This Week in Senate: March 22, 2021
This week, the Senate reconvened for a full-body meeting on Monday, March 22. The Senators received a special address from Maureen Timmons, Director of Dining Services. She shared with the Senate the “then, now, & next” of dining throughout the pandemic, explaining the process of shutting down campus last spring, and changes they made last fall. Notably, Director Timmons mentioned that next year’s freshman class will be a “bulge” class, meaning it will include 1-2,000 additional students. Because of the expected increase in the meal plan-using population, Dining Services is working to develop alternatives to dining halls, such as food lockers and meal kits. Senators asked questions about the recent change to the meal exchange program, food waste and sustainability, and food insecurity on campus. Director Timmons reiterated that, while unpopular, the recent change in dining plans is an effort for campus to return to pre-COVID-19 practices.
The first item of new business was for Elections Chair Chaturvedi to announce the Student Body Elections results. The uncontested slate for President and Executive Vice President, Power to the Pack, was elected with 85% of non-abstaining votes. Casey Buttke will be the next Student Body President, and Izzy Galinkin will be next year’s Executive Vice President. Additionally, all five referenda questions were passed with over 94% support. Next, the Senate received media training from EDoC Nivar to clarify expectations for Senators’ relationship with the media, whether it be student/local journalism, or behavior online in general.
The final order of business was to nominate candidates for internal elections. These positions include the five Vice Presidents, Comptroller, and Elections Chair. The following students were nominated for these positions:
Comptroller: Syaad Khan
VP of Academic Affairs: Senator Alex Arenas
VP of Student Affairs: Senator Emily Perez
VP of Student Involvement: Senator Robbie Nuemann
VP of Student Services: VP Sebastian Chávez
VP of Sustainability: Senator Zach Greenwald
Elections Chair: Elections Chair Sam Chaturvedi
VP Chávez and Elections Chair Chaturvedi were both nominated for a second term in the position they are currently serving. Nominations are open through the remainder of the week. Next Monday, March 29, the Senate will reconvene to debate and vote on each Candidate.
