Recap of the Finale

"Symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning; signifying renewal, as well as change." -John F. Kennedy

And so the Fourth Undergraduate Senate is no more, and I am no longer a Senator. Today's meeting was certainly not boring.

First, there was the drama surrounding the certification of the election results. It seems rather odd that the Senate is asked to certify election results, but not actually provided with the full results. Apparently Student Activities only lets the BOE know who won, not how many votes the losers got. There was also the issue of Ryan Hunter, who was elected to seat for the Class of 2013, but got mixed messages from different parts of the university as to how many credits he actually had. I am still unclear as to how this situation is going to be resolved. From what I understand, the BOE and Judicial Board will wait until they have further information about how many credits he actually has before moving forward.

There was then the issue of Alan Chang's confirmation to be Comptroller. Mr. Chang proved himself to be quite knowledgeable in areas of financial management, including cost control and cost analysis. However, there were some concerns about his ability as an actual manager. He seemed very soft spoken and reserved, at least in front of the Senate. But the Senate had no choice but to confirm him, since he was clearly qualified.

Lastly, we passed A Bill to Promote the Creation of Renewable Energy via a Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF). I was a co-sponsor of this bill, and let me just say that CERF is a terrific idea. Basically, it is a fund that students and alumni (and whoever else) can donate to, with the money being used to fund renewable energy projects or energy saving techniques on campus. I commend SG Environmental Policy Director Drew Veysey for his passionate pursuit of this.

And that was that. Speaker Dunahm announced that he would not run again, and he received a standing ovation from the Senate and everyone else that was present. At 4:57 pm, the Fourth Undergraduate Senate came to an end. I wish nothing but the best of luck to Speaker Merkwae and the Fifth Undergraduate Senate.

Finally, I would like to thank you for reading this blog during the time that I was in the Senate. I hope that you will continue to read even now that I am not. I plan to continue attending meetings, and covering the SG extensively. I believe that what the SG does is incredibly important, and I don't think that the campus media does a good enough job of keeping students in the loop on issues that really matter (the SG doesn't either, but that is a separate issue). As such, I will make sure that this blog continues to be a place where students come to find out what is going on with their elected representatives. If you ever have any comments, questions, suggestions, or would like to have your opinion heard, please do not hesitate to email me: mike.mayer@ausg.org