As of Monday, April 12, Lamar Gibson is officially the newly elected treasurer of Senate. “At this point the community is seeking a Senate they can trust,” said Gibson in an e-mail interview. “I would like to be a part of this effort.”

Gibson was nominated by Dana Hamdan, president-elect.

“The WE ticket won the election two Fridays ago, Andre resigned last Sunday, and then we instated a motion to elect Lamar,” Hamdan said at the Senate meeting on Monday. “We need a treasurer because we have budget meetings; it is an immediate concern.”

During the meeting, the general consensus was that Gibson had the ability to step into the shoes of the treasurer and add a strong member onto the WE ticket.

When asked if people were displeased with the way the election was handled, Gibson responded, “Absolutely. Many people feel that this shows discord and dishonesty on the part of the WE ticket.”

However, the newly complete WE ticket has high hopes for the future.

“Before, during, and after the campaign, I stated that the members of the WE ticket were not only friends but also people who had this community’s best interest at heart,” Gibson said. “Regardless of the disagreements and issues, this still hold true.”

Wireless Plan

The drama surrounding elections has overshadowed another important decision made by senate. During the April 7 meeting, a motion was passed to use $302,000 in senate roll-over funds to increase campus wireless coverage.

Over the past few months, a plan to make the entire campus wireless has been forming. Members of Senate such as current president Nancy Klosteridis and current secretary Hannah Kennedy have been working towards spending the roll-over fund in a way that would impact the community for years to come.

“I guess this particular incarnation of the ‘idea’ came out of a ‘preaching to the proverbial choir’ ranting session between me and Aaron Fetrow about the shadiness of the Senate roll-over fund and wireless as a cause in desperate need of those funds,” said Kennedy in an e-mail. “The idea was then endorsed and developed by other members of the executive council and senate. This support gave validation, and allowed an ‘idea’ to become the proposal.”

Aaron Fetrow, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, gives all the credit to Senate.

“I didn’t do a lot,” said Fetrow. “This was a completely student initiative, it was them saying, ‘We want wireless in more places.'”

The roll-over fund is composed of the funds that are not used at the end of every fiscal year. These funds have been accumulating over the years; this is the first time that most of them will be used.

“They have been debating what to do with the fund for years,” said Fetrow. “This Senate as a whole wanted to leave a legacy that past students would agree with.”

“Senate’s involvement in the campus matching wireless plan is the students way of standing up and saying this is important – this is something that we want – but more impressively this is the students saying this is how we are going to help,” said Kennedy.

Senate’s $302,000 contribution is estimated to be near or less than half the final cost of the project. The rest will be made up through a matching program with the administration, board of trustees, and alumni. Senate’s contribution is contingent upon the rest of the money being committed, which will encourage potential donors without risking student funds.

“By showing how much students want it, hopefully everyone will contribute,” said Klosteridis.

The newly elected Senate members are fully behind this new plan. Hamdan plans to uphold her responsibilities as elected president and follow through by providing students with information.

“This is a great step in initiating a project to combine everyone together,” Hamdan said. “It impacts all of us, students, faculty, staff, guests, alumni; it helps more than just one group.”

Senate expects to start installation as soon as all the funds are met. If all goes according to plan, they hope to start this upcoming summer.

“The plan helps take the burden off computer labs, so it helps academically,” Fetrow said. “Socially, I just hope people will still talk to each other.