The vacant Asian American senate seat was once again on the agenda at this week’s meeting. Asian Council Chair Daniel Liu addressed the urgency of filling the senate seat.

“It is a vital bridge to maintaining our relationship with senate,” Liu said.

Liu also told the senators he feels Shakeel Mehdi is the best candidate for the position at this time.

Mehdi reapplied for the Asian American seat and Chair Kelsey Eaton announced that the Membership Committee has given him a positive recommendation.

“I personally admire his persistence,” Eaton said.

This is Mehdi’s second time to apply for the position and if he is not voted in as the Asian American senator, the position will have been empty the entire semester.

SMU’s new Health Educator Megan Knapp talked with the senate about the Peer Advising Network. The new program, hoping to influence healthy relationships and practices on campus, will go through the chartering process soon.

Parliamentarian John Jose announced that he would be resigning from his senate position at the end of the semester because of class schedule conflicts.

President Katherine Tullos announced that an update on tuition figures would be determined at the next faculty board meeting in December. Currently the tuition has been increasing at a 0.05 percent every year to pay off the Dedman Center.

Chair Stephen Reiff and the organizations committee gave the Saudi Student Association and League of United Latin American Citizens a positive recommendation. TCU and UNT both have LULAC organizations on their campus.

Chair Eaton announced that the following seats would be open at the end of the semester: Engineering, Cox, Dedman I, Education, Hispanic American and Student Concerns Vice Chair.

Chair Jace Hinderland announced that at the next meeting the finance committee will vote to fund in full SAMSA’s Brother’s Keeper program $1,500. The Brother’s Keeper program aims to foster a relationship between black undergraduate and high school men. At the next meeting, Hinderland said the senate will vote on a motion to fund the Greek Affairs LIFE Retreat $6,000.

Hinderland also announced that the senate will fund $2,535 to the Multicultural Greek Council and $507 to Sharp Show.

President Tullos announced that she has spoken with faculty member Jim Collins regarding the issue of reinstating fall break. Tullos read an e-mail she received from Collins saying that it will not be possible to start the 2008-2009 school year two days earlier. However, SMU could revert back to last year’s schedule in which students had a fall break the second week in October and had three days off for Thanksgiving. This year, instead of fall break, students are given an entire week off for Thanksgiving.

“We have gone 54 days without a break,” Senator James Longhofer said.

Senators Marc Bullock and Jay Johnson agree with Longhofer that students should have a fall break, but they raised questions about how the committee in charge of scheduling may turn it down due to time constraints.

“It will have a lot of leverage,” Senate Secretary Bethany Peters said of the Student Senate’s legislation to reinstate Fall Break.