Student Senate met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a panoply of issues. Although, according to Speaker Monica Fennigan, “This was a short meeting. Sometimes they go for several hours.”

At one point, Speaker Fennigan reminded the senators of proper senatorial form, particularly the method of addressing the chamber. Senators are to raise their hands before speaking, and when they do speak they must stand. She keeps track of who all speaks, and wants to see more variety in voices – meaning more senators should be speaking up.

Parliamentarian Travis Carlile appended Fennigan’s spiel by clarifying the process of piggy-backing, the adding-on of a subsequent thought to another speaker’s. The proper way of doing so is by prefacing with the phrase “in regards to….”

Further, Carlile mentioned proper dress and nametags, and the “point of information” situation. This refers to the interjection of relevant information into the present discussion.

One new senator questioned this terminology, saying that it should actually be called a “request of information” – a point-of-information on a note about point-of-information. Carlile corrected him, confirming that it’s called a point of information.

The floor opened to pertinent issues.

Kim Elmazi informed the chamber of an act vandalism committed over the weekend. A sign for Multicultural Student Association (MSA) was uprooted from its original plot and strung in a nearby tree. Elmazi expressed concern over this situation because it is reminiscent of a similar incident last year involving a Peruna sign. She informed the senators that vandalism is a form of bullying, and must not be tolerated at SMU.

The Finance Committee presented decisions it made regarding the budgeting for different clubs. One senator mentioned that the Finance Committee’s decisions in the past have been criticized for their opacity, and that this should be remedied. A possible summary for The Daily Campus is currently on the agenda.

At the end of the meeting, all seven members of the Executive Board – the Student President, Vice President, etc. – were summoned to the front of the room by sponsor Jennifer Jones. There, they randomly selected coins from a plastic bag. Each coin represented an anecdotal question posed to each person. The purpose of this exercise was to illustrate that the executives must always have an answer prepared, because they are accountable to the SMU student body.