Bagneris ’15 voted to replace Davoudiasl as Class of 2015 senator

The USG voted unanimously to appoint Mariana Bagneris ’15 as the new Class of 2015 senator at the first meeting of the year Sunday evening.Bagneris will fill the Class of 2015 senate seat that was vacated by Deana Davoudiasl, who stepped down from the position in order to take the semester off.

After USG president Shawon Jackson ’15 sent an email to the Class of 2015 last Monday advertising the opening, nine students applied for the position, he said. Of the nine students, six were chosen to be interviewed. Bagneris was nominated by Jackson and Class of 2015 president Jon Ma, and she was confirmed by the senate.

In the November 2012 election, three members of the Class of 2015 ran for the two positions of Class of 2015 senator.

In addition to Bagneris’ appointment, chief elections manager Rachel Nam ’15 announced that 36 freshmen attended an open house in order to learn more about running for 2017 Class Council. Registration for students who want to run for one of the five council positions ends on Tuesday.

USG treasurer Christina Yu ’14 introduced the general budget for the 2013-14 academic year, which includes $182,229.44 for the fall budget and $171,470.56 for the spring budget. The fall budget allots $6,163.19 more than last year's, according to the meeting agenda.

“Nothing here is set in stone,” Yu said of the budget, which includes $36,010.72 for general funds, $76,364.76 for the social committee and $35,000 for the projects board.

The USG voted to replace the funding for Cane Spree, which the USG is not paying for this year, with funding for the Helios voting system, which was left out of the budget. The USG also voted to move the $4,000 allotted to Tiger Universe to the general funds.

A proposal to instate a mattress rental system, in which students would be able to rent a mattress at the USG office for $2 per night, was also discussed at the meeting.

Several members of the USG expressed concerns about the sanitary ramifications of circulating mattresses around campus if students are not properly cleaning them. There was also a concern that the USG could be held accountable if a disease like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is contracted after a student uses the mattress.

“I think, actually, we should talk to McCosh [Health Center]. A disclaimer or waiver is not going to help us,” Deputy Dean of Undergraduate StudentsThomas Dunne said. “If we could talk to the staff at McCosh about what the implications are specifically, we could figure out the viability for that.”

According to Class of 2016 senator Eduardo Lima, who is the project leader, the USG will purchase five mattresses by the end of the month.