Senate of the Undergraduate Student Government

At Stony Brook University

The regular weekly meeting of the Undergraduate Student Government was held on Thursday, November 19, 2009, at 8:35 PM in room 311 of the Student Activity Center, the Executive Vice President being in the Chair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved as corrected by the Chair.

1.0 Attendance was taken; quorum was achieved:

Senator Tiffany Abrishamian                           Present

Senator Tahir Ahmad                                         Present

Senator Ory Baum                                               Absent

Senator Aharon Benelyahoo                             Present

Senator Aneta Bose                                             Present

Senator Spencer Cushing                                   Present

Senator Jordan Cushner                                     Present

Senator Alexander Dimitriyadi                        Present

Senator Runyu Fan                                              Present

Senator Theresa Geckle                                     Present

Senator Daniel Graber                                        Present

Senator Michael Hagler                                      Present

Senator Syed Haq (PPT)                                     Present

Senator Jonathan Harounian                             Present

Senator Mahyar Kashan                                     Present

Senator Aysha Khan                                            Absent

Senator Moiz Khan                                              Present

Senator Deborah Machalow                              Present

Senator Alexandria Lanza                  Absent

Senator Kirin Mahmud (CSA)                           Excused

Senator Nicole Mbisike                                     Present

Senator Craig McCarthy (RHA)                         Absent

Non-Voting Members:

President Jasper Wilson                                    Present

Treasurer Matt Anderson                  Present

VP of Academic Affairs Shamell Forbes       Absent

VP of Clubs and Orgs Ashley Reji                   Absent

VP of Communications David Mazza             Late

VP of Student Life Keith Tilley                         Present

Senior Class Rep Alice Yu                                 Absent

Junior Class Rep Jennifer Chan                        Late

Sophomore Class Rep Katie Patestas            Absent

Freshman Class Rep Catherine Young          Absent

2.0 Previous Minutes. As previously noted, the minutes were amended and approved for the meeting of November 12, 2009. (Copies of the amendments are in the possession of the Executive Vice President.)

3.0 Confirmation of Treasurer’s Assistant

Treasurer Anderson presented the following nominee to the Senate for confirmation as the Treasurer’s Assistant:

(1) Melissa Fluery

Senator Cushner moved to confirm Ms. Fluery. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 15-0, with 2 abstentions.

4.0 Confirmation of the Chief Justice.

President Wilson presented the following nominee to the Senate for confirmation as Chief Justice of the USG:

(1)  Geordan Kushner

Senator Ahmad moved to confirm Mr. Kushner as Chief Justice. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 14-0, with 3 abstentions.

5.0 Confirmation of Associate Justices

President Wilson presented the following nominees to the Senate for confirmation as Associate Justices of the Supreme Court:

(1)  Kevin Brereton:

Senator Graber moved to confirm Kevin Brereton. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 16-0, with 1 abstention.

(2) Kathryn Krynicki:

Senator Haq moved to confirm Ms. Krynicki. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 12-2, with 3 abstentions.

(3) Amanda Mayo:

Senator Harounian moved to confirm Ms. Mayo. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 9-2, with 6 abstentions.

6.0 NYPIRG Contract

Treasurer Anderson produced a copy of the NYPIRG contract for the revision and approval by the Senate:

(1) Senator Machalow inquired about paragraph 17, inquiring which officers were referred to because of ambiguity about whether USG officers were included in the word “its.” Senator Machalow moved to amend the contract to strike “its officers” and insert “their officers.” Amendment approved unanimously, 17-0.

(2) Senator Machalow inquired about paragraph 15, if on the fifth line the word “services” was supposed to appear where there was a blank white space. Senator Graber moved to insert the word “services” after the word “contracted” (where the blank space occurs). Amendment was approved unanimously, 17-0.

(3) Senator Machalow inquired about paragraph 17, noting that the months listed were before the contract would be enacted. The Treasurer explained that the term of the contract was limited, and that the additional months were simply there as a template for future contracts. No amendment was offered.

(4) Senator M. Khan moved to approve the contract as amended. The contract was approved 15-2.

7.0 SSC Allocations

The Chair directed the Senate to stand at ease, without objection, for 2 minutes to pass out brownies at 9:12 PM. The Senate returned to order at 9:14, and the following SSC Allocations were considered:

(1) Computing Society

Senator Benelyahoo moved to approve the allocation of $560 for the Computing Society. The allocation was approved by a vote of 16-0-1.

(2) Cycling Club

Senator Harounian moved to approve the allocation of $50 for the Cycling Club. The allocation was approved unanimously, 17-0.

(3) Informational Technology Society (ITS)

Senator Kashan moved to approve the allocation of $85 for ITS. The allocation was approved by a vote of 13-0, with 4 abstentions.

(4) Afghan Club

Senator Cushner moved to approve the allocation of $22 for the Afghan Club. The allocation was approved by a vote of 16-0, with 1 abstention.

(5) IFSC

Senator Ahmad moved to approve the allocation of $1,000 for IFSC. The allocation was approved by a vote of 11-4, with 2 abstentions.

9.0 Appropriations Act #4.

The Vice President of Communications presented a bill providing funding for the ticket office to sell tickets online.

Senator Bose moved to pass the bill. The bill was passed unanimously, 17-0.

10.0 Appropriations Act #5

The Vice President of Communications presented a bill appropriating funds for USG shirts.

Senator Kashan read a letter from a student opposed to the allocation.  Senator Kashan said it was an anonymous letter and declined to give the student’s name.

Senator M. Khan moved to pass the bill. The bill failed to pass because it received fewer than 12 votes (a majority vote of the filled seats): 11-2, with four abstentions.

11.0 Appropriations Act #6

The Vice President of Communications presented a bill appropriating funds to USG for business cards.

Senator Kashan moved to pass the bill. The bill was passed by a vote of 16-0, with 1 abstention.

12.0 Appointment to Governor of South Hampton

President Wilson presented John Botos as the nominee to the Senate for confirmation as Governor of Stony Book Southampton.

Senator Graber moved to confirm John Botos as Governor of Stony Brook Southampton. The nominee was confirmed by a vote of 16-0-1.

13.0 Open Agenda

(1) The Budget Process

The Treasurer rose and orally proposed a budget timeline for the spring budget process.

The Chair directed the Senate to stand at ease, without objection, until the information presented orally was written on the chalkboard. The Senate was called back to order at 10:24.

A Senator moved to postpone the budget process until the next Senate meeting. The motion was approved 14-1, with 2 abstentions.

Meeting Adjourned by Chair at 10:28 PM.