7:46 – The senate will vote on endowment transparency next week.
7:44 – Sen. Stewart asks if we could ask the university to stay away from brokerage firms like Lehman Bros. “that bankrupted the country.”
Holloways says he doesn’t know, but he’d like to, and that’s why we need transparency.
7:41 – Holloway notes that South African apartheid was fought by U.S. universities divesting in their companies.
7:38 – In my opinion, Holloway is making a very good case. I think he might win this one.
7:37– Holloway wants the public to know where the university’s endowment money is going, so we can have input on where it is invested. A possible example is Darfur divestment.
7:35– “I have talked with Chancellor Gearhart on this issue and he says this is going in the right direction,” he says.
7:34 – Jacob Holloway presents Res. 18, which would conduct a referendum on UA Endowment transparency.
Do you agree that the University of Arkansas Endowment should increase its transparency by disclosing its investments to the community through establishing a password protected Web site, and that the University Endowment should establish a method for increasing shareholder engagement by allowing shareholders to have the option of investing in sustainable companies, and that the ASG should create a committee composed of students, faculty and University officials with the authority to be responsible on matters pertaining to endowment investment?”
7:26 – 26% of college students use food pantries, according to the Volunteer Action Center.
7:22– Chair Lippert speaks on Resolution 17, which would implement a Student Service Engagement Fee. A student referendum question would read:
“Do you support a Student Service Engagement Fee of $0.08 per credit hour to fund programming such as Make a Difference Day, the Angel Tree Book Drive, the MLJ, Jr. Day of Service, Alternative Spring Break, and a Student Food Pantry?”
7:21 – The senate will wait until next week to vote on Bill 9.
7:13 – Sen. Hall says the Constitution and Code Review Committee thinks the bill would just make things more complicated.
“The Appropriations Committee could just do this by themselves.”
7:12 – If this is passed, I think a large RSO could just split into two RSOs and do the same thing.
7:10 – Sen. Martin says Friends of India took up 13% of the entire budget. The bill is designed to encourage collaboration with other RSOs.
7:08– Sen. Martin speaks on Bill 9 , which would set a rather complicated limit on the amount of funding a single RSO can recieve in the allocations budget. [1/(total number of RSOs requesting funding)+3%]
7:06– Bill 8 passes unanimously and Razorback Quidditch recieves $160.
7:05 – Lippert speaks again. “This event will not happen without the emergency funding.”
7:03 – Sen. Johannesen introduces an amendment that clarifies that the new funding will pay only for brooms, not hoops. It is passed unanimously.
7:02 – The brooms are $10 each and 16 brooms are needed. If the RSO doesn’t spend all the money, it automatically goes back to ASG.
7:00– Sen. Johannesen is on the Appropriations Committee says that there was a lot of confusion in the process and agrees with Lippert that the RSO should be funded the additional amount.
6:59 – Sen. Martin says the Appropriations Committee suggested the senate not pass Bill 8, saying the hoops have already been funded. She says if the RSO was denied funding for an event in the regular process, they cannot be funded.
(That is incorrect – as Lippert pointed out, the event was funded, just incompletely)
6:58– Sen. Ho says the Press Relations Committee suggests the senate pass Bill 8, citing the large student interest in Razorback Quidditch.
6:53 – Chair Lippert and RSO Razorback Quidditch Presdient Amanda O’Connor talk on Bill 8 which asks for $160 in additional funding for the purchase of brooms and hoops.
Lippert explains the constitutional rules that allow this emergency funding. If the funding is necessary for an approved event to happen, the senate can fund it this way.
“Quidditch cannot be played without hoops and brooms, according to the official rulebook,” Lippert notes.
6:51 – Bill 7 passes unanimously.
6:49 – Sen. McCollum speaks on Bill 7, which would make senate committee meeting times consistent.
6:48 – Res. 16 passes unanimously.
6:45 – The senate discusses Res. 16, which would implement several items of the UA Climate Action Plan. The steps deal with energy and carbon emissions reductions.
6:42 – The senate decides to wait until next week to take a vote.
6:41 – Sen. Johannesen says “no student should have to pay for printing ever.”
She wants to cut down on “printing silly things,” and asks for oversight.
6:38 – Sen. Spencer says things about the printing cap debate that simply aren’t true. He thinks the original cap was set at 1,500 pages. He doesn’t read The Traveler or watch UATV.
Sen. Brahmbhatt corrects him. The 700 limit is a compromise between the 1,000-page limit proposed by students and the 350-page limit proposed by UITS.
6:37– Sen. Brahmbhatt says the resolution is just a first step, and since the 700 page limit has been generously prorated to 500 for the semester, students should be able to print what they need.
He says there are legitimate concerns with grad students, but the show of support is a good step.
6:35– “Wcan’t stop students from printing when their professors are still requiring it,” Lippert says.
Good point.
6:32 – Chair Tammy Lippert cedes her position as chair, and speaks against the legislation. She worries that a show of support might make it more difficult for the senate to complain about specific parts of the policy in the future.
She says Graduate, Law and Honors students have to print more than other students, and will be heavily impacted by the printing cap.
“Law students print 30, 40, 50 page memos and dissertations,” she says.
My opinion – they shouldn’t. Let’s move to a paperless society.
6:30 – Sen. Mike Norton says that the PR Committee recommends the senate passes the resolution.
6:25– Sen. Brahmbhatt calls for students to pass Res. 15, which expressing support for the printing cap.
6:24– Res. 12 passes unanimously, save one abstention. The Press Relations Committee will send a letter asking Facilities Management to put a crosswalk at Maple and Gregg. After it does, President Bookhout will send a thank you note.
6:22 – The Campus Safety Committee recommends the senate pass the resolution.
6:21 – Sen. Brittany Box speaks on her ‘Resolution 12 – Crosswalk Implementation between W. Maple Street and N. Gregg Avenue Intersection.’
6:20 – Sen. Spencer is unanimously elected to the Elections Committee.
6:14 – Missed office hour reports:
Sen. Rookstool – “I don’t really have a good excuse for missing office hours. I will be talking to Tammy to see how I can make those up.
Sen. Martin says she’s just forgotten to write down her office hours.
Sen. Moffe is absent from this meeting too.
6:00 pm– Tonight’s agenda features a vote on additional funding for Razorback Quidditch and UA Endowment Transparency. The latter piece of legislation was written by former ASG presidential candidate and former senator Jacob Holloway.