2008 Woodie Awards
Final meeting sees diverse plate of issues
Mitch Molstad
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: News
UND Student Senate met for the final time this academic year on Sunday night, addressing a full plate of issues ranging from Night Life funding to executive appointments to guns on campus.
The session began by giving the floor to a wide variety of presentations given by both senators and non-senators. These presentations addressed many topics, including the appointment of Michelle Eslinger as the new Director of Student Health, updates on Night Life @ UND, UPC, and Emerging Leaders, and a proposal by a group of engineering and mathematics majors concerning a project being developed that would combine existing methods in order to provide alternative energy.
In addition to these segments were two question & answer sessions concerning the implementation of the UND Pride Card by Higher One for financial aid refunds and the recent policy change by UPD disallowing the storage of weapons in the University Apartments.
A representative from Student Account Services acting as a liaison for Higher One took a series of questions concerning the logistics of the program. He summarized by saying, "the reason we contract with Higher One is so students can get their money, and get it efficiently."
University Police Department chief Dwayne Czapiewski then took the podium and answered questions about the decision to reverse a long-standing exception for the University Apartments that allowed residents to store weapons in their living spaces. He cited safety and consistency as primary reasons, stating that, "we have to have a consistent policy across campus in the interest of being fair."
A source of controversy arose later into the session, when it came time to announce the appointment of Sterling Wiggins as the 2008-2009 Student Senate Treasurer. Though Wiggins drew verbal support from many of the Senators and no one present questioned his suitability for the position, Dan Krier vocalized dissent arguing that another candidate would have been a better fit for the job. President Grandstrand then explained his position as the ultimate decision-maker in the hiring, stating that Wiggins was a better fit for the team and pointing out that the vote was for confirmation and wasn't a choice between two specific candidates. After extensive debate, Student Senate confirmed Wiggins by a vote of 12-6.
The session began by giving the floor to a wide variety of presentations given by both senators and non-senators. These presentations addressed many topics, including the appointment of Michelle Eslinger as the new Director of Student Health, updates on Night Life @ UND, UPC, and Emerging Leaders, and a proposal by a group of engineering and mathematics majors concerning a project being developed that would combine existing methods in order to provide alternative energy.
In addition to these segments were two question & answer sessions concerning the implementation of the UND Pride Card by Higher One for financial aid refunds and the recent policy change by UPD disallowing the storage of weapons in the University Apartments.
A representative from Student Account Services acting as a liaison for Higher One took a series of questions concerning the logistics of the program. He summarized by saying, "the reason we contract with Higher One is so students can get their money, and get it efficiently."
University Police Department chief Dwayne Czapiewski then took the podium and answered questions about the decision to reverse a long-standing exception for the University Apartments that allowed residents to store weapons in their living spaces. He cited safety and consistency as primary reasons, stating that, "we have to have a consistent policy across campus in the interest of being fair."
A source of controversy arose later into the session, when it came time to announce the appointment of Sterling Wiggins as the 2008-2009 Student Senate Treasurer. Though Wiggins drew verbal support from many of the Senators and no one present questioned his suitability for the position, Dan Krier vocalized dissent arguing that another candidate would have been a better fit for the job. President Grandstrand then explained his position as the ultimate decision-maker in the hiring, stating that Wiggins was a better fit for the team and pointing out that the vote was for confirmation and wasn't a choice between two specific candidates. After extensive debate, Student Senate confirmed Wiggins by a vote of 12-6.
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