The Undergraduate Senate held its first regular meeting of the semester Sunday afternoon, the main focus of which was receiving reports from Student Government executives about their work over the summer months.
SG President Joe Vidulich cited expansion of the number of vendors that accept EagleBuck$ and creation of a women's resource center on campus as two of his main goals for the year.
Vice President Jeff Hanley said summer stipends are "something that needs to be talked about and explored." Hanley could have completed his work in a much shorter time than he was given by SG rules, and the Senate should consider adjusting summer stipends accordingly, he said.
Hanley highlighted the importance of getting students on the different university committees and stressed that the Faculty Senate has power over academic matters. The group includes a faculty representative from each school and several at-large members and deals with university faculty issues, including the creation of a multi-year, non-tenured faculty position last year.
Hanley also outlined the success of SG-related Welcome Week events, specifically "A Night on the Redline," which ended up under budget and drew more participants than last year.
Jennifer Sibel, director of Artemas Ward Week, which will be held in late September, outlined the planned events, including a speaker, a movie showing and outdoor events on the quad.
Comptroller David Teslicko outlined the new bike-lending program, which will begin as a pilot program consisting of eight bicycles available to sign out for 12-hour periods. The program should be up and running by the end of September, Teslicko said.
Teslicko also addressed the issue of student relations with financial aid, the Office of the Registrar and Student Accounts, which together comprise what one senator called the "Bermuda Triangle." The offices are working together to streamline paperwork and create an online system for tracking this paperwork that must be submitted to those offices.
The Senate reconvened Wednesday night to address the rest of the issues on the agenda that were not discussed Sunday.
Undergraduate Senate meetings are held every Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in room 118 in the Kogod building and are open to the student body.
