Calltoorder
AgendaoftheSenate
HofstraUniversityStudentGovernmentAssociation
March6th,2025
HofstraUniversity
MeetingCalledtoorderat6:51EST
A. QuorumCall
a. Quorumsetto25
B. NewBusiness
a. SA.2025.89.016
i. Senator Finklestein: Is this just a name change?
1 Senator Iacobovici: The social chair is not in the policy series There was an events coordinator, but we all referred to it as social chair. We are just correcting that.
ii. Senator Callahan: Do these chair members have to attend cabinet?
1. Senator Garramone: We are basically doing what we are doing now, just putting it into words. We aren’t necessarily “chairs” in the same way as committee chairs, but nothing changes role wise.
iii Senator Ehrlich: Will there be an election for this role?
1. Senator Iacobovici: This will be further outlined in the policy series.
iv. Comptroller Greenlaw moves to propose language under 103.6 of SA.2025.89.016 to say: “A: The Social Chair(s) shall have access to a maximum of 2% of the Internal Budget. Subsection a: The Social Chair(s) may request an additional allocation at the discretion of the Comptroller on a case-by-case basis in which the additional allocation would come from the Student Government Association Income Account.”
1. Motion seconded
2. Motion passed
v. Senator Iacobovici moves to open Constitutional Convention
1. Motion seconded
a Comptroller Greenlaw: Yea
b. Secretary Egolf: Yea
c. Chair Danek: Yea
d. Chair DiSanto: Yea
e. Chair Quail: Yea
f Chair Skeldon: Yea
g. Chair Young: Yea
h. Chair Denson: Yea
i. Chair Jacobs: Yea
j. Senator Iacobovici: Yea
k. Senator Ahmad: Yea
l. Senator Apostol: Yea
m Senator Callahan: Yea
n. Senator Dzaveluri: Yea
o. Senator Ehrlich: Yea
p. Senator Finkelstein: Yea
q. Senator Garramone: Yea
r. Senator Green: Yea
s. Senator Kurtz: Yea
t Senator Malayeri: Yea
u. Senator Malele: Yea
v. Senator Orellana: Yea
w. Senator Peri: Yea
x. Senator Rades: Yea
y. Senator Ruffo: Yea
z Senator Su: Yea
aa. Senator Thani: Yea
bb. Senator Yepez: Yea
2. Motion passed
vi. Chair Young moves to pass SA.2025.89.016
1. Motion Seconded
a. Comptroller Greenlaw: Yea
b Secretary Egolf: Yea
c. Chair Danek: Yea
d. Chair DiSanto: Yea
e. Chair Quail: Yea
f. Chair Skeldon: Yea
g. Chair Young: Yea
h. Chair Denson: Yea
i Chair Jacobs: Yea
j. Senator Iacobovici: Yea
k. Senator Ahmad: Yea
l. Senator Apostol: Yea
m. Senator Callahan: Yea
n. Senator Dzaveluri: Yea
o. Senator Ehrlich: Yea
p Senator Finkelstein: Yea
q. Senator Garramone: Yea
r. Senator Green: Yea
s. Senator Kurtz: Yea
t Senator Malayeri: Yea
u. Senator Malele: Yea
v. Senator Orellana: Yea
w. Senator Peri: Yea
x. Senator Rades: Yea
y. Senator Ruffo: Yea
z. Senator Su: Yea
aa Senator Thani: Yea
bb. Senator Yepez: Yea
2. Motion Passed
b. SA.2025.89.019
i. Senator Peri: In regards to results being public, do you feel like if a candidate receives minority/majority votes it would cause some people to be upset?
1 That is fair, however if you are willing to put yourself in a public campaign in front of the entire student body there are likely to be expectations.
ii. Chair Denson movies to pass SA.2025.89.019
1. Motion seconded
a. Comptroller Greenlaw: Yea
b. Secretary Egolf: Yea
c Chair Danek: Yea
d. Chair DiSanto: Yea
e. Chair Quail: Yea
f. Chair Skeldon: Yea
g. Chair Young: Yea
h. Chair Denson: Yea
i. Chair Jacobs: Yea
j Senator Iacobovici: Yea
k. Senator Ahmad: Yea
l. Senator Apostol: Yea
m. Senator Callahan: Yea
n. Senator Dzaveluri: Yea
o. Senator Ehrlich: Yea
p. Senator Finkelstein: Yea
q Senator Garramone: Yea
r. Senator Green: Yea
s. Senator Kurtz: Yea
t. Senator Malayeri: Yea
u. Senator Malele: Yea
v. Senator Orellana: Yea
w Senator Peri: Yea
x. Senator Rades: Yea
y. Senator Ruffo: Yea
z. Senator Su: Yea
aa Senator Thani: Yea
bb. Senator Yepez: Yea
2. Motion passed
iii. Chair Danek moves to close Constitutional Convention
1. Motion seconded
a. Comptroller Greenlaw: Yea
b. Secretary Egolf: Yea
c Chair Danek: Yea
d. Chair DiSanto: Yea
e. Chair Quail: Yea
f. Chair Skeldon: Yea
g. Chair Young: Yea
h. Chair Denson: Yea
i. Chair Jacobs: Yea
j Senator Iacobovici: Yea
k. Senator Ahmad: Yea
l. Senator Apostol: Yea
m. Senator Callahan: Yea
n. Senator Dzaveluri: Yea
o. Senator Ehrlich: Yea
p Senator Finkelstein: Yea
q. Senator Garramone: Yea
r. Senator Green: Yea
s. Senator Kurtz: Yea
t. Senator Malayeri: Yea
u. Senator Malele: Yea
v. Senator Orellana: Yea
w Senator Peri: Yea
x. Senator Rades: Yea
y. Senator Ruffo: Yea
z. Senator Su: Yea
aa. Senator Thani: Yea
bb. Senator Yepez: Yea
2. Motion passed
c. SA.2025.89.017
i Secretary Egolf moves to propose language to replace all “Event Coordinator(s)” outside of Section E Subsection 1 to say “Social Chair(s)” and replace “Vice President” to “Secretary” at every location.
1. Motion seconded
2. Motion Passed
ii. Senator Peri moves to pass SA.2025.89.017
1 Motion seconded
2. Motion passed
d. SA.2025.89.020SA.2025.89.020-ElectionSAPS
i. Senator Callahann: In the campaigning section, it notes that a President or VP elect can support another candidate I have concerns that it can lead to an unfair race.
1. President Anniballi: I didn’t write that, that was not changed by me but has been there prior. If you wanted to change it you would have to open a moderator caucus or propose language.
ii. Chair Young: It looks like there is something crossed out on the SA that wasn’t crossed out in the Constitution changes we made.
1 President Anniballi: I think it was only in the SA, which is what we are changing here. We double checked and it is all set.
iii. Senator Dzaveluri moves for a 5 minute unmoderated caucus to discuss SA.2025.89.020
1. Motion seconded
2. Motion passed
3. Senator Dzaveluri: I don't agree that only members of SGA should be available for nomination There will be bias if we want or not If someone ran together or not, they could be biased. A policy change could be used in the wrong way, allowing a biased person to be elected to the commision and help their preferred candidate.
4. Senator Iacobovici: From my understanding, the elections commissioner has the right to interpret the rules as they best understand them This inherently leads to bias, as it is impossible to prevent. However, previous senates put this into place likely due to previous situations that helped favor a candidate. We should keep the rule as it is to prevent having to change it in the future.
5. Chair Young: There probably was a reason this was put into policy. No matter what, you are going to have a strong opinion on someone whether you ran together or endorsed them. It is in the nature of running a campaign
6. Senator Rades: This was initiated because the President and VP used to be on the ticket together. It doesn’t affect the amount of insider bias a person may have. There are enough people that could be on the Elections Commission that would be eligible that have not run for Eboard positions.
7. Chair Danek moves to extend the unmoderated caucus by 5 minutes
a. Motion seconded
b. Motion passed
8. Chair Quail: For clarification of policy, there is a limited number of members who can be on the elections commission due to the rules of being in Senate and not running again for any position. You could make these arguments for anyone, but this policy is now including fail-safes to make sure the commission is being fair
9. Chair Danek: The current policy puts a lot of stops on unfair advantage. In regards to non-SGA members on elections
commission, while I get the sentiment, it would not be the right decision to have someone who does not have the experience of being a member of a governing body.
10. Comptroller Greenlaw: For some clarification, there are only 3 seniors, severely limiting the number of members who can be on commission.
11. Chair Young: To note, though, it doesn’t just have to be seniors, but rather anyone who is not returning to SGA.
12 Senator Iacobovici: To protect the the future of senate, we should keep it as is. Again, why change it now just to change it again.
13. Senator Yepez: I think we should have trust in these people. They ran the Senate prior, know how the elections work first hand, and would have a benefit on the commission.
14. Chair Young: Even though this leadership team is great, that has not always been the case. We can’t say that for the future, and naturally these positions hold a lot of power There is a reason for this.
15. Secretary Egolf moves to extend the caucus by 5 minutes with no rules
a. Motion seconded
b. Motion passed
16 President Anniballi: As someone who has ran twice in these elections, I have personally had members on the elections commission who explicitly did not like me. We also had someone drop the commission two years ago because they could not be impartial. Regardless, their bias did not impact the race. Also, the commission only really holds information sessions and handles issues when or if they arise.
17 Chair Young: Why change it if there clearly was already bias?
18. President Anniballi: The goal would be to get more people to be able to run for election commission. I don’t see it in a way that would create more bias, but maybe you feel otherwise.
19. Senator Garramone: How does the commission get chosen?
20. President Anniballi: as of right now, the senate elects. If someone notes that they are coming back, someone can nominate them. If they accept, they are barred from running for any election
21. Senator Finklestein moves to extend the caucus by 10 minutes.
a. Motion seconded
b. Motion passed
22. Senator Garramone: What is the main goal here?
23. President Anniballi: The main thing is this is a remnant of old election policies. I can imagine the issues that may arise if I ran with someone and now worked as an election commission That is not how elections are held now.
24. VP Joyal: What constitutes as running together?
25. President Anniballi: We did not run together officially. We had that discussion during campaign meetings The way the policy is now, there is no running together. Tickets are now separate in every case.
26. Senator Iacobovici: Adding this specific line does not necessarily allow for more unbiased people. Associates and justices are allowed to run for commission as well, and one could argue that they would be the most unbiased compared to a senator or chair.
27 Chair Danek: I think the section that clarifies how to remove a member of the commission is our safeguard. It helps eliminate bias, as news will spread and a vote to remove that person would be helpful. It helps with mostly all possible issues.
28. Chair Quail: As someone who was elections commissioner, there is not much that we actually do. We set dates, work out info sessions, and all main responsibilities go to the advisor.
29 Chair Young: There are a lot more powers given to the commission with these policy changes. So to say it is just dates is not necessarily fair at this point, as they would have more say.
30. President Anniballi: Let’s remember that with this, 50% of the commission must agree on a decision for it to happen. It eliminates bias in itself.
31 Senator Peri: Also, the senate votes on the commission It has to be a 50% majority. If there is a specific issue with a specific person, we can debate that person then and say your peace then. What this is saying is that they are getting more power, but the results itself are up to the students' vote.
32. Senator Finklestein moves to extend a moderated caucus for 5 minutes.
33 Chair DiSanto: I think it all goes back to the main idea that we all have bias. Presidents have campaign teams who explicitly publicly endorse candidates, so they would also have bias. We shouldn’t just bar the President and VP.
34. Senator Iacobovici: I reiterate that we are having a debate now. We shouldn’t change it just because someone wants to run for a position right now.
35 Senator D: I don’t think we are missing the point We are simply pointing to a specific section which a majority of the previous speakers didn’t like. Why are we making it more bias? We can use associates and J panel which would be less bias than anyone at this table.
36. Senator Finklestein: We are going in circles. There is nothing left to be said.
37 Secretary Egolf: I agree We have said all that needs to be said, let's just vote and see how it goes. Also, as far as associates or Justices
to be less bias, one of Lincoln's good friends is the current Chief Justice, she could be just as biased
38. Comptroller Greenlaw moves to extend speaking time by 1 minute
a. Motion seconded
b. Motion passed
39. Comptroller Greenlaw: I would like to note a previous president has sat as elections commissioner, so we are really just going to give precedent.
40 Senator Malele: If Lincoln said he wouldn’t run to pass this, I just want to know what is so important?
41. Secretary Egolf: He did say multiple times that it was to extend the people who can be in the commission due to the bias that is there for any member of the commission regardless of previous position.
iv. Senator Callahan moves to propose language to SA.2025.89.020 Section 6c to say “The current President and Vice President may not endorse any ticket ”
1. Motion seconded
2. Motion objected
a. For, Senator Callahan: I don’t think it is fair. If someone is being endorsed by a current office holder, that clearly gives them an advantage in the race. It is better for them to stay completely separate
i. Senator Finklestein: I agree with everything mentioned. I know if Lincoln endorsed someone, I would likely have a positive bias towards them.
ii. Senator Callahan: Everyone has bias. That is okay. This new language helps reduce it. We will never have any bias, but less is better. An outgoing officer should not endorse an incoming officer, essentially choosing their successor.
b. Against, Comptroller Greenlaw: It isn’t undemocratic. Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden. We have real life examples of this. Being on the election commission yields your power to endorse someone. If anything, these policies censor the elected commission.
i Chair Skeldon: Supporting the language as it is written, supporting the SA would effectively prevent bias as the old President/VP could not endorse another person.
ii. Chair Danek: I think both sides have compelling arguments. There is very limited power these old officers can actually use for endorsements.
c For, Senator Callahan: I agree most avenues are cut off for endorsement, but let's make that more clear. Let’s make it very obvious that they should not endorse a candidate or
successor, whether they plan to run again or not. It is vague enough to leave room for questions This isn’t real politics, always. This is student government. It isn’t an elite social club, and we can have stronger rules and regulations.
i. Senator Garramone: This university is very small. The people voting are way smaller than a real US election. If I wasn’t on SGA, and Lincoln was endorsing someone and he was the only SGA person I knew, I would trust his word
ii. Senator Finklestein: To echo, it definitely creates more bias when a president endorses someone. We should avoid as much bias as possible.
d. Against, Chair DiSanto: The president or VP cannot appoint their successor. Each individual gets a vote, and the outgoing officers don’t have more vote than anyone else
i. Comptroller Greenlaw: Sure, I gave a wider example, but it is censoring nonetheless. This government still is a democracy.
ii. Senator Ruffo: I agree with the previous. We should allow officers to make a personal choice or endorsement as that is how the real world works
iii. Senator Ahmad: We are a study body, and we should give all people the power to endorse individuals.
iv. Senator Peri: Not all 6000 know or endorse Lincoln.
3. Motion failed
v Chair Skeldon moves to hold a straw poll to see if members are in favor of passing this senatorial action as currently written.
vi. Chair Young has moved to propose language for SA.2025.25.020 to say “All members of the Student Government Association (excluding the External Advocacy Branch, President, and Vice President), are eligible for nomination, consistent with the Constitution.
1. Motion seconded
2 Motion failed
vii. Secretary Egolf moves to pass SA.2025.089.020
1. Motion seconded
2. Motion passed 14-6-3
e. SA 2025 89 018
i. ChairDanek:Soprevious,youhadtwopeopleforandtwopeopleagainst. Ithinkthisnewproposalallowsforaggressionandheatedarguments.It mayproduceanxietyorunfairness.Whythechange?
1. ChairYoung:Wewouldstillfollowdecorumandrobertsrules.Its logicalrules,andcomparingcandidatesishowyoumakethe correctdecisions.
ii. SecretaryEgolfmovestoholdastrawpollthatstipulatesthatcaucus discussionsshouldbepositiveonly.
1. Motionseconded
2. Motionpassed
iii. SenatorPeri:Toclarify,itallowsroomforcriticismtohearbothsides.
iv. ChairYoung:Yes,itisallprofessionalcommentary.Westillhaveto followRobert’sRules.
v. SenatorRadesmovestoproposelanguagetoadd“Thecontentofthe moderatedcaucusmustberelevanttotheabilityofthecandidateto performtheirrespectiveroles.”
1. MotionSeconded
2. MotionPassed
vi. SecretaryEgolf,PointofInquiry:Doesthelanguageneedtochangesince theSecretaryisnotappointedanymore?Isthisoldlanguage?
1. ChairQuail:No,itjustallowsforareplacementiftheSecretary leftandnooneelseranfortheposition.
vii. SenatorCallahanmovestoproposelanguagetoSectionDSubsectiondto addsubsection1tosay“ThePresidentmayappointanActing Comptrollertoserveduringtheperiodofvacancy.”
1. Motionseconded
2. Motionfailed
viii. SenatorIacobovicimovestopassSA.2025.089.018
1. Motionseconded
2. Motionpassed
f. SenatorProjectResults
i. Congratstothefollowingprojects:Accessibility,HofstraFieldDay,and HealthcareInitiatives!
g. ChairQuailmovestosuspendtherules.
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
h. SAWDiscussion–KeepHofstraBeautifulWeek
i. Shiftingfromasurveyeachsemestertodo1surveyinthefall,andthen hostingevents/initiativesinthespringbasedonthoseresults
ii. WeeklongeventswithnotjustSGA,butotherorgsandoffices
i. ComptrollerGreenlawmovestoreinstatetherules
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
C. ApprovaloftheMinutes
a. ComptrollerGreenlawmovestopasstheSenateminutesfrom02/27
i. MotionSeconded
ii. MotionPassed
b. SenatorIacobovicimovestopasstheCabinetminutesfrom03/05
i. MotionSeconded
ii. MotionPassed
D. E-boardReports
a. President
i. SenatorInitiatives!GreatWork!
ii. MeetingwithPresidentPoserWentWell
iii. WorkingonClubSports
iv. WorkingonAthleticsWall
v MeetingwithUniversitySenateNextWeek
b. VicePresident
i. Noformalreport!
c. Comptroller
i. Noformalreport#comptrolling
d. Secretary
i. Proofreadtheminutes!!Forreal!!
ii. YouMUSTincludesga_ethics@pride.hofstra.eduifyouaresendingan absenceemail.YoumustalsotellSophiawhenyouareleavingtheroom orforgottofillouttheofficehoursheet.
iii. “EvelynQuailhatespuppies”
E. CommitteeChairReports
a. Appropriations
i. Minutes
ii. Greatmeeting!
1. Fullyfundedeveryclub
2. Clubvolleyballfundedforhotelsfornationals
a. FromVictoryFund
b. Policyseriesoverturnedtofundroomsfor4nightsinstead of3
b. ClubResources
i. Minutes
ii. NewClubTraining
iii. Rearrangingandimprovingsomecluboffice/storagespaces!
iv. AfewclubsgettingreadytocometoSenate!
c. Communications
i. Minutes
ii. Workingonupdatingthedisplaycase
iii. WorkingwithWellnessforRachelontheRunseries!
d. Programming
i. 3/4/25ProgrammingMinutes
ii. Eventscomingup!
1. SexFest:w/BSU+QTPOCC
a. March26th,Time:TBD
b. MPReast&west
2. KaraokeNight:w/Compass+Wellness+Facilities
a. March27th8-11PM
b. HofstraUSA
3. SpringIntoActionWeek
a. March24-28th,9AM-5PM
b. TablingSheet (MoretocomeaboutSAW!)
c. StudentCenterAtrium
4. CardsAgainstHypnosiswithDavidHall
a. April3rd,6-7:30PM(withteasershowbeforehandin STU!)
b. StudentCenterTheater
5. RelayForLife
a. April26th,12-8PM
b. IntramuralFields
i. Howtoregister2025.pdf
ii. joinSGA'steam -wewillbefacepainting!
e. AcademicAffairs
i. Minutes
ii. MeetingwithProvost’sOfficeTomorrowonMid-SemesterCTRsand First-yearWritingRequirements
iii. MetwithWritingStudiesdepartmentonfirst-yearwritingrequirements andWPEYesterday
iv ReachedouttoViceProvostofAccreditationandAssessmentValentito setupMeeting
v. GettingHiredintheAgeofAIw/CareerCenter4/141:00PM
f. Equity&Inclusion
i. Minutes03/06
1. ApolloTheatreTrip
2. Women@Hofstra
3. WorldsTableEvent
a. Tomorrow6-8pmintheWorldTable
4. Disabilitycommunity@Hofstra
a. Wednesday12th1-2pm
5. SexFestMarch26th!
g. Facilities&Operations
i. Minutes
ii. KeepHofstraBeautifulstickersareuparoundtheStuandmanyacademic buildings
iii. SGAhasatableattheNutritionFaironMarch10thfrom12-3pmw/ Wellness-TablingSheet
iv Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutyourhousingapplicationletmeknow
v. Ifyouareinterestedinmyposition,reachouttome!
h. Wellness&CampusSafety
i. MMW&CS3/6/2025
ii. RachelontheRun!
F. ApprovalofCommitteeMinutes
a. SenatorCallahan movestopassthecommitteeminutesfrom03/03
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
b. ChairSkeldonmovestopasstheallocationsfrom03/04
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
G. ForGoodoftheOrder
a. AnythingSGArelated!
H. Announcements
a. Anythingnon-SGArelated!
b. SenatorRadesmovestoopenthegallery
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
c. SecretaryEgolfmovestoclosethegallery
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
I. Adjournment
a. SenatorFinklestein movestoadjournthismeeting
i. Motionseconded
ii. Motionpassed
1. Meetingadjournedat9:25pmEST