Campus Briefs

On Monday evening, the Students’ Association Senate met for the first time this school year. There were four open positions that had to be filled – Public Relations Committee chair, Policy Committee chair, Projects and Services Committee chair and chief of staff. The candidate for the PR Committee chair was senior Alex Brody. He mentioned that one of his main goals for this academic year is to make students more aware about the student government at UR. In order to accomplish this he suggested using surveys to find out students’ opinions, creating a noticeable logo for the SA Senate, more contact with the Campus Times and making the Hive more user-friendly. Brody was elected by unanimous consent.Meanwhile, junior Matthew Goldblatt was nominated for the Policy Committee chair. He announced that he would be withdrawing his nomination for this position due to increased involvement in other committees and activities. “[I found] a chance to sit on the Fraternities and Sororities Standards Subcommittee,” he said. Another commitment was Goldblatt’s role as a senator. “There’s an opening for a senate seat, and I was definitely [planning on] staying on the senate for a third year,” Goldblatt said. “There’s only so much time in a day.”Instead, sophomore Emily Zametkin is being considered to head the Policy Committee. As Speaker of the Senate and senior Tom Hayes said, “[Since] Matt Goldblatt didn’t have time, we went in search of another person and found Emily Zametkin.” “We found she brings fresh leadership and talent,” Hayes added. “She has been impressive so far in her senate career.” Sophomore Abha Dhakal was the candidate for the Projects and Services Committee chair. As a sophomore she stressed her experience gained during freshman year as well as in high school student government. Senator and senior Steven D’Amico took that into consideration. “Abha is the best candidate for the job,” D’Amico said. “[She is] extremely professional.” Dhakal was elected by unanimous consent.The candidate for chief of staff was Alexander Pearlman. He reiterated that he had gained valuable experience through sophomore class council and this year’s Class of 2008 orientation staff. When asked by D’Amico what the main role of the chief of staff is, Pearlman replied saying that it was mainly a supporting role.”[One of my goals would be to] streamline the inner workings of the senate by increasing the interaction between different committees,” Pearlman added.President of the SA and senior Pete Nabozny said that he and Pearlman have a close relationship and that they would be able to work together effectively. Pearlman was elected by unanimous consent.Reporting by Brian Lasonde and Vera Zavin.