Dear UMBC Student Body,
On Sunday October 4th, the Speaker of the SGA Senate, Andres Garcia, officially forwarded the evidence compiled by trial manager Belawoe Akwakoku, along with the official charges for impeachment, to SGA President Anthony Jankoski and Executive Vice President Daniel Amsini.
The President and Executive Vice President, as per the SGA Bylaws, will now be given at least 10 business days to prepare their defense. This sets the trial to take place on Monday, October 19th. The trial will be conducted according to the protocol laid out in Article 7, titled ‘Impeachment Proceedings,’ of the SGA Bylaws. The trial shall be held in executive session with ex-officio members of the Senate permitted to be present. According to the Senate Procedural Rules, ex-officio members include: the UMBC President, UMBC Vice President of Student Affairs, UMBC Director of Student Life, SGA President, SGA Executive Vice President, SGA Advisor(s). Other ex-officio members include: SGA Treasurer, SGA Vice President of Student Organizations, and a representative from each of the following organizations: Residential Student Association, Commuter Relations Board, Student Events Board, and the Retriever Weekly. In addition, up to three first-year ambassadors to the who will serve as ex-officios to the SGA Senate. The trial shall be handled in a discrete and just manner with detailed minutes kept throughout. For further clarification, please refer to the SGA Constitution and Bylaws.
In order to make this an open and democratic process, with full disclosure and transparency, the Senate will be sharing the evidence of the trial with the general public.
All evidence can be seen clicking on "Download Document" below
Thank you,
The SGA Senate
The 2015-2016 Finance Board is currently seeking a qualified candidate to fulfill the position of Finance Board Representative.
The Finance Board is the branch of SGA that provides funds to support student organization activities: nearly $250,000 this year. Most of the Finance Board's work is done at weekly meetings, where student organization leaders present requests and Finance Board members ask questions and make decisions. These meetings, which take place Tuesdays starting at 5:30 p.m., can be both long and intense. But they have a lot of fun too, partly because it's so interactive and engaging.
There is a rolling application. This means that whenever an application is submitted, the Chair or Vice-Chair will get in contact ASAP for an interview. A candidate is likely to be chosen by the end of the month.
You can complete and submit the applicaiton at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nLzCpeQIcv9TmGD6udbV7JltvRMauArprAoVT2cG6cI/viewform?c=0&w=1&edit_requested=true
If you have any questions, please contact:
Trent Bae, Chair of the Finance Board (tbae1@umbc.edu)
Meghna Bhatt, Vice Chair of the Finance Board (meghna2@umbc.edu)
]]>The 2015-2016 Senate and Finance Board are currently seeking a qualified candidates to fulfill the position of Secretary to take minutes at all official meetings.
The Senate is SGA's engine for collecting ideas from students and turning them into campus change initiatives. Members meet weekly (Mondays at 5:30 p.m.) to discuss and develop initiatives, talk with campus administrators and take positions on issues.
The Finance Board is the branch of SGA that provides funds to support student organization activities: nearly $200,000 this year. Most of the Finance Board's work is done at weekly meetings, where student organization leaders present requests and Finance Board members ask questions and make decisions. These meetings, which take place Tuesdays starting at 5:30 p.m., can be both long and intense. But they have a lot of fun too, partly because it's so interactive and engaging.
The deadline to apply for these positions is September 15th, 2015!
You can submit your application at: http://goo.gl/forms/6mYphsy6Dx
If you have any questions about the Secretary position in either body, please contact:
Andres Garcia, Speaker of the Senate (andresg1@umbc.edu)
Sarah Lilly, Assistant Speaker of the Senate (slilly1@umbc.edu)
Trent Bae, Chair of the Finance Board (tbae1@umbc.edu)
Meghna Bhatt, Vice Chair of the Finance Board (meghna2@umbc.edu)
Greetings UMBC Student Body!
We, the Senate, would like to welcome the UMBC Community back to campus as we gear up for the Fall 2015 semester! We hope you all are excited for the new opportunities this semester brings us!
Over the duration of the summer, Senate has been hard at work. We have been working on our initiatives and the upcoming trial against SGA President and Executive Vice President, Anthony Jankoski and Daniel Amsini.
If you would like updates on Senate initiatives that we are working on with you, please feel free to attend our weekly meetings at 5:30pm on Mondays in Commons 318! In addition, please do not hesitate to contact your Senators individually, and to continue following our myUMBC page. Each Senator's contact information is listed below.
There have been a few developments in the status of the Impeachment Trial that we are excited to share with you all.
Firstly, Senate would like to reiterate that we have NOT officially received the petition. We understand that Ellis Zapas (Petition Owner) has sent it to the President of SGA, and it shall be handled following the rules for petition as stated in the SGA Guiding Documents. The plans that Senate has been, and continue, to make are in preparation for the receipt of the petition and the trial that will follow.
Next, Senator Andres Garcia has stepped down as Trial Manager due to the personal bias he has toward the accused. Senate has been interviewing potential candidates for the position and we are pleased to announce that we have a new Manager! Belawoe Akwakoku has been selected by Senate to help lead the prosecution for this trial. Belawoe has been involved in SGA every year of his undergraduate education, including two years in the Senate - first as a First Year Ambassador, then as a Senator. We are confident in his ability to lead a fair prosecution and levy charges against the accused to the best of his ability.
Finally, Senate plans on creating a set of baseline criteria for all students that signed the petition to ensure its validity. We plan to create these criteria at our first formal meeting after we receive the petition.
Senate appreciates your patience in these matters as we continue working through events. We are dedicated to an honest and fair trial. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Respectfully,
Your 2015-16 SGA Senate,
Andres Garcia, Summer Speaker (andresg1@umbc.edu)
Sarah Lilly, Summer Assistant Speaker (slilly1@umbc.edu)
Vanessa Barksdale (vanbark1@umbc.edu)
Seth Benefield (sethbe1@umbc.edu)
Oladipupo Eke (eke1@umbc.edu)
Andrew Lopez (alopez2@umbc.edu)
Josh Massey (joshua.massey@umbc.edu)
Brooke Perrin (aperrin1@umbc.edu)
Markya Reed (markya1@umbc.edu)
William Rice (willia8@umbc.edu)
Augustus Williams (august2@umbc.edu)
Greetings UMBC Student Body,
We, the Senate of the UMBC Student Government Association, believe that it is our responsibility to maintain transparency and communication, upholding our oath to promote and defend the interests and well-being of UMBC’s undergraduate students.
It has come to our attention that a petition to impeach SGA President Anthony Jankoski and SGA Executive Vice President Daniel Amsini has been circulated. It has also come to our attention that this petition has been signed by over 600 undergraduate students. The Senate acknowledges each student's right to petition and to voice concerns to the SGA as stated in Article 6.3 of the SGA Constitution.
Article 5.6.5 of the SGA Constitution (available on our website: http://sga.umbc.edu) states that “a petition for impeachment signed by at least 5% of all UMBC undergraduates; in which case the Senate shall conduct a trial of the accused, and can remove the accused by a 2/3 vote of Senators present at a meeting.” According to the UMBC’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the number of enrolled undergraduate students in the Spring 2015 semester was 10,598; therefore, this petition requires 529.9 (rounded to 530) to meet the requisite 5% of the student body.
In accordance with the aforementioned Article, as well as Article 8 of the SGA Bylaws (also available on our website), the SGA President is responsible for forwarding the petition to the Speaker of the Senate within 5 days of officially receiving the petition. Additionally, an officer against whom an impeachment has been initiated is entitled to be notified within 5 business days of the passage of the charges and disclosure of the evidence supporting impeachment, as well as at least 10 business days after passage of the charges in which to prepare a defense before trial. At the time of this statement's release, the Senate has not officially received the petition.
Given this information, the Senate has come across critical barriers to proceeding with an impeachment trial. The Senate has not had the opportunity to elect a Speaker and Assistant Speaker, as this is the first order of business at our first meeting of the Fall semester. The roles of Summer Speaker and Assistant Summer Speaker, held by Andres Garcia and Sarah Lilly respectively, are informal in nature. In order for a Speaker to be elected before our first meeting of the Fall, a special meeting would have to be called.
The Senate has determined that a special meeting would be unethical, as a few Senators living outside of the area are unable to attend such a meeting and contribute their input in an impeachment trial. Additionally, the Senate Procedural Rules prohibit voting by proxy. It is our desire that each member has an equal opportunity to hear others, to speak their concerns, and to vote; therefore, we have chosen to postpone official impeachment proceedings until our first regular meeting of the Fall 2015 semester on Monday, August 31, after electing a Speaker and Assistant Speaker.
In preparation for this meeting, the Senate has chosen who will serve as Trial Manager. Article 7 of the SGA Bylaws, which governs Impeachment Trial procedure, states that the Managers are to levy the charges against the accused and make arguments for those charges. A majority of the Senate has decided that the Manager position should be filled by a current Senator. Out of the two Senators who expressed interest, a majority has selected Senator Andres Garcia to fill the Manager position.
Some students have expressed concern about the perceived conflict of interest brought by appointing Garcia as manager, as he was a strong advocate for the Jankoski-Amsini campaign during the election. While we recognize that Senator Garcia has worked closely with their campaign previously, we place full confidence in his integrity. Senator Garcia will remain impartial and will relay all evidence that has any bearing on the outcome of the trial. Please know that Senator Garcia will not be exclusively collecting evidence, the Senate will be working together over the next few months to pursue and collect any evidence deemed important. The key will be for Andres and the rest of the Senate to go about these proceedings with an open mind, and to let the facts and hard evidence present itself.
We appreciate your support and patience at this time. We would like you to know that we appreciate any questions, comments, and concerns that you may have and encourage you to bring them to our attention via e-mail. We will do our best to respond to them promptly. We look forward to working with you to resolve this matter and to strengthening the work of the SGA over the next year.
Respectfully,
Your 2015-16 SGA Senate
Andres Garcia, Summer Speaker (andresg1@umbc.edu)
Sarah Lilly, Summer Assistant Speaker (slilly1@umbc.edu)
Vanessa Barksdale (vanbark1@umbc.edu)
Seth Benefield (sethbe1@umbc.edu)
William Rice (willia8@umbc.edu)
Augustus Williams (august2@umbc.edu)
Oladipupo Eke (eke1@umbc.edu)
Andrew Lopez (alopez2@umbc.edu)
Joshua Massey (joshua.massey@umbc.edu)
Brooke Perrin (aperrin1@umbc.edu)
Markya Reed (markya1@umbc.edu) ]]>|
A Message From: Team Retriever Treasure |
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Do you like to save money?
Do you have a lot of stuff to throw away at the end of the semester?
Want to save the planet?
Then you will be happy to know that Students for Environmental Awareness presents our 2015 Prove It! idea: Retriever Treasure.
During the move out season, UMBC students end up throwing away a significant amount of still usable items. This campus “thrift store” will allow all students (residents and commuters) to donate such items via easily accessible collection centers, ideally in the residence halls and the Commons. All of these items will be resold at a discounted price to UMBC students at a yard sale in the following fall. All the money earned from this will be use to keep the program going year after year.
Any items that are not sold will be donated to Goodwill. This is amazing opportunity to raise awareness about sustainability on campus. So please help support our school, our community, and our planet by voting YES for Retriever Treasure!
For more information please contact Lillie Cimmerer at wb14095@umbc.edu or the Prove It! Coordinator Emily Melluso at umbcproveit@gmail.com.
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A Message From: Team SOLARetriever |
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1) Please provide a brief summary of your proposal. We are campaigning to get solar tables on campus to allow students to charge their laptops and other mobile devices with 100% renewable energy.
In 2007, President Hrabowski signed the Presidents Climate Action Plan with the overall goal of making UMBC carbon neutral by 2075. As of spring 2015, UMBC is about 14% carbon neutral, with the aim of being 15% carbon neutral by the end of the year. We want to help give that final push to UMBC’s goal, while giving something new, exciting, and useful to the UMBC community. Currently 20% of UMBC’s energy comes from wind and solar sources, which is a great start, but we can do more to increase our renewable energy usage. Not many students know or even care about how much energy comes from renewable sources, as long as they have power when they need it. Our idea is to provide a source of energy via solar tables to show students how useful these renewable sources can be. The power generated from these tables will demonstrate the sustainability of an “off the grid” method to reducing our energy usage. The solar tables have up to four outlets and four USB ports for charging electronics. The outlets are powered by a battery which is charged by the solar panel canopy above the table. These solar tables will provide a visual personification of green initiative on campus by letting students directly benefit from green energy. Our long term goal is to generate interest and pave the way for bigger and better renewable energy projects in the future.
2) Why are you passionate about your idea? What motivates you to work toward your proposal? Our love for sustainability pushed us to spend long hours researching different solar tables and the optimal variations that would work best with our campus and its students. We want to push towards a carbon neutral campus and will do what we can to spread our green message around UMBC.
3) What pushed you to get involved with Prove It! ?
The idea started with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers solar team. We wanted to create a retrofit solar umbrella to add to the existing umbrellas outside on The Commons Terrace. After finding out that we would not be able to retrofit out design to the umbrellas due to various concerns expressed by Commons Operations. Working hard on that project really made us want to find a way to make it a reality so we started to work with Facilities Management, Res Life, and The Commons to see what we could do. They agreed to work with us because of our strong initial proposal for Prove It! and foresaw us doing well enough in the competition to put money on the line for our project.
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