By Hayden Sadler
Student Association President Carter Mosher brought forth prospective members of the SA’s Student Court at the SA Senate meeting Nov. 29. The Senate deliberated on the credibility of the recommendations, as well as approved requests from several clubs.
Mosher recommended Elijah Garrow as the SA Chief of Justice. Additionally, he recommended several students as potential associate justices. As all but one of the candidates were members of the same organization, Tau Kappa Epsilon – which Mosher himself is a member of — many senators questioned the logistics. President Mosher said that TKE, as well as all Greek life, takes very little money from the SA and thus there would be no conflict of interest.
Regardless, senators continued to question the nominations, and the fact that there seemingly were only those within Mosher’s circle. Mosher said that he is the one responsible for nominating the judicial members and not electing them — that duty falls upon the Senate. The discussion went back and forth between the Senate and Mosher for some time.
“Although we can all express our thoughts and feelings, we don’t have to talk about this all night,” Senator Jonanthony Tarlen said.
The Senate voted in approval of Mosher’s recommendations, with several senators voting against.
Mosher and Coordinator of the Arts Alexander Finkey then informed the Senate about redesigns of the SA office that would be taking place during upcoming semesters.
The Galilean Society requested permanent club status. The club focuses on astronomy and meets Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in Hudson 105. The request was unanimously approved.
African Unity: The Black Student Union was requesting approval of up to $505 for the club to travel to Binghamton, New York. The club was travelling to Binghamton for a dance competition Dec. 1, and the money would pay for transportation and lodging of 12 students. Senator Tasmayee Jagtap asked whether raising it to $600 to accommodate the club’s original request of $800 would be OK. Tarlen, citing that there was only one week remaining in the semester, recommended giving the club the full amount of $800 to fund the trip. The amendment to raise the request to $800 was approved, as well as the request itself.
KINKS requested up to $175 for a de-stress event they will hold during finals week. The club focuses on hair positivity and the event would center around self-care. Personal hair care products would be given to attendees to help provide support during the stressful finals week. The Senate unanimously approved a $150 amount.
SA Treasurer Angelina Briggs delivered a presentation regarding the current and future finances of the SA as well as the approval of increasing the mandatory SA fee to $125 per semester for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The mandatory fee is currently $80 per semester. Among the reasons for raising the fee are lower allocations for clubs this semester, as well as necessary costs taking into account inflation and a wide range of provided services, such as the shuttle.
The senators ended the meeting by sharing their announcements. Most of the senators had no report to share, however.
