Undergraduate Senate talks potential finance bill, reviewing campaigning process

Undergraduate Student Senate discussed incoming government positions and the student body presidential campaigning process at its last committee member meetings of the year.

The first committee of the night, finance committee, had to be canceled due to lack of attendance.

“Finance committee was supposed to allocate funds to our clerk Lauren Shumpert and find ways to gain funding to address the needs of student clubs,” Senate Speaker Katharine Shriver said.

Members formulated questions to be presented to students applying for positions within student government. Questions for future applicants were discussed for a variety of boards and committees including the Student Library Advisory Board, Carolina Student Legal Services and Student Television Board of Directors.

Director of State and External Affairs of the Undergraduate Student Government Brian Fields made sure the questions took into account the ability of students to perform their job under busy schedules.

“I know there are many people who are receiving multiple appointments, and making sure they can show up to perform all their duties, I think, is an important question to ask,” he said.

Undergraduate Student Government Treasurer Ben Albert discussed a resolution that would increase the number of people who can oversee the approval of money for student organizations that request it. The reasoning behind the resolution, Albert said, was due to a drive to preserve the finance committee’s accountability and efficiency.

“I just don’t think it’s responsible to have two people determining the funding that student organizations receive,” he said. “I think it’s important to have as many people on finance committee as possible.”

Bills regarding changes to the impeachment process in student government were discussed. If the bill is passed, the impeachment rules would be changed so that if a Bill of Impeachment is filed, at least 20 percent of the Senate and no less than five members must back it up for impeachment proceedings to happen.

A bill was discussed to limit private campaigning for student body president. Tarik Woods, chairperson of the Rules and Judiciary Committee, said the bill aims to address a serious problem.

“I think a very big problem that students have been faced (with) this year is confronting the really ugly problem of how to define and weigh campaign workers and supporters and how to draw a distinction between who is accountable for what,” he said.

“And we have to solve that problem.”

The final bill dealt with how to redraw Senate district lines.

If passed, the bill would have voting districts be drawn along the lines of on-campus housing, off-campus housing, majors — where a senator would be appointed to represent the majors offered at UNC — and a First Generations District. The bill was pulled but is expected to come up for reconsideration during the summer.

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