During this week’s meeting, the University of Rhode Island’s Student Senate voted on committee chair nominations for the standing committees in the Senate.
Katie Siegle, Kyra Shindler, Grace Kiernan, Angelica Tyson and Emily Gamache were elected as Student Organizations, Academic Affairs, External Affairs, Cultural Affairs and Campus Affairs chairwomen, respectively.
The Student Senate spent a majority of their time this week listening to the commencement speech candidates for the University’s class of 2021 commencement ceremony.
The Senate was joined by nine potential candidates, all of whom presented their speeches. The Senate will vote on the candidates and decide who will deliver their speech for the commencement ceremony on the weekend of May 21.
Kevin Lopes ‘05, co-chairman of the University’s mural committee, joined the Senate this week to provide an update on the murals’ progress. Located in the Memorial Union, the murals have been covered until a decision is made to remove or keep them.
Lopes thanked the Senate for the feedback he has already received and asked for more student feedback.
“We have a number of options and ideas on the mural,” Lopes said. “We did not want to move forward with the decision-making process without hearing from as many students as possible.”
According to Lopes, an email will be sent out to students and faculty asking for feedback on the mural in the next few weeks. Any feedback about the murals can be emailed to [email protected].
Campus Recreation Director Jodi Hawkins thanked the Senate for their $25,000 donation to partially fund the construction of an outdoor wellness center on campus at this week’s meeting. You can read more about this on page one.
Coordinator for Intramural Sports Sean Butler announced that the Tootell West Gymnasium will be converted into a practice facility for the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams.
“The Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams have gotten approval for a basketball-only practice facility,” Butler said. “Right now, the Tootell West Gymnasium is used for intramural sports and recreational activities.”
According to Butler, multiple groups will be displaced by the implementation of a new practice facility. Converting the gymnasium into a practice facility will be funded by private donations.
He also mentioned that the entire Tootell Gymnasium will no longer be open for student use in fall 2022.
The Keaney Gymnasium will become open for intramural sports and other activities, according to Butler. Campus Recreation is also working on ways to utilize the Mackal Field House to support displaced groups.
The Senate also passed a bill providing a financial benefits package to the newly recognized Timmy Global Health and Music Boosters clubs. According to the bill, these student organizations will receive $100 during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
The bill passed with 18 votes.
Siegle reflected on the work her committee has done over the past year.
“We have recognized 11 new organizations on our campus, held six president’s meetings, went through stipend review and re-recognized 106 clubs,” Siegle said. “I’m looking forward to continuing the work we have done this year.”
Senator Miranda Duarte announced that Progreso Latino, an organization supporting Rhode Island’s Latino and immigrant communities, is hosting a free COVID-19 vaccination event for people of color over the age of 16 on Saturday. More information is available at progresolatino.com.
The next Senate meeting will be held next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.