The first United Student Government (USG) meeting of the year brought change on many fronts, including the meeting’s venue. Meetings were moved from the seventh floor Student Center to the JVH in Thayer Hall.

During the meeting, USG advisor and Dean of Student Life Michael Gieseke introduced a new addition to the appendix of the USG constitution, which cannot be changed in the future, unlike bylaws. The addition is called the FAIR policy, which is the university’s answer to systemic problems that could exist if USG were to be discriminatory towards any club or organization.

Gieseke explained that the year before, USG had been accused of discrimination by a club and an investigation had been launched. While USG was found not to have been discriminatory, the FAIR policy was introduced to make sure there was a formal way to deal with these possible situations. He explained that the FAIR policy ensures that every complaint goes through a formal process.

USG Advisor and Dean of Students Dean Keith Paylo, in an effort to remain unbiased in future uses of the FAIR policy, resigned as an advisor to USG in the case that he could make an unbiased decision if the FAIR policy needed to be used.

“Believe me, I’ve enjoyed my 12 years with you, but I think it’s necessary and fair to this organization and to the student body I represent to do this,” Paylo said.

The other major order of business was executive cabinet appointments. President Jake Berlin took the floor to formally nominate Jordyn Hronec as the new Recording Secretary of USG. She was appointed standing Recording Secretary without opposition.

President Berlin then formally nominated Senator Jess Wrzosek as the new Parliamentarian. When it came time for discussion, Senator Mathew Johnson noted that per USG bylaws, the President must announce the name of a candidate at least 24 hours before the meeting at which the candidate will be appointed. Additionally, the candidate shall be required to speak for five minutes to the legislative body and answer questions.

This spurred a discussion regarding whether or not any further appointments to the executive cabinet could be made at that time.

Vice President Alexa Lake determined that nominees may not be officially appointed following the discussion.

Berlin then made a motion to appoint Senator Wrzosek as acting Parliamentarian. This was met with opposition from Senator Dennis McDermott. However, Vice President Lake moved to vote on whether Senator Wrzosek would be acting Parliamentarian, citing the fact that in order for clubs to be recognized for funding, a Parliamentarian must be appointed. The motion passed.

Berlin then nominated Kari Dettorre as acting Communications Director. The motion was seconded, and discussion was opened. The motion was ultimately passed.

President Berlin put the motion forward that Vice President Lake would serve as acting Treasurer until the search for a new Treasurer was completed. Berlin elaborated that most students interested in the Treasurer position had been dissuaded by the mandatory eight hours now required in the SAIL office per week and that it would take more time to find a student ready for the commitment.

Senator McDermott questioned why one person would be allowed to occupy two positions in the executive cabinet. Berlin noted that the acting Treasurer is not a part of the executive cabinet, as acting positions in the cabinet are temporary.

Senator Mya Jackson and Senator Jade Steele then expressed a desire to serve as acting Treasurer.

Berlin said he appreciated those who volunteered and reminded the legislative body that electing an interim Treasurer was crucial for clubs to obtain funding. He ultimately used the executive power of the President to appoint Jade Steele as the acting Treasurer.

The positions of Parliamentarian, Communications Director and Treasurer will be permanently filled within the upcoming weeks. The process for electing the President Pro-Tempore requires the vote of the legislative body. Senator Frank-Rempel won the majority and was appointed as the permanent President Pro-Tempore for the semester.

Vice President Lake then brought up a request for a special election regarding freshmen. The special election would allow freshmen, as well as any upperclassman, to run in the fall so they wouldn’t have to wait until the spring semester to join USG. The motion passed without opposition.

Disclosure: Jordyn Hronec is the Editor-Elect of The Globe.