Sga.cofc.edu



Seventh Senate Session October 31th 2017Stern Center BallroomCall to OrderThe Seventh Session of Senate was called to order at 4:30pm Roll CallAbsences Senator DosageSenator Dudley Senator HicksMinutesMotion to waive the reading of the minutesPassedExecutive Council ReportsPresident Alexandra HelfgottPlease RSVP for the SGA semi formal by ThursdayWe are an organization that does not condone the recent issue with the Halloween costumesAction is being taken to address this matter at upper levels Please pass this information along Chief of Staff WilliamsThis could be a violation of our Code of Conduct, but this is not yet included in the Code of Conduct so we are working towards fixing thisWe are working doing a progress report in response to the Diversity town hall from last yearVice President KeeffeThis committee is reporting on issues that were brought up at that town hall, specifically progress made and to be madeWe met with the Office of Institutional Diversity and they are looking to create a Diversity Advocacy Group on campus. This group would be responsible for diversity training of the campus and they will work to be the group that students can go to when these incidents happen on campus. This group will be an initiative based group. Secretary Emily Ramsayer I have one club coming todayNext week is the last SOR meeting of the semester so make sure to let anyone you know who wants to start a club know that they need to contact me by Wednesday at the latest Treasurer Sara GrahamOne club coming today to request funding We have one organization coming this Thursday to AllocationsContingency requests stop next Monday the 6th of NovemberPlease, please, please sign up for budget hearingsChief of Staff Williams Pep club meeting on Thursday in Maybank 105 at 6pmAfter we will go to the men’s soccer game Deputy Chief of Staff RunzoNext week after Senate we will all go over to Rivers Green to meet the rest of the student body over hot chocolate and coffeePlease give me your money for the t-shirts Vice President Tripp KeefeShout out Paul to taking pictures for SGAWe officially have a route to the grocery store from CARTARoute 204, pick up in front of the Chick-fil-aIt will be running during the weekdays Unfinished Business FR-2-2017 — To support banning the sale and distribution of single-use plastic water bottles on the College of Charleston campus and replacing bottled water, whenever appropriate, with tap water. Additionally, supporting the reinvestment in drinking fountain infrastructure by increasing and retrofitting drinking fountains on campus and no longer providing bottled water in vending machines on campus.First RightsSenator Carrillo-Marquina and Director ContiPurpose of this resolution is to support all the activities that we will discussWe are working towards encouraging the use of public water over private waterThe line “Whenever appropriate” is used explain that this ban will only go into effect when possible (i.e. water bottles may be provided at orientation and sporting events if needed)The college has declared the QEP to be about sustainable literacy, mainly involving water When we allow private corporatizations to sell water, we take away the public’s access to free water The College of Charleston has a goal to be a zero waste school by 2025 Recycling is really not the best practice for sustainability This map shows all the universities that have also taken up this initiative to ban plastic water bottlesWe want to be the first institution in South Carolina to implement thisIn these pictures, you see recycling bins that are over flowing and also there is trash in these bins that should not be thereAs hard as we try to recycle well, we are not able to handle the amount of waste that we createThe Charleston water system is who supplies our tap water, they surpass the EPA standards so the quality of our water is good and safe. It is most likely safer than bottled water as wellPeriod of DiscussionSenator Borges: How long will it take to put in reusable water stations?There is currently 13 on the campus. We are actually oversaturated in our amount of water bottle refill stations We are starting to look at putting in more around campus It is actively getting doneBut we are not looking to replace every water fountain will refill stations Senator Borges: Would you be trying to implement this resolution before you bring in new refill stations? No, banning the bottle is the last step; the infrastructure needs to be in place first as well as getting the culture around it known first and foremostSenator Baade: You specify just bottled water in vending machines, would that include other places?Yes, in the long term, the POD stations would be includedSenator Baade: Have you figured out what kind of revenue comes in from plastic water bottles?We will be having a meeting with administrators soonOur goals is to supplement loss of revenue by increasing options in the vending machines Bottles will be replaces by other goods We will be increasing the sale of reusable water bottles Senator Stewart: Since other places are on campus like Caviar & Bananas and CVS sell plastic waterbottles, how does that make you feel?We want to build up the culture before we ban the bottles The tobacco ban came from SGA and clearly you can’t stop people from smoking, but there is a culture surrounding it that it is not a good habit We are looking more so on how we can improve our own college campus firstSenator Borges: How many plastic bottles are we throwing away?We have not been allowed to know those numbers yet, but we are hoping this resolution will prompt them to release those numbers to us soonSenator Borges: What would be your way of making this campus sustainable when we have plastic Starbucks cups?This topic is creating a culture in and of itself If students start carrying reusable cups and understand that you do get discounts when you use reusable cups, maybe they will be more likely to do soWe are mainly encouraging students to carry their own cupsWe are also trying to make sure students know where refill stations are on campus Parliamentarian Rizzo: If we were ever to have a big flood and our water was contaminated, how would it be granted that we’d have access to safe drinking water?Well, this initiative would allow us to use money to build up public water infrastructure instead of spending it on water bottles from privatized companies Parliamentarian Rizzo: How are you going to keep this alive over the years?We want to create a permanent SGA initiative committee based on sustainability issues on campusAlmost every senator being sworn in this year has mentioned sustainability issues so there are clearly students interestedParliamentarian Rizzo: Do you foresee tuition going up because of this?The Office of Sustainability provides reusable water bottles free to studentsThat issue is not something that we will stand for so if that is brought up at meetings ,we will combat it then Senator Eldridge: How do you think this will impact our health if we are leaving in the soda and taking out the water? Since 2012, there has been an increasing trend of people that quit drinking sodaWe have surveyed CofC students and a majority has said that they would not buy soda even if water bottles were not available Senator Eldridge: Do you know how this would affect the College financially if we terminated the Coke contract?We don’t know the exact revenue implications at this time Any loss we will work to combat with other sourcesPoint of InformationPresident Helfgott: This resolution is to represent student support and it is in no way committing us to this initiative. I went to the Board of Trustees to address this issue. All administrators are aware of this initiative and we are all still working on logistics. We are in a researching phase. The student support piece is the only piece that is missing. Senator Rothstein: What current methods do you plan to take to judge student body support?Finding samples of the student body that are large enough to make these kinds of claimsOther schools have sent a poll out to their students, so we may do the sameSenator Rothstein: Students may have to sacrifice a convenience, can you elaborate on that?Just the convenience of having plastic water bottles for sale Senator Meis: Do you have a time table for short term and long term goals?The short term goal is this resolutionWe would like to have panels about these issues as well as hold eventsWe are already discussing implementing fill stations A lot of these short term goals are on-goingThe long term goals are looking towards a year or two yearsSenator Meis: So we don’t know anything about the current contract with Coke?The contracts are able to be renegotiated with the suppliersWe just don’t know the specifics Motion to pass by unanimous consent Objection Speeches in OppositionParliamentarian Rizzo: I understand conservation is important, but I am worried about the long-term idea. Long term committees haven’t worked as well in the past. I don’t see the creation of a committee a good idea due to the possibility of lack of passion Senator Stewarts: If I couldn’t buy a water bottle on campus when it is so hot outside, I think I would turn to soda instead. So I think we should have water bottles for health reasons. Senator Rothstein: I just wish we could wait until we know more about the student body support and know if we are accurately representing their wishes Speech in Favor Senator Palacios: It is very obvious that they have done their homework. This is to show student support. When they first passed the smoking ban, I’m sure there was a lot of opposition for it. Think of this in terms of the future generations and how they will view the progressiveness of the college. Also this aligns perfectly with the QEP President Helfgott: This resolution is just to convey student support. If we find out that it is not feasible, we don’t do it. The option is to have reusable water bottles for sale so if you really wanted water, you can buy a reusable water bottle if you need to. Please consider the long term idea and how it aligns with the QEPSenator Borges: There are a lot of us here with reusable water bottles so clearly we care about this already. If you want a water bottle you can go to CVS or Caviar and buy one. If we ban water bottles from campus, we take a step at reducing how much waste the college is producing. Senator Lifchez: Everything that has been done is appropriate. This bill is just passing for support for something we are already working towards. There isn’t any detrimental impact of this resolution. Motion to pass by unanimous proclamation Passed FB-25-2017 — To allow Lambda Phi Eta to become a non-budgeted organization First RightsSenator Caleca: I yield my time to herClub rep: We have created a social media presence both public and privateWe have 52 new members that we will be inductingWe held a meeting We are holding our first official workshop next week on interviewing tips Period of Discussion Motion to pass by unanimous consent Passed New Business FB-32-2017 — To allow We Need To Talk to become a budgeted organization First Rights Senator Green:I yield my time to themClub rep: We formed a temporary executive boardWe sent an application in for a table We have posted flyers and have make social media accountsWe handed out over 75 interest meeting flyersWe had 2 tabling sessions and have gotten 26 signatures and emails from thatOther off campus organizations have reached out to us about collaborating We had a member do a whole class presentation on the clubWe have weekly executive meetings and we are brainstorming how we can make it more diverse Period of Discussion Senator Roller: What is your organization about?It is an organization is already started in other campusesIt creates an environment that allows people to express their ideas and experiences for the betterment of society We will be doing a lot of philanthropy eventsDirector Conti: How many people were at meeting?8 peopleParliamentarian Rizzo: How many people did you have before 28 days verses now?15 members before 28 days plus 8 nowMotion to pass by unanimous proclamation Objection Period of Debate Chief of Staff Williams: Can you extend a club’s 28 days? Secretary Ramsayer: Not to my knowledge Motion to pass by unanimous proclamation Passed FB-33-2017 — To allocate the Meditation Club to become a non-budgeted organization First Rights Senator Caleca:I yield my time to herClub rep:We have been holding interest meetings on WednesdayWe had made new flyers about what we are aiming to do We are doing different themes every month We are partnered with a new mediation studio that is opening soon on King Street Period of Discussion Motion to pass by unanimous consent PassedFB-34-2017 — To allow the budgeted student organization French Club to enter their 28 day waiting periodFirst Rights Senator Baade:I yield my time to herClub rep:This club has been dormant for a while and we want to revive itWe will meet 3 times a month We have social media and a really active Facebook group 15-20 people at meetings Period of Discussion Senator Lifchez: This is open to anyone in the French class, but what if you weren’t in any French class?Anyone can comeSenator Brown: What led to this clubs pervious inactivity?They forgot to renew it Senator Brown: What do you plan to do to ensure that this club stays active?We have a lot of underclassmen who are passionate about the French Club and come to our meetingsWe will be recruiting younger classman Chief of Staff Williams: How intertwined are you with the French Department?A lot of French professors promote the club in their classes and they try to make it pretty well known on campusMotion to pass by unanimous consent Passed FB-35-2017 — To allocate up to the amount of $340 to the student organization, Prism, for the purpose of their drag pageant.First Rights Senator Brown:I yield my time to them Club rep: We are changing the name of the pageant to the Gender Pageant All our events up to this point have been through fundraising, but to put on this event we need help from SGAMoney will go towards securing a venue, buying a crown and sash, etc.We had over 200 people in attendance at our first pageant last year Period of Discussion Parliamentarian Rizzo: Was this the same amount as was allocated last year for this event?Yes it was the same as last year Chief of Staff Williams: Are you wiling to marking it with saying brought to you in part by SGA? We are looking to work with other organization. I would like to discuss it with the rest of my executive board before I make a decisionDeputy Chief of Staff Runzo: Will this event cost students money to attend?No, but we encourage people to bring tipsSenator Pitts: Do you have to be a part of the club to be a part of the pageant? No, it is open to everyoneDirector Conti: When will this event be held? Nov 15th Senator Palacios: I see that there is no fee for public safety, why is that?It is already included in the fee created by the venue Motion to pass by unanimous consent ObjectionPeriod of DebateMotion to be passed by unanimous proclamationPasssed6.) FR-3-2017 — To support the reinstallation of recycling bins in all residence halls at the College of CharlestonFirst Rights Senator Bridges:I live in Berry residence hall I care about the environment We do have a recycling room on each floor, but there are no recycling bins in our rooms I was told that we only recycle cardboard, but I found that this is not the case They used to have them but they were taken out due to rodents Period of Discussion Chief of Staff Williams: Have you looking into pricing?I talking to Office of Sustainability and they tell me that they still have all the recycling bins Director Pullin: Do you know when they removed them?I am not sureSenator Pitts: Is a student allowed to request a recycling bin?I think so. There are only three residence halls that have recycling rooms on each floor. You can request to buy your own but I don’t think students should pay for it. Motion to pass by unanimous consent PassedFR-4-2017 — To add Bylaw 100.013 to the College of Charleston Student Government Association Bylaws.First Rights Chief of Staff Williams:This first one addresses our absence regulationCurrently the only regulation that we have is if you miss more than 2 unexcused regulations and you are immediately kicked outIn theory you can miss more Senates or committee meeting if you have excusesSo we are looking to change thisPeriod of Discussion Senator Roller: What if you show up late to Senate?Showing up more than 15 min past Senate counts as half an absence President Helfgott: What if you don’t show up at an event that you sign up for?That counts as a full absence Motion to pass by unanimous consent Passed FR-5-2017 — To add Bylaw 902.007 to the College of Charleston Student Government Association BylawsFirst Rights Chief of Staff Williams:This one is says that you need to tell me 24 hours in advance if you will miss a Senate, event, etc. This authenticates that your absence is legit Period of Discussion Senator Jacobson: What if there is an emergency?We have added in the phrase “in case of extreme circumstances” for that purposeSenator Pitts: How do we know if our request for an absence was excused? President Helfgott: The whole point in reviewing this bylaw is the emphasize how important it is to be present in Senate Vice President Keeffe: It is at the discretion of the Chief of Staff whether it is excused Deputy Chief of Staff Runzo: If someone emailed you the morning of Senate and they had a legit excuse, would it still be unexcused?Technically yes, but all circumstances will be considered in a meeting with the Executive Council Director Conti: What was the justification for using the word extreme and could we change it to unforeseen? Motion to change “extreme” to “unforeseen”Passed Senator Roller: When do you have to meet with the Executive Council?After 4 absences, then you will have to meet with Executive CouncilWe will work out a time with youSenator Roller: What is the best way to communicate with you about absences?By email or phone Motion to pass by unanimous consent Passed FR-6-2017 — To add Bylaw 902.007 to the College of Charleston Student Government Association BylawsFirst RightsChief of Staff Williams: This bylaw will make it mandatory for a person running for SGA to attend an election information session firstPeriod of DiscussionSenator Green: What if they have work or an extenuating circumstance?Currently there is nothing that they can do. If they can’t attend the info session, they probably wont have time for senate Senator Green: Do you think that is a real indication as to whether someone will participate?The council schedules many different times for these sessions and the info presented is crucial to anyone running. There are always enough scheduled so that it works for anybody. You can’t get the information from those sessions from anywhere else. Deputy Chief of Staff Runzo: What benefits do you see this bylaw change making?Well, because currently we mandate this attendance yet it is not yet in our bylaws, this bylaw would make everything consistent. Deputy Chief of Staff Runzo: Would this still apply for someone who is running for Senior Senator and has been through this process many times?Yes because sometimes the rules will change Senator Palacios: Has this happened before in the past where someone has tried to run without attending a session?No, but we are trying to be proactive Senator Palacios: Say someone were to do this, do you think that would be such a big set back for them?We don’t accept materials from people who do not come to a session. We thought it was in the bylaws but it wasn’t before. We are just trying to be consistent Senator Palacios: What would be the bad thing about someone not going to an information session? They might not get the critical information needed to runMotion to move into a Period of DebatepassedPeriod of Debate Speech in Opposition Senator Baade: I think these guidelines are a bit harsh and restrict those who want to run. Senator Palacios: It is simple to get all this information from a friend; we haven’t had issues in the past. There is really no need to implement this.Speech in Favor President Helfgott: We have no operating procedures. Think back to when you were a freshman, its stressful and overwhelming to run. You really need to hear the information first hand to run according to all the rules and regulationsSenator Rothstein: The availability of sessions is so versatile that it should not be a problem to people with tough schedules. Motion to move in to voting procedures Passed Voting Procedures Vote by roll callPassed Committee ReportsAllocations- Treasurer Sara GrahamContingency requests next weekPlease sign up for budget hearings Student Organization Review Board- Secretary Emily RamsayerSign up for budget hearings!!!Director ContiThe Office of Sustainability interns are interested in helping with initiatives Craig Benet gave me great ideas for initiatives for us Senators to pick upYou might see more sustainability resolutions come from us soonWe reached out to Rita Hollings about what they are planning with regards to water refill stations Director PullinNo report Freshman Committee Vice President Keefe:Thank you for passing the recycling resolutionWe have a meeting with dining services about guest meal swipes AnnouncementsSGA Related Announcements Vice President Keefe Keefe: Please sign up for budget hearings Deputy Chief of Staff Runzo: Give me your t-shirt money pleaseChief of Staff Williams: Plan to go to Rivers Green after next Senate President Helfgott: RSVP for semi formal please Non-SGA RelatednoneAdjournmentThe Seventh Session of the Student Senate adjourned at 6:27 pm ................
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