By WILL BREDENSTEINER
Drake University’s 32nd Student Senate held its 11th meeting on Nov. 1, 2018. Two funding motions came to the floor; one from Drake Tennis Club for their Gopher Invitational and Anime Club for their Anime Recharge event.
The Drake Tennis Club requested $488 to cover efforts for registration and mileage costs. The Gopher Invite took place at the University of Minnesota on Oct. 20. Out of 24 teams, they ranked silver, which could land them ranked between 11 to 12, as there was no official ranking. Drake Tennis Club was reimbursed in a unanimous vote
The Drake Anime Club requested $2,200 for its Anime Recharge event. The convention will take place on March 10, beginning at 8 a.m. in Olmsted. They expect at least 500 people and there will be no entry fee. Anime Club intends to have a culture room, which will be run by Drake Japanese Club, a board game room, run by Drake Gaming League, and a video game room, run by Drake e-Sports. There will also be vendors selling merchandise.
Anime Club also said they hope to have two speakers, Brianna Knickerbocker and Kyle McCarley, come and talk, which is the purpose of their fund request with each speaker costing $1,100. The funding motion was favored by the Student Fees and Allocation Committee, and was passed in a unanimous vote. A vote was held to give more funds to cover hotel costs for the speakers, but was defeated.
Vice President of Student Life Bakari Caldwell also gave the report for Student Body President Jose Garica-Fuerte. President Garcia-Fuerte met with Drake University President Marty Martin, in which they covered recent events, such as the loss on campus.
President Martin said he was disheartened like all students. Martin said he was also inspired by the outpouring support campus has shown. President Martin and President Garcia-Fuerte also discussed “Drake Busy” and the causes of it, ranging from AOI required classes to taking 18 credits a semester.
Vice President of Student Activities Giada Morresi reported on upcoming events and open positions. There will be a Midterm Election Party on Nov. 6 at Pomerantz Stage and there will be free pizza. Mars Café will also be hosting the Dave G Spoken Word event on Nov. 9 and there will be free Mars coffee.
Pharmacy and Health Sciences Senator Beau Blake addressed safety concerns with recent muggings and robberies near campus and brought up the possibility of concealed carry on campus to make students safer. “I feel safe on campus, but public safety is not around off-campus,” Blake said. Blake said weapons should not be allowed into buildings, but students should be allowed to practice concealed carry across campus if they were going to an off-campus location, and traveled through campus as a means to getting there.
Student senate still has open appointed positions such as, historian, graphic designer, web designer and elections commissioners. One can contact student.senate@drake.edu if they are interested.
Student senate meets in Cowles Library, in “The Fishbowl” Room 201, on Thursdays at 9 p.m. Students can also view the meeting at live.drake.edu/dbs/. All are permitted to attend or watch.
