USG 9/9 Meeting

Another academic year begins at UNE, and with that the meetings of the Undergraduate Student Government resume as well. This means a continuation of last year’s long-term projects, while also preparing for a new semester by resuming allocations and conducting elections to fill empty seats. Petitions for USG positions are due on Thursday, Sept. 16th, and voting will occur on Tuesday, Sept. 21nd and Wednesday, Sept. 22nd. File a petition with the form from the link below to make your voice heard.

https://getinvolved.une.edu/organization/undergraduatestudentgovernment/documents/view/1949737

Ongoing Projects

• Every semester the Senate pools resources towards major efforts to improve the campus, known as Capital Projects. Two plans put into action in the past semester are still in the works but are getting closer to completion.
• One of these projects is to move outdoor rec storage from the outdoor closet in the East Dorm to the campus center, where a dining area was in the past. (what was it called?)
• This move will allow for more storage, as well as greater accessibility to UNE’s wide range of rentable equipment for the student body
• Another project currently in progress intends to place new benches around the campus, with a goal of beautifying certain areas.
• At this time, multiple bodies in the senate, along with facilities personnel, are working to find an option that is both functional and financially viable for the campus

New for USG 

• A new committee is being created, with the guidance of Dean of Students Jen Deburro, with the intent of better representing the interests and issues of UNE’s student body.
• This committee will be known as the Dean’s Advisory Council, which will account for the needs of students and share them directly with the University’s administration, with a goal of creating a more direct line of communication for students to express their opinions and suggestions to the administration
• An ongoing mission of the Undergraduate Student Government is to represent the student body and to create positive changes on campus, so creating new ways of engaging the student body is a consistent priority.
• USG office hours will be returning, giving students the ability to speak to their elected representatives on a regular basis.
• To that end, members of the senate will determine a few periods of time during the week where they will be present in the Ripich Commons, listening to the issues, questions, and concerns that students have

Student Life

• Concerning COVID-19, an update was issued by President Herbert on Thursday, Sept. 9th, announcing that the mask mandate will stay in place. Although campus health is trending positively, due to the large presence of cases in Maine and the prominence of the Delta variant, the administration has decided to reassess this policy after another three weeks.
• If you have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, students can be tested at the Student Health Center, with tests being paid for by the student’s insurance.
• There have been reports of wi-fi outages in certain dorms. To help resolve these outages, submit a ticket to IT, including information about where and when an outage occurred, along with all devices that were accessing the internet when the outage occurred.
• A few first-year students have had problems accessing their textbooks. This is due to a federal law which does not allow persons under the age of eighteen to rent textbooks. If you are under eighteen and interested in renting a textbook, please get the assistance of a parent.
• The Ripich Commons dining hall has lactose-free, gluten-free and vegetarian options daily for dining. If you are unable to locate these options, feel free to ask the dining hall staff for assistance.

Now that life at UNE has largely returned to a pre-pandemic state, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities and events across campus. Clubs are once again meeting in person, and with such a large variety of organizations, anyone, and everyone can find something they’re interested in, and get involved. Alongside events and clubs, fall sports are in full swing, including football, rugby, and a variety of others, so get out there and cheer on our Nor’easter Athletes!