Virginia Commonwealth University
Monroe Park Campus Student Government Association
Student Senate Meeting Minutes
Monday, October 17th, 2011
I. Call to Order
a. Welcome
b. Roll Call
i. 46 present
c. VCU Creed
d. Approval of Agenda
i. motion to move items a and b to the bottom; seconded
ii. motion to move items c and d from the agenda
iii. motion to move item "a" in discussion and voting to item "g" in new business; seconded
iv. motion to add Dr. Reed discussion to item "a" under new business; seconded
v. motion to strike "e" from new business; seconded
vi. motion to approve the agenda as amended; seconded
vii. motion to further amend the agenda; seconded
viii. motion to add S.B. 11 VCU Q-Day Adhoc committee Repeal
x. motion to table confirmation of new senators and swearing of new senators (items e and f) until next meeting; seconded
xi. motion to repeal (X) above
e. Approval of Minutes
II. Introduction and Reports
Officer Reports
1. Chairwoman – Miracle Allums
i. all the bills and resolutions are on blackboard for you to view the date of when they were introduced and passed
ii. legislation competition - whatever committee produces the most will win a prize
iii. tomorrow is chipotle night between the hours of 6-9. most of everyone is meeting in the office at 7pm to go as a group
iv. make sure you know what you are voting on, know the importance of abstaining
v. ice cream social sign-up sheet will be passed around
2. Vice-Chairwoman – Jazmin Tanner
i. Chief Venui is sending a representative to meet with us.
ii. the meeting minutes from when Miracle and Jazmin met with him were emailed out; email her if you need them again
3. Clerk – Juston Hugue
i. thanks for keeping up with your office hours
ii. there is an updated sheet on blackboard for everyone to check their hours
III. New Business
a. President Obama's Visit to Chesterfield - Dr. Timothy Reed
i. the white house needs volunteers for President Obama's trip to Chesterfield on Wednesday
ii. a detailed email was sent detailing all the logistics, need volunteer names by 7pm this evening.
b. Updates-Chief Venuti
i. crime statics: robberies are down 30-40%, larceny dropped down about 5%
ii. the chief is counting on us to spread the word - the man caught doing the crimes that we received notifications about through emailed was caught and is jail. charged with several felonies
iii. a man was exposing himself in the 1000 block of Franklin St. the student who saw it used text a tip. In situations like that text a tip is not the best option because there is a delay in response
iv. larceny is the biggest problem - most times they are preventable
v. Question- Are you putting more effort in increasing security around campus? -we have 82 sworn positions right now, we have crime analysts who look for trends, we rely on student help (twitter, text a tip); doing a lot of work with community officers (bike locks, registration sign-up)
vi. running a bike school soon. currently have about 35 bike officers
vii. Question- Do you plan on increasing the amount of cell phones to increase text a tip? - yes, but this is for long term situations not immediate assistance
viii. Question-do you cooperate with other police departments - absolutely, we go to their meetings and they always know what is going on
c. Confirmation of Appointments Committee Members
i. motion to confirm members as a block; seconded; passes
ii. motion to confirm new members; seconded; passes
d. Quest for Distinction Discussion- Senator Jae Lee
i. I want us as a senate to write bills and legislation to support Quest for Distinction
ii. there are packets in the SGA office to read for more information
iii. future.vcu.edu
e. Confirmation of New Senators - Tiffini Smith
i. Courtney is improved
f. Swearing in of New Senators - Chief Justice LaJuana Chambers
i. Courtney sworn in
IV. Discussion & Voting
a. S.B. 08 Supplemental Funds Allocation Bill- Senator Ryan Evans
i. bills for funds approved this semester will be available next semester
b. S.B. 11 VCU Q-Day
i. originally an adhoc committee was created
ii. APB and long term projects will work together on that event; then it will be completely turned over to the programming commission
iii. legislation is to repeal the previous bill so we can dissolve the adhoc committee
c. S.B. 09 Supplemental Bill 4- Senator Ryan Evans
i. funded 3 groups
ii. motion to move approve the bill
ii. motion to move into voting; seconded
iii. all those in favor of approving
iv. passes
d. S.B. 10 Amendments to the Bylaws- Senator Miracle Allums
i. motion to approve the bill; seconded
ii. motion to move in to pro con debate; division called
iii. standing vote: yay - 11 nay - 31 abstention - 4; motion fails
iv. motion to close discussion; seconded
v. bill is approved
V. Committee Reports
a. Academic Affairs – Chairwoman Katheryn Witt
i. the cater at crossroads is putting together a menu for them
ii. met with Ms. Delores Taylor
iii. no meeting next week
b. Appointments – Chairwoman Tiffini Smith
i. Ice cream social next Thursday at 7:30
ii. senate training is Dec 4th 1pm-5pm - it is mandatory
c. Appropriations – Chairman Ryan Evans
i. meet with a few groups
d. Elections – Chairman Sajan Moktan
i. 38 packets were turned in to Ms. Walker
ii. working on mandatory meetings
iii. elections Nov 1st - 3rd
e. Information & Technology – Chairman Anthony Morales
i. no representative
f. Long Term Projects - Chairman Wesley Dawson
i. will have a football discussion next week
g. Legislative Issues & Civic Action (LICA) – Chairman Virag Patel
i. have flyers ready for VA 21; petition forms are ready; need volunteers to help "clipboard" around campus
h. Public Relations - Chairwoman Jerusalem Solomon
i. everyone needs to like the facebook page
ii. putting the speakout flyer on facebook so change you profile picture
iii. need help at 9pm tonight if you are available
i. Student Life – Chairwoman Evelynn Escobar-Thomas
i. speakout Oct. 26th - getting 30 boxes of pizza
ii. Hope water is donating bottles of water
iii. trying to put together a pep rally before the first game
j. Special Grants – Chairman Joel McNamara
i. working with different workforces to make things happen
VI. Bill Assignments
S.B. 08 - appropriations
S.B. 11 - committee as a whole
VII. Announcements
1. reminder to committees - when bills are given to a committee as a whole you should review them in your meetings
2. If you don't know what the bill is about, ask the author; sponsor legislation as well
3. Go on the VCU master site plan to view it
4. come to the SGA chipotle night tomorrow
5. don't forget to sign-up for the ice cream social
6. tonight at 7:30pm, Commonwealth ballroom - physical therapy event, bring all questions you have
7. VCU implementing an electronic check on prerequisites when registering for next semester classes
8. Support Senator Logan Dickens in the Omega Psi Phi Pageant, Sat Oct. 29th at 7pm. tickets on sale in breakpoint. $5 for VCU students
VIII. Adjournment