This week's senate meeting began with a guest speaker, senior Kyle Quiroz, who informed the senators that November is Native American Heritage Month. Quiroz encouraged them to participate in the Native American Heritage week hosted by the multi-ethnic programs department.
Proposals
Associated Students president Evan Tan and the constitution committee proposed amendments to the AS constitution. The amendments are to Bylaw III and the bylaws regarding the election process.
The major changes address determining AS election winners. If a president/vice president team runs unopposed, that team must still acquire 10% of the undergraduate vote. If a senator runs unopposed, they must obtain 20% of the relative dorm residents' vote. The senate will vote on the amendments next week.
Next, AS religious lecture coordinator and junior communications major Mark Nesbitt proposed for $400 to pay the contract deposit for speaker Bob Goff, the author of "Love Does." Goff will close the "God, Where Are You in Culture" series on May 1, 2014. The senate did a same day vote and unanimously passed the proposal for the full amount of his deposit.
Voting
The senate voted on Camryn Hudson's proposal for funding of a "Christmas Together," a concert featuring artists such as Evan Wickham, and passed it in the full amount of $6,358.
Next, the senate voted to deny Leah Ellison and Mark Stacy's proposal for a ROTC/Veterans Banquet. The senators felt that the banquet was a good idea and supported the idea. However, the event will not be occurring until next semester, and the details have yet to be determined.
"We want to do this for them," Horton senator Elizabeth Britton said.
The senate expressed a desire to see more specific details from the proposers in order to meet all the needs of the event.
Announcements
AS instituted departmental mission statements. The new senate mission statement reads: "The mission of the AS senate is to serve the student body by representing, informing and empowering students through stewardship of the student fee."
