Student Assembly senator Steven Lovern ’13 resigned from his position in the senate on Sunday and was replaced by Alice Shaughnessy ’13 in the senate meeting Nov. 28.
“I have given this much thought and I think that it is the best decision for me at this point in time,” said Lovern in an email to Senate Chair Kendall Lorenzen ’15 on Nov. 25. “I have just become too busy and overwhelmed with things. This position needs to be filled by someone who is able to finish up the senate session with gusto.”
Lovern was involved in spearheading the Swem snacks initiative as a member of the outreach committee.
“He was a really good senator,” Lorenzen said. “He contributed a lot to the time that he was here. We’re sad to lose him, but we’re excited to have Alice.”
Shaughnessy has not been involved in the SA before but runs the Green and Gold Affair and is involved with the Honor Council.
“Working with people pretty closely in Honor Council has taught me a lot about working in a group and working toward a common goal,” Shaughnessy said. “Through that role, I’ve gotten to see a little [of] how campus works administratively. I’m excited to help out with the plans that are already in place and come up with more things.”
When a vacancy in the senate occurs after the freshman elections, the president of the senator’s class has 14 days to appoint a new senator, who must be approved by the Undergraduate Council. Shaughnessy was appointed by Senior Class President Morgan Dyson ’13.
“I strongly support Morgan’s choice,” Student Assembly President Curt Mills ’13 said in an email “Aside from the Senate, and finishing her time on the Council, she [Alice] has run Green and Gold, and Parent’s Weekend in the past, and is a strong advocate for [the Class of] 2013. … She is also the person of the highest integrity and work ethic, as well as Tribe Pride.”
Shaughnessy was sworn in by Chairman of the Review Board Scott Hardy J.D. ’14. She will serve on the outreach and student life committees.
The senate also passed The Tribe Rides Bill at the meeting with unanimous consent. The bill will allocate $3,000 to provide transportation to students who do not have cars or other resources to attend outside counseling services.
The senate discussed the Support the Yule Log Bill, which proposes allocating up to $500 to support a charity drive sponsored by Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortor Board. At the Yule Log ceremony, ODK and Mortor Board are sponsoring a competition between the classes to raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The SA will match the amount of money of the class that wins.
The Support the Yule Log Bill passed with unanimous consent.
The Chillaxin All the Time Bill, which renews a three-year contract with the company that maintains the massage chairs in Swem, also passed unanimously. The Senate will pay $5,900 a year for the next three years — when the massage chair contract will be up for review again in the senate — to maintain the chairs. This is approximately a quarter of the SA’s remaining money for the year.
Some senators raised concerns about the cost of maintaining the massage chairs.
“It does take a substantial portion of the reserves, but it serves a very excellent and positive purpose,” Senate Secretary Jimmy Zhang ’15 said. “I think that this is most popular and most well-observed thing the SA provides. I think the ability to break this contract down and pay for it a little at a time definitely makes it more affordable.”
Senators will meet Dec. 1 to discuss and begin revising the SA code, which was last updated in 2005.
