2008 Woodie Awards
Senate may eliminate 'ineffective' COO position
Justin Oswald
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Campus
04/03/08 - At its first meeting, the recently elected Student Senate heard a proposal that would scrap the chief operations officer position.
A bill that would alter the senate bylaws was introduced to dispose a job that has been called unnecessary by some senators.
Eight senators sponsored the bill that stated the COO "has not been utilized to any degree of effectiveness for its entire period of existence," and that it "drains financial and personnel resources that could be repurposed for more effective use."
One of the sponsors is former COO Matt Yates.
"The COO could be a good position and I tried to make it such, but whoever the person is makes it a good position or not. It just matters what the person does with it," Yates said. "I think it needs to be changed or removed."
One idea that was discussed during the last administration was to make the COO a chief information officer, a job that would detail the changes senate made during the year.
But President Thomas Ahrens told the senate it should hold off on eliminating the position until a proposed Bylaws Review Committee completes a study of the senate's governing document.
"Slowly dissecting the bylaws is what we need to do," Ahrens said. "I don't think cutting a complete position is appropriate for a single meeting."
Last week Ahrens nominated former presidential opponent Josh Feinberg as COO. Ahrens recognized the lack of production from COOs of the past, but has ideas to make the job more effective.
"It's the fault of the Executive Committee and president that it's been underutilized," Ahrens said.
Feinberg, in anticipation of being elected to COO, began work on organizing the annual senate retreat. He wants to increase the quality of the retreat and improve the value of it to senators.
"I am astonished that this bill was brought to this meeting. There has been enough drama and wasted time … I just want to be COO, and help make senate better," Feinberg said.
The handler of the bill, Cristin Langworthy, said this was the time to change an ongoing problem within the senate.
"For five years we have struggled to effectively use this position," Langworthy said. "Because this is a transition period, it is appropriate for senate to debate if they want to introduce this bill."
For the bill to pass, three quarters of the senate must vote in favor of its passage.
All other positions were filled at the meeting last night including a crucial appointment to the External Affairs Committee. Jaclyn Pascocello was elected as committee chair, succeeding Ahrens. The job will be important in securing an effective case against the town of Narragansett with the help of the ACLU.
Juelia Simon wants to improve upon the often-criticized performance of the director of communications. She plans to create a monthly newsletter to students, and to poll students on their opinions of senate and its issues.
"I want to get the student body more involved with what's going on," Simon said.
In other business:
- Gabe Mancuso was elected as the senior speaker for the class of 2008 Commencement.
- Electronic Music Association received $1,350 for its Dance Till Dawn this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the URI Memorial Union.
- The Cape Verdean Student Association received $2,070 for an event on the Quadrangle that will feature an obstacle course and Party Vision inflatable activities.
- The URI Contender Academy received $790 for a boxing match on April 10.
Senate Leadership Positions
Executive Committee
Director of Communications - Juelia Simon
Secretary - Nicole Pelletier
Treasurer - Vidhi Shah
Chief Operations Officer - Not Yet Confirmed
Chair Positions
Academic Affairs - Zachary Stolow
Campus Affairs - Amanda LaRocca
Cultural Affairs - Maxwell Adepoju
External Affairs - Jaclyn Pascocello
SOARC - Amanda Clarke
Finance - Allen Petit
A bill that would alter the senate bylaws was introduced to dispose a job that has been called unnecessary by some senators.
Eight senators sponsored the bill that stated the COO "has not been utilized to any degree of effectiveness for its entire period of existence," and that it "drains financial and personnel resources that could be repurposed for more effective use."
One of the sponsors is former COO Matt Yates.
"The COO could be a good position and I tried to make it such, but whoever the person is makes it a good position or not. It just matters what the person does with it," Yates said. "I think it needs to be changed or removed."
One idea that was discussed during the last administration was to make the COO a chief information officer, a job that would detail the changes senate made during the year.
But President Thomas Ahrens told the senate it should hold off on eliminating the position until a proposed Bylaws Review Committee completes a study of the senate's governing document.
"Slowly dissecting the bylaws is what we need to do," Ahrens said. "I don't think cutting a complete position is appropriate for a single meeting."
Last week Ahrens nominated former presidential opponent Josh Feinberg as COO. Ahrens recognized the lack of production from COOs of the past, but has ideas to make the job more effective.
"It's the fault of the Executive Committee and president that it's been underutilized," Ahrens said.
Feinberg, in anticipation of being elected to COO, began work on organizing the annual senate retreat. He wants to increase the quality of the retreat and improve the value of it to senators.
"I am astonished that this bill was brought to this meeting. There has been enough drama and wasted time … I just want to be COO, and help make senate better," Feinberg said.
The handler of the bill, Cristin Langworthy, said this was the time to change an ongoing problem within the senate.
"For five years we have struggled to effectively use this position," Langworthy said. "Because this is a transition period, it is appropriate for senate to debate if they want to introduce this bill."
For the bill to pass, three quarters of the senate must vote in favor of its passage.
All other positions were filled at the meeting last night including a crucial appointment to the External Affairs Committee. Jaclyn Pascocello was elected as committee chair, succeeding Ahrens. The job will be important in securing an effective case against the town of Narragansett with the help of the ACLU.
Juelia Simon wants to improve upon the often-criticized performance of the director of communications. She plans to create a monthly newsletter to students, and to poll students on their opinions of senate and its issues.
"I want to get the student body more involved with what's going on," Simon said.
In other business:
- Gabe Mancuso was elected as the senior speaker for the class of 2008 Commencement.
- Electronic Music Association received $1,350 for its Dance Till Dawn this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the URI Memorial Union.
- The Cape Verdean Student Association received $2,070 for an event on the Quadrangle that will feature an obstacle course and Party Vision inflatable activities.
- The URI Contender Academy received $790 for a boxing match on April 10.
Senate Leadership Positions
Executive Committee
Director of Communications - Juelia Simon
Secretary - Nicole Pelletier
Treasurer - Vidhi Shah
Chief Operations Officer - Not Yet Confirmed
Chair Positions
Academic Affairs - Zachary Stolow
Campus Affairs - Amanda LaRocca
Cultural Affairs - Maxwell Adepoju
External Affairs - Jaclyn Pascocello
SOARC - Amanda Clarke
Finance - Allen Petit