committee failed. President Mayeux explained that a
change to this section of the Rules and Procedures requires a 4/5 vote. The
bill failed 50 to 18.
95-1017 Amend Rules and Procedures Article IX, Section D (2)(b) -
Presented by Chairman Carroll, this bill would remove a section allowing
Judiciary to seat a Senate representative on the Traffic Court Board of
Appeals. He said he had written Traffic Court Chief Justice Brian Burgoon and
learned that this Board of Appeals no longer exists. Senator Grapski felt that
rather than simply remove the rule, the possibility of a need to reactivate
this board should be examined. He made a motion to refer this to the I&I
Committee. His motion failed. The bill, needing a 2/3 vote, passed 46 to
15.
95-1022 Resolution to Inspire American Spirit on the UF Campus -
Presented by Charles Hart and Senator Taylor, this resolution is designed to
increase awareness of the flag code, Public Law 94-344, so that the American
flag will be properly displayed, maintained, and recognized on the UF campus.
The resolution encompasses the need for an observance of a celebration for
American History and a memorial for veterans past, present, and future.
Senator Grapski submitted an amendment to change the title and remove sections
pertaining to American History Month. This was not accepted as friendly, and
failed by a vote of 26 to 40. After extensive con/pro debate on the subject of
observing an American History Month, Senator President Mayeux called a five
minute recess. Recess began at 10:15 p.m. The meeting resumed at 10:20 p.m.
with a friendly amendment to remove American History Month from the resolution
contingent upon it being rewritten into a separate resolution. This was
approved, and the bill passed 58 to 4.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Anyone interested in the Budget Committee should speak with
Chairman Gordon before applying.
2. Personal attacks should not be made in Senate debate.
3. Pre-Nursing Seminar is tomorrow in room 286.
4. Try to attend the Veritas Forum.
5. The Alternative Funding Committee will meet following Senate.
6. The I&I Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Committee
members should notify Chairman Niederhausen if they cannot attend.
7. The Independent Student Coalition will be helping inform students on
how to get involved.
8. The Vietnamese New Year Party will be Saturday in the Reitz
Union.
9. Have a good week, be nice, and have fun!
ROLL CALL:
MEETING ADJOURNED: 10:35 p.m.
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