The Student Senate agenda this week consisted of several news-related issues and announcements. Of particular import was the status of the Scholarship Committee.
President Alex Mace addressed an area of concern: “A member of our chamber has been accused of some serious allegations, and is no longer a member of the chamber.”
He was referring to the former chair of the Scholarship Committee, John David Mahaffey, who was arrested for sexual assault last Tuesday.
Mace further said that “this is a really hard time for us all [because] we were all connected to him with friendships, groups, fraternities,” and that “there are resources on campus to us help cope with this.”
He then advised the senators to refer all media statements to him.
The chair’s absence came at an important time for the Scholarship Committee. Currently, graduate and undergraduate Student Senate scholarships are open for applications to non-first-year students with SMU GPAs and applications are due Friday. Thus, the vacancy needs to be filled quickly.Shay McDonald, the vice-chair of the Scholarship Committee, was elected by the Senate as the new chairperson, thus filling the empty slot.
In her address to the chamber, she gave a casual update and asked the senators to inform their constituents about the scholarship Facebook event. She also reiterated that the scholarship awards are based on financial need and academic merit, and that they benefit everyone.
In other news, President Mace introduced the Senate’s new page, Winston, to the chamber. It’s his job to pass notes between the senators – since they can’t have laptops, cellphones or other electronic media in session.
Sen. Preston Hutcherson announced that he is assisting. David Doyle, the head of the University Honors Program, and William Tsutsui, the dean of Dedman College, in establishing a Student Advisory Board to Dedman College. The nascent board will require the presence of two more senators, and will be responsible for meeting occasionally with the dean and discussing upcoming events.
Senate Sponsor Jennifer Jones congratulated Sen. Christian Genco on his success at the talent show this past weekend, presenting him with a banana, an apple and a peach. Genco’s talent was “musical eating,” in which he made musical notes by eating different pieces of fruit and stringing it into a song.
Student Concerns Chair Christos Patelis informed the chamber about a town hall meeting at the end of this month: “It’s a forum to address pertinent issues through Q&A,” Patelis said. President Mace, SMU Vice President of Student Affairs Lori White, SMU Chief of Police Richard Shafer and others will comprise a panel at this town hall.
Organizations Committee Chair Jacob Watts announced that Texas Freedom Network (TFN) has been granted Probationary Status and INFORMS has been granted Temporary Status; both organizations are thus legitimized at SMU. TFN is a non-partisan organization that seeks to educate young people about political issues in Texas and register voters. INFORMS is a professional engineering organization for management science majors.
A dropbox on the Senate webpage will be created within the next week for students to offer suggestions to amending the Student Code of Conduct. Recommendations will be presented to the chamber by Student Body Secretary Katherine Ladner, and Senate will then vote on the suggestions. The deadline for suggestion entries is in November.
