On Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., a meeting of the University of Rhode Island
Student Senate was called to order. After a reading and approval of the minutes, a public
forum was held where Avi Shrivastava introduced his campaign for off-campus
representation and James Cocozza advertised for the Best Buddies and RA Board
initiative “End the Word to Spread the Word.”
The Student Organization Advisory Review Committee notified the Senate body that
stipend reviews for funded organizations are underway and will be concluding on
Monday, Mar. 5.
Academic Affairs Committee proposed an upcoming event centered on affordable
resource materials and are looking for student involvement for a more accurate indication
to how students are affected by the cost of textbooks and courses.
The External Affairs Committee has scheduled a public forum with the Narragansett
Town Council on Mar. 27 to discuss housing ordinances. Additionally they will be
partnering with the Town Council for a clean up scheduled for Apr. 21. In passing a
warning was mentioned that there is a human trafficking scam happening at Walmarts
and that everyone should be cautious about taking pamphlets and talking to solicitors
outside stores.
Mar. 29 the Cultural Affairs Committee will be hosting Ace of Cakes. So far the event is
not at capacity, and only 22 organizations have registered out of the 43 allotted slots.
Campus Affairs Committee addressed a parking forum that is in the works with Public
Safety Director Stephen Baker. While a date has yet to be set, Senate is looking for
students who have concerns with the current parking situation and would like to have
their voices heard.
Sexual assault awareness week will be April 16-19 and there is a walkout scheduled on
April 20 to protest gun violence.
Senate voted nay on a bill to disqualify the presidential and vice-presidential ticket of
Adriana Wilding and Abdulwhab Alquirtas. Following this vote, the two tickets moving
forward from the primary election results are Wilding/Alquirtas and King/Watka.
Revisions to Article IV of the Senate bylaws were reviewed and will be voted on at the
next meeting.
Upcoming events include D.I.V.E. RI on Mar. 23 -24, and Rhodython will be Mar. 24.
At 9:16 p.m. the meeting was adjourned and the Senate was dismissed.