Student Government of Seattle University Representative Assembly Meeting Meeting Minutes

Student Government of Seattle University
Representative Assembly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
May 6, 2015 STCN 210 at 6:00 p.m.
I. Call to Order
Raquel calls the meeting to order at 6:01 PM
II. Roll Call (initial on the line)
Eric Sype, President ________
Raquel Davalos, Executive Vice President _________
Matthew Kelly, Vice President of Finance _________
Meggie Green, Vice President of University Affairs _________
Luke Larsen, Senior Representative _________
Manuel Siguenza, Junior Representative _________
Palmyra Jackson, Sophomore Representative_________
Owen Goetze, At-Large Representative _________
Mark Vargas, At-Large Representative _________
Sarah Coluccio, Athletic Representative __absent_______
Monica Chan, Multicultural Representative _________
Lynn Doan, Commuter Representative __absent_______
Jordan Murakami, Transfer Representative _________
Jaden Phan, International Representative _________
Braden Wild, Students with Disabilities Representative __absent___
Jarrod Gallagher, Nontraditional Representative _________
Isheeta Tewari, Freshman Representative _________
Tanish Bhojwani, Freshman Representative _________
III. Approval of the Minutes
Motion passes unanimously with abstention from Sarah, Lynn, Jaden, and Braden who are absent.
IV. Public Comment – None
V. Guest Speakers – None
VI. Old Business – None
VII. New Business

- Raquel: I seek a motion to address Isheeta’s item of business first.
- Jarrod: So moved.
- Mark: Seconded.
- Raquel: Motion passes unanimously.
REPA 20150506 Projects Fund Request (Monica Chan)
- Monica: Tyrone and I have been working on bringing Sybrina Fulton to campus to speak. As you know, she is the mother of
Trayvon Martin who was killed (unarmed) in 2012. She’s dedicated her life to working against systemic violence. She lends
her voice to speak against violence towards children and the need to build better, safer communities for all. Her message is
one of hope and change, exemplified by her personal experiences and endeavors. Nothing sounds more to me like the Jesuit
mission like this. She is a leader for a just and humane world. I ask you to think of a time you’ve lost someone and how you
bounce back. She’s a co-chair of the Trayvon Martin Foundation which works to reduce violence and increase cultural pride.
Seattle was selected, along with 19 other cities, to receive scholarships from this foundation. She’s never been to Seattle, but
this is her connection to the area. The idea Tyrone and I’ve come up with is an invited luncheon with student leaders along
with a meeting with Fr. Steve. The event will take place next academic year and will coincide with the continuation of Moral
Mondays. My request from SGSU is $7,000 which is half of the total cost and this number has been chosen with great
intentionality. This is my budget request. There’s about $7,000 left in the projects fund, but what my actual request is the
balance of the projects fund by the conclusion of this school year. So, how do we arrive at this number of $7,000? Well, the
domino effect brings in more funding from other locations around campus. *reads quote from Pope Francis* Why should
SGSU support this? We’re responsible for advocating and representing the student voice. A visit from Sybrina Fulton to our
campus will make regional news. Any questions?
- Eric: We need to support this. Logistical question: I would think that North Court would be the best location, but it’s going to be
out of commission for most of the fall.
- Monica: Right, Tyrone can speak to this.
- Tyrone: I spoke with the facilities department in Connelly and they said it might be available. Just in case, I’ve reserved the
Campion Ballroom for those dates. A few more things… I think it’s important for SGSU to be involved because, well, all the
reasons she’s already listed. It’s important to keep the focus on the event and not the donors. Sybrina is so completely in line
with the mission of SU. There’s a tradition of bringing great speakers to campus. People like Desmond Tutu. But we’ve lost
touch with that and I think it’s important to reconnect with that tradition.
- Myra: Why would the funds come out of projects and not MPF?
- Monica: This exceeds the total budget of the MPF. Also, it’s for smaller events around campus.

- Myra: Would the food be provided by Bon App? Is that included in the price?
- Monica: The food and logistical set-up hasn’t been addressed yet because we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.
- Tyrone: After we get the go-ahead for this project, then we’ll get a planning committee together.
- Myra: Have you thought about how to collaborate with Moral Mondays to ensure that our impact extends past this individual
event?
- Monica: We will definitely be collaborating with Moral Mondays.
- Matt: Why are you requesting this funding from this body?
- Monica: We have to get the money together sooner rather than later so that we can invite Sybrina to campus.
- Meg: What about funding for food and such?
- Monica: That may come from outside funding.
- Mark: I move to approve this funding.
- Manuel: Seconded.
- Raquel: This motion passes unanimously with abstention from those absent this evening.
- All: *massive applause*
REPA 20150506 Summer Executive Stipend (Eric Sype)
- Eric: There is a great deal of work that has to be done over the summer and there’s no compensation for that work. This idea
has been bounced around for a while. The idea would be to provide the president or their stand-in with a stipend for their work
over the summer. They’d be required to work an average of 10 hours a week and would report to Bernie or one of the GA’s. I
think this is a worthwhile idea that will most definitely benefit SGSU. However, we’re not writing it in stone because we want
next year’s SGSU to feel free to do what they wish.
- Myra: What exactly do you do over the summer?
- Eric: There’s a ton of asks from the administration and different committees and it provides this member of SGSU to begin
making connections with administrators around campus.
- Raquel: A lot of work is done by the executive body before people show up on campus. A ton of it consists of building
relationships and sitting in meetings.
- Eric: On one hand there is a request from the university for a student to be a representative of the student body. On the other
hand this provides students with the opportunity to get a jump start.
- Jarrod: Why can’t this work be done at the very beginning of the school year when you are being paid?
- Eric: Because the beginning of the school year the president is asked to be in a lot of places.
- Matt: I can speak to the fact that the execs really have to hit the ground running as soon as school starts.

- Raquel: There’s a lot of work to be done in order to get things rolling in the fall.
- Myra: I feel like the more we keep talking with the administration, the less approachable we become to students. Maybe the
administration could change their approach to talk with all of us as a body?
- Eric: I agree that we need to advocate with students. However, when we set meetings with administrators on campus over the
summer we open lines of communication which can be utilized for the benefit of students. The administration will not work with
us if we alienate ourselves.
- Raquel: The administration does not sleep over the summer and I think it’s really important to have a student voice on campus
over the summer so they can’t forget us.
- Mark: I think it’s important to keep those meetings up because our presence sends a message and can provide the rest of this
body with a great deal of information.
- Matt: There’s an assumption that some member of student government will be present at meetings. Merit-based scholarships
are also important. This stipend demonstrates a need as well.
- Luke: The other thing you have to take into consideration is the fact that they’re here over the summer giving up what they
could be doing instead. They could be working or interning, but instead are working here.
- Monica: As execs you have meetings, but I’m in student government and I don’t know anything about these meetings. I can
imagine that the students don’t feel this either. Also, who does this scholarship even go to?
- Eric: The president. If they weren’t available, then it would go to EVP.
- Raquel: It only goes to one executive.
- Monica: If it could be any of the four of you, then why can’t it be any of us?
- Eric: It’s considered to be a responsibility of the president, but we’ve left it open to the executive body to determine who gets it.
- Manuel: I’m looking at the by-laws and it says you have to be a full-time student in order to be in your role.
- Margaret: Point of information: you’re a full time student over the summer if you’re registered for classes in the fall because
you’re a matriculating student.
- Manuel: Is that in the by-laws?
- Margaret: I don’t know.
- Eric: The by-laws correspond to the university’s definition of what a full-time student is.
- Jarrod: Doesn’t this coming in during the summer constitute going above and beyond the call of duty and you don’t get bonus
compensation for that.
- Myra: I think that housing should be tacked on as well because it’s not fair to assume that people can just stay here over the
summer.

- Eric: I totally agree, but Bernie and I discussed this and there’s no way we’ll get funding for this.
- Mark: Rome wasn’t built in a day and maybe this program is similar. Myra, I totally agree with you. We have to show people
we’re going above and beyond the call of duty. We have to fulfill the expectations because that’s just how it goes.
- Myra: Point of information: then shouldn’t our past experiences count as existing evidence of our diligence?
- Meg: I recognize that there’s a need for someone to be present on campus over the summer. There are students here over
the summer and they need us as a resource.
- Monica: Don’t execs already get more of a stipend than reps, per quarter? Even though you only do two more office hours per
week?
- Meg: When we were having this conversation, it wasn’t about the execs. We didn’t mean to shut out reps.
- Luke: Do you think it would be possible to set aside $2,000 and then whoever works over the summer can request money
from that fund?
- Eric: There are some complications with what you’re suggesting, but I think we can look into talking about different ways to
reimburse students for their work.
- Mark: This sets in motion a dialogue for something that SU could potentially take on.
- Jarrod: Is the administration aware of the uncompensated work you do?
- Eric: Yes, I spoke with Michele Murray about it in the fall.
- Tanish: In the constitution the term for members of SGSU begins with the last representative assembly of the year before the
academic year they fully work.
- Myra: I’m still resting with Monica’s comment on the meetings. My worry is that a lot of things get done and we, as reps, don’t
know anything about it and we can’t translate that to the student body.
- Raquel: What I experienced over the summer was not a sharing of information, but more of being asked for a student voice
concerning the topic of their issue. I know we don’t share a lot, but there’s not always a lot to share.
- Eric: Izzy and I met with the cabinet this fall about increased communication and I’ve been feeling the repercussions of that
meeting all year.
- Owen: I’m a member of a committee I serve on outside of student government and I am not paid for that. A lot of students do
that. I don’t think it’s fair to pay SGSU execs when other students don’t get that compensation. I also think the timing is bad
because of the budget cuts.
- Eric: In doing this I’m trying to make this role more accessible for all students.
- Matt: I’m beyond the exec issue. I think this should be open to all reps.
- Jarrod: It sounds like you’re putting a price on the perspective because we’re funding the SGSU position to make them

available over the summer to the administration and this is inequitable.
- Raquel: Let’s be clear: 5% of the work I did was meetings. The rest was done at home.
- Monica: What if training was one week long and before school starts and it’s unpaid and we get to work together? We could
move in early so that we all have housing.
- Luke: I think we lost focus about setting up the next group. Also, how much is in reserves?
- Matt: We’ll have $25,688 in reserves.
- Luke: Coming a week early is a good idea, but is not really possible because people have to work. I feel like fall quarter was
particularly sluggish because we couldn’t get it together fast enough.
- Raquel: Should we table this?
- Eric: I think it would be useful to invite the director of student activities in to come speak about this.
- Meg: Or at least flesh out some ideas.
- Jarrod: I feel like we deserve a presentation on this.
- Eric: It was supposed to be a discussion item, not an action item. That was my mistake.
- Jordan: I move to table this for a later date.
- Jarrod: Seconded.
- Raquel: The item has been tabled with opposition from Tanish and Owen.

REPA 20150506 SPF Request: Compost Bins (Isheeta Tewari)
- Isheeta: I request that we use $2,500 of the SPF to add compost bins to the library and Bannan buildings. Questions?
- Owen: Could you elaborate on the piece about duration?
- Isheeta: So if this gets approved then it won’t be modified.
- Matt: Point of information, the balance of the SPF is roughly $16,000.
- Eric: Another point of information is that this account hasn’t been used in years.
- Owen: Why did you settle on $2,500?
- Isheeta: It shows that SGSU is supportive of the movement without being responsible for the total cost.
- Myra: What’s the timeline?
- Isheeta: If the budget gets approved they’ll go in this summer.
- Jordan: How many bins?
- Isheeta: 13, one for every floor of the library and Bannan.
- Mark: I move to approve this funding.

- Owen: Seconded.
- Raquel: The motion passes unanimously with abstention from those who are absent.
VIII. Officer Reports:
A) Eric Sype-President:
a. Fairtrade coffee presentation
b. Conversation with Monica Nixon about SGSU’s role in welcome-week
c. Setting up legacy documents
B) Raquel Davalos- Executive Vice President:
a. Email about SGSU attending the Schwan Festival
C) Matthew Kelly- Vice President of Finance:
a. Mark your calendars: May 27
th
is the deadline for submitting information for appropriations
b. Updating guidelines for appropriations
c. Working on proposals
d. Budget is reconciled. Update nest week!
D) Meg Green- Vice President of University Affairs
a. Meeting with predecessor.
b. Legacy document.
E) Representatives
a. Luke Larsen, Senior Representative:
i. Senior soiree!
b. Manuel Siguenza, Junior Representative:
i. Panel about 12
th
and Jeff.
ii. On the 11
th
there’s a panel of students: Just Race. Sponsored by BSU.
c. Palmyra Jackson, Sophomore Representative:

i. Legacy documents.
d. Owen Goetze, At-Large Representative:
i. Legacy documents.
e. Mark Vargas, At-Large Representative:
i. Meetings.
f. Monica Chan, Multicultural Representative:
i. Proposal with Matt. Thank you!
ii. Submitted content for mapping project.
g. Lynn Doan, Commuter Representative:
i. Absent.
h. Jordan Murakami, Transfer Representative:
i. Nothing to report.
i. Jarrod Gallagher, Non-traditional Rep:
i. Nothing to report.
j. Jaden Phan, International Representative:
i. Meetings.
k. Braden Wild, Students with Disabilities Representative:
i. Absent.
l. Sarah Coluccio, Athletic Representative:
i. Absent.
m. Isheeta Tewari, Freshman Representative:
i. Absent.
n. Tanish Bojwani, Freshman Representative:
i. Legacy documents.
ii. I’m stepping down from this position for the rest of the year because of some things happening.
iii. I might seek office again in the future.
o. Kristen Wieliczka, Civic Engagement Director:
i. Absent.
p. Izzy Gardon, External Chief of Staff:
i. Absent.

q. Margaret Quartararo, Internal Chief of Staff:
i. Nothing to report.
F) Advisors
a. Kayla Zobel:
i. Thank you for elections.
b. Kelsey Nerland:
i. Nothing to report.
IX. Committee Reports
A. PAB:
a. This is Seattle U design is almost finalized.
b. Red Zone wants to collaborate for the last First Friday Donuts.
B. Steering:
a. Retreat on the 17
th
.
C. Finance:
a. Appropriations.
b. We’ll bring our changes to the group.
D. University Affairs:
a. We’re in conversation about our budgets.
X. Announcements
- Luke: How many students voted?
- Kayla: 25%
- Jarrod: How many “no” votes did Matt get?
- Eric: 209.
- Matt: Let the minutes show that Eric is a jerk.
- Margaret: Tanish will be missed.
- Monica: What?
- All: Tanish will be missed!
- Monica: Oh. Yeah. Also, the Town Hall meeting has been moved to next Thursday.

XI. Adjournment at 7:33 PM