This Week in Senate: March 1, 2021
On March 1, 2021, the Northeastern Undergraduate Senate reached quorum for its weekly meeting at 7:08 PM. Guests Rich Davis and Michelle Rapp from the Office of Alumni Relations began the meeting with a presentation regarding the various programs and services available to undergraduates through the Office, including Husky Starter and NUSource. Further, they provided insight about incentives for givers on annual Giving Day and how they can help raise money for student groups on campus.
Following the presentation, announcements were presented to the Senate.
Executive Vice President Opet announced that nominations for internally elected leadership positions will be held March 22nd, and Internal Elections will occur on March 29th.
The second announcement pertained to the recognition of sensitive topics addressed during Student Government meetings. In future discussion, all speakers will be asked to provide content warnings prior to speaking on potentially upsetting topics.
President Kuznetsova announced that the budget will be presented at the Full Body meeting next week, March 8th.
VP for Student Services Adewunmi declared that there will not be an Executive Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the remainder of this semester given the precedent set in prior confirmation hearings.
Two pieces of legislation were presented, SS-SP-21-109 and SS-SP-21-110. The authors of each piece of legislation were given 10 minutes to present and answer questions from the Senate (as normal). Below is a summary of the pieces of legislation. These summaries do not represent the opinions of the Senate concerning these bills. Both will be debated and voted on at the full body meeting next week.
SS-SP-21-109 details the creation of a syllabi database for Northeastern University. This system would be optional, and professors would have the ability to opt-in and upload syllabi from their classes.
SS-SP-21-110 calls on Northeastern to return to the system where each student gets a specific financial advisor assigned to them. It has been reported to the Senate that response times for financial questions have increased after the adoption of this system. Additionally, having a specific advisor allows for students to have a more personalized experience.
Prior to the adjournment of the meeting, the association’s leadership team presented February’s two Senators of the Month: Harrison Voigt and Tim Sullivan. These senators were chosen for the exemplary work they have done across multiple committees, as well as for their thoughtful, important words expressed during Senate meetings.
The Senate’s next meeting will be on March 8th at 7 PM. This meeting will be a Full Body meeting (mandatory attendance for Senators).
