USG 4-8 meeting

On Thursday the final meeting of this year’s senate took place, with voting for next year’s representatives and officers taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. There will be USG members at the stairs on the second floor of the Commons today and in the library on Wednesday, come talk to them to receive a QR code for voting or to ask any questions that you might have about USG or the election process. Good luck to all in the running!

https://getinvolved.une.edu/submitter/election/start/480099 

Resolutions & Allocations

This past Thursday, 4/8, the Spring Allocations package was passed. This is the budget for a variety of student programs that have a direct connection to student life. Due to the low activity nature of this semester and the past two, there are plans in the work to rejuvenate campus life in major ways.

-This package covers a large variety of programs and clubs including;

             -All club sports and other on-campus clubs that made requests

             -The Outdoor Recreation Council and the Outing Club

             -APB and a variety of events to take place during the school year

                             -including the Winter Festival, Spring formal, and Spring concert

• The next academic semester should be a breath of fresh air for all UNE students. The other budget request came from the Cultural Council.

             -The request was for resources to create a Ramadan event.

             -This event will involve a display being created and holiday-themed goodie bags.

Student Life

• Due to the nature of the lockdown, many planned events have been displaced, including the DE&I’s committee’s plan to rent out a theater for students to screen Raya & The Last Dragon has been postponed, more information will follow when details are ironed out.
• A few other upcoming events include a campus-wide cleanup to take place on Sunday the 18th organized by the Office of Housing & Residential Life/Commuter Life, UNE Sustainability, and Earth’s Eco. Arrive at the Campus Center at 10 am on this day to make the campus just a little bit nicer for everybody. 

• In addition to this Earth’s Eco will be hosting a UNE pop-up thrift shop featuring ethically sourced clothing from the Gorham Goodwill Recycling Center and student donations. Students are also invited to donate any clothes they wish to, just make sure they’re clean before you give them away.
• Mary Fraser, the Director of SASC attended this week’s meeting to discuss the upcoming transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. This change will occur at the beginning of the summer semester, and the first group to change over will be the College of Health Professions directly at the start of the fall semester. For other colleges, these decisions are yet to be ironed out, but by the end of the fall semester, all students will be using Brightspace. Although this may seem like an extreme transition worry not, as numerous resources are being prepared to make this change as simple as possible. 
• SASC is providing a variety of ways for students and faculty to learn the service, including sending Brightspace best practices out, numerous tutorials, and access to a test environment where individuals can learn the new service without worry.
• Next semester bikes will return to UNE, for those unaware Zagster, the former bicycle provider, ceased all operations in June 2020, and a new provider has been found. The plan is to acquire a total of 20 bikes and stations to grab and return them at the Forum, Ripich Commons, and the Campus Center.

• Parkhurst continues to do a phenomenal job listening to feedback from students and making changes accordingly. For this upcoming semester this means a few new options will be implemented. This includes more weekend brunch options and nutrition plates. These plates will be a healthy and balanced option for those interested in their personal health.

Make sure you cast a vote for the individuals you’d like to see representing the student body and power through the rest of the semester. With less than three weeks left before finals, now is the time to get prepared and stay on top of classes.