The University of Rhode Island student senate addressed student arrests, nominated this year’s election committee and discussed last year’s election issues during their second general assembly of the semester on Wednesday.
Ellen Reynolds, vice president of student affairs, gave a presentation regarding move-in, including the weekend’s arrests.
22 URI students were arrested over the first weekend of September, according to The Independent . Charges included underage drinking, driving under the influence and assaulting police officers.
“This is abnormal,” Reynolds said. “The majority of students are truly good neighbors.”
Kendal McCloskey, the student senate external affairs committee chair, also met with South Kingstown police and emphasized the potential image issues facing the University after the arrests.
“I really want us here, volunteering and getting out there and showing who we are in the community as senators,” McCloskey said. “We’re not just these frat kids who party, it’s just the 1% that does that.”
Sen. Kairy Gonzalez then questioned Reynolds on the disappearance of the URI Providence Campus.
The building that formerly housed the Providence location is owned by the state and URI no longer manages it, according to Reynolds. URI is looking for a building to house the programs formerly offered at the Providence location.
“We’re not completely done there,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also announced three new dorm buildings at the URI Kingston Campus with planned openings in 2027 and 2028, with a tentative bid being awarded to a Rhode Island based company.
The senate nominated their election committee of five senators: Sen. Matthew Cayer, Sen. Rose Walding, Sen. John Njende, Sen. Sudishma Acharya and Sen. Madison Hinrichs.
A new elections committee required a briefing on election ethics, spearheaded by Vice President Sanah Feroz. During the spring 2024 elections, former Election Committee Chair David Rudolph endorsed candidates on Instagram. Feroz expressed her frustration with how the situation was dealt with in the senate.
“I felt very dismissed, like there was no recognition of the things we brought up or our concerns,” Feroz said.
Feroz emphasized the importance of a neutral election committee.
“You have so much power in your hands that you might not even realize,” Feroz said.
Bill 2425-04 was introduced, which would grant the WRIU radio station $350,000 to fix their 402-foot radio tower that was damaged in a hurricane. The senate will vote on the bill during next week’s meeting.
The student senate’s next meeting will be in Memorial Union room 300 on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m.