Wednesday night’s Senate meeting regarded several special requests and the confirmation of Monica Nunan as Elections Coordinator.
Divisi presented the first of the special requests and received only partial funding in the amount of $1,440 for transportation to the Los Angeles A cappella Festival, which left them responsible for covering the cost of the tickets to attend the combined conference and competition.
Next came the PRSSA, requesting $7,000 to bring speaker Lauren Berger, or the “Intern Queen” as she is reportedly known, to campus to give a talk about internships. Senate debated on this request for over half an hour. Senators Andrew Lubash and Connor Lasken expressed reservations due to their feelings that the Career Center could offer a similar experience at no cost to students.
“I think we have a ton of services on campus that are underutilized. There are so many speakers that do what she does,” Lasken said.
After 45 minutes of debate, Senate passed a motion to table the request.
NAfME Collegiate also returned this week to present their reworked request from last week’s meeting. The request was to help cover the costs of sending people to three conferences in the next few months. Senate tabled the request and asked NAfME to reduce what expenses they could. The proposal tonight was for $5,433. Since the last meeting, NAfME has rearranged their budget so that all people who will be attending have agreed to cover their own costs of transportation.
“This really does show the determination of our members, the dedication we feel to going to these conferences,” NAfME Secretary Katrina Allen said.
Senate again was swayed by mixed opinions, but eventually moved to allocate the funds. Some senators were more enthusiastic about the request than others.
“It seems like our music education program is very good, but it’s not getting national attention commensurate with how good it is. I also think it’s admirable to see you all take on travel expenses,” Senator Will Iversen said.
Following special requests came the confirmation of Executive-selected Monica Nunan to the position of Elections Board Coordinator. The conversation soon turned into a discussion about the fairness of the hiring process, which was a topic of controversy with other positions earlier in the year.
Senator Emeritus Taylor Allison vocalized concern when Chief of Staff Lamar Wise let Senate know that Nunan was the only candidate that went through an interview process due to an extreme shortage of applications for the position.
“My understanding was that if you had a lack of interest in the position, you would have pushed back the deadline,” said Allison to Wise, who represented Exec during the confirmation. To Senate she went on to say, “This is one of the most important positions in terms of neutrality.”
Senators again debated on the potential issues of the hiring process before Senator Francisco Morales-O’Connor called to end the debate. Nunan was eventually confirmed as Elections Coordinator by a vote of nine ayes, four nays and one abstention.
Officer updates included details on budget hearings. The meeting was adjourned at 11:01.
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