Senate Responsibilities
Made up of representatives from each departmental org, the Senate is the governing body of the GSO (Article VII: Senate). The Senate’s main function is to determine the policies and procedures of the GSO, from approving: yearly referenda (bylaw 3, section 25), the elections procedures, and guidelines for each fund; to the GSO budget (bylaw 8, section 4) and Constitution & Bylaws themselves (Article X).
Senators are highly encouraged to participate in GSO Committees, where the work of setting policies begins. However, committees are also responsible for engaging with the Senate throughout the process of developing policies. The Senate has final approval of all GSO policies and may choose to reject policies that were developed without their input.
In addition to policy, the Senate is also responsible for overseeing all GSO officer positions. They approve appointed officers & ratify election results; review officers’ semesterly reports of accomplishments; and have the power to recall officers & other senators if necessary (bylaw 3, section 26).
GSO senators are elected by their constituent departments. Please speak to your departmental org if you are interested in running for a Senate position. (Additionally, 1 senator will be appointed for every 5 SCMA orgs to represent their interests.)
Senate Meetings
Spring 2026
Past Meeting Minutes
- 4/24/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & General Reports. Highlights:
- Appointment Confirmation – Passed: “Do you approve the appointment of Jaden Hromada as GSO Assistant to the President for 2026-27?” 17 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- 2026-27 Budget – Final Draft Presented by Liz Young
- Only major change: Civic Engagement Project – Presented by Liz Young on behalf of VP, Jordan Traut-Jellad.
- Budget Passed: “Do you approve the GSO Budget for 2026-27 as presented?” 16 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain.
- Updates to Funds – All 5 passed:
- GSCTRF: Current Guidelines. Proposed Changes. “Do you approve of the proposed changes to the Graduate Student Conference, Travel, and Research Fund (GSCTRF) guidelines?” 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- GPDF: Current Guidelines. Proposed Changes. “Do you approve of the proposed changes to the Graduate Professional Development Fund (GPDF) guidelines?” 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- CAFE: Current Guidelines. Proposed Changes. “Do you approve of the proposed changes to the Conference Allocation and Funding Endowment (CAFÉ) guidelines – (at 100% reimbursement rate)?” 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- GEF: Current Guidelines. Proposed Changes. “Do you approve of the proposed changes to the Graduate Enrichment Fund (GEF) guidelines?” 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- Preschool Fund: Current Guidelines. Proposed Changes. “Do you approve of the proposed changes to the Preschool Fund guidelines?” 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- Semester Reports: President’s Report, GVPMA Report & Financial Report.
- 4/10/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Election Results:
- President-VP Team: Barima Akwasi Amankwaah/Jordan E. Traut-Jellad
- GVPMA: Mariam Rizk
- BU Council Rep: Irene Cui
- Student Activity Fee passed
- Certification Vote – All measures passed:
- “Do you certify the election results for President-VP Team?” 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- “Do you certify the election results for GVPMA?” 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- “Do you certify the election results for BU Council Representative?” 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- 2026-27 Budget – Draft presented by Treasurer, Liz Young. Vote tabled to 4/24.
- Bylaws Amendment Passed: Proposed Changes to Bylaws 1 & 8 “Do you approve the updates to Bylaw 1 & 8 as presented on 4/10/2026?” 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- Election Results:
- 3/31/2026 – Emergency Senate Meeting Minutes. Highlights:
- There was a technical issue regarding the election that required our immediate attention. Prior to the meeting, an email was sent out to all the senators, detailing the issue.
- The Issue:
- Following the close of the election, we received several reports from graduate students that they never received the email invitation to vote.
- Total ballots cast in the election was 362, out of 3411 eligible voters (down from 692 in 2025 and 788 in 2024).
- These two issues, taken together, suggest that a large number of student may not have gotten the email inviting them to vote.
- For the most part, there was no issue with the voting form itself, just the email invitation.
- Suggested Solution:
- Reopen the ballot form from Thu 4/9 9am to Fri 4/10 9am. All current votes will remain. Only students that have not yet voted will be able to add their votes.
- To ensure everyone gets the email invitation this time, we will be using our regular email listserv (instead of the list that B-Engaged had recommended). We will also be reaching out to the University departments asking them to help spread the word.
- To eliminate bias, no results will be shared from the election until the decision is made.
- Measure Passed: “Do you approve of reopening the 2026-27 GSO Elections ballot from Thu 4/9 9am to Fri 4/10 9am?” 15 yes, 1 no, 0 abstain.
- 3/27/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Early Chartering & Recognition is open – $500 incentive for orgs that submit completed chartering & recognition by May 1, 2026. See Chartering & Recognition for guidelines & Chartering Dos & Don’ts.
- VP, Sravani Valivati has resigned from her position, effective 4/1/2026. There are two main duties that need to be covered in her absence:
- Chartering & Recognition – President, Prabhu Anil Bhor, will be taking over for the next month. He will be checking the Office of the VP email, so please continue to send question there: vp@gsobinghamton.org
- Bylaws – Admin, Em Goodlife will be taking over for the next month. Please reach out to office@gsobinghamton.org if you have any bylaws updates for review.
- We will be reaching out to the new VP to see if they are able to start May 1st.
- Guest, Nick Washington, introduced the Climate Action Campaign – looking for graduate student collaboration.
- Currently looking for organizational liaisons, journalists, & initiative managers. Sign up for the CAC Graduate/Undergraduate Executive Board. See minutes for Nick’s contact info.
- 3/13/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Chief Elections Officer, Yakubu Alhassan Zakaria, discussed debate results.
- 2/27/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Chief Elections Officer, Yakubu Alhassan Zakaria introduced Leadership Recognition & Citation Program.
- Em Goodlife introduced Chartering & Recognition Program on behalf of VP, Sravani Valivati. Sub-organizations that complete chartering & recognition for 2026-27 during this Spring semester will receive a $500 incentive to be added to their org budget.
- President, Prabhu Anil Bhor, discussed Student Activity Fee Campaign. Vote yes on the Student Activity fee! Promotional materials to follow.
- Em Goodlife introduced vision for the Speaker for the Senate role and encouraged senators to join their ad hoc committee to create the role. Committee Interest Form.
- 2/13/2026 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Measure Passed: Proposed change to GSCTRF – “GSO committee members with documented participation for a semester, verified by the head of each committee, will have their allotment doubled per academic year.” 18 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain.
- Bylaws Amendment Passed: Bylaw 7 – Officer Hours & Compensation 19 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- Measure Passed: Graduate English Organization (GEO) Proposal – Uncorked Creations – “Do you approve $2,457 to purchase a studio and catering package at Uncorked Creations, open to all graduate students? This would come from the GSO reserves and will not affect any individual budgets for the year.” 13 yes, 4 no, 1 abstain.
- BU Council Rep, Irene Cui, and Graduate Council Rep, Samiksha Gaur presented new program for fall 2026: International Immersion Program. Requested $1.5k from GSO to help sponsor the program (already have commitments from several other campus offices). Senate was generally in support. Will go to Budget Committee as they work on 2026-27 GSO Budget.
- 12/5/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes. Reports: General Report, President Semester Report, Vice President Semester Report, Financial Semester Report. Highlights:
Note – The Senate requires a quorum of half its voting members in order to vote on proposed changes. Unfortunately, we did not have quorum of half the voting members (14/28) at the meeting in order to vote. In attempt to correct for that, a summary and voting link was sent out to the absent senators with voting extended for 24 hours.- Proposed update to GSCTRF – Even with the extension, this vote did not make quorum. Will be added to the agenda again in the Spring.
- Measure Passed: Reassessing Treasurer Compensation.
- Do you approve increasing the Treasurer Compensation to $17,000/year? 14 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain.
- Do you approve a $10,000 restructuring fund for just 2025-26 in recognition of increased efforts this year: $6000 additional for the Treasurer and $4000 additional for the Chief Elections Officer? 13 yes, 0 no, 2 abstain.
- President & Treasurer gave semester reports. VP provided written report only.
- 11/21/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes. Reports: General Report, GVPMA Semester Report, Admin Coordinator Semester Report. Highlights:
- Bylaws Amendment Passed: President-VP Ticket. 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain. (GSO Constitution & Bylaws – proposed changes)
- GVPMA & Admin Coordinator gave semester reports. President, VP & Treasurer will give reports at next meeting.
- 11/7/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Title IX Training w Andrew Baker & Katy Perry: Preventing & Responding to Sexual Harassment. See recording & attached slides.
- Announcement re Committees: Working on creating an incentive program for committee members. Will be starting with additional GSCTRF funding (doubling current allotment). Details to follow shortly. If you are interested in joining a committee, please see our updated Committee Interest Form.
- Measure Passed: (Updated price from 10/10 vote): Attachments: Name Badge Preview & Name Badge Invoice. Do you approve the use of $2,385.48 in reserve funds for name badges for the GSO E-Board, GSO Committees, & sub-org E-Board members? 17 yes, 3 no, 0 abstain.
- Cont. Discussion: Moving Sub-org Elections & Recognition to Spring – Ideas on overall timeline?
- 10/24/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Cont. Discussion: President-VP Ticket. 2nd Preliminary Vote: Do you approve changing the bylaws to require the President and VP to run as a single ticket with the requirement that they are from separate schools? 100% in favor.
- Discussion: Ways to Improve Sub-Org Election Procedure (Who should run the sub-org elections?)
- 10/10/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Measure Passed: Do you approve $2,500 from reserve funds for a bus trip to NYC for graduate students? 14 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.
- Measure Passed: Name Badge Proposal: Do you approve the use of GSO reserve funds to purchase official officer badges for SCMA and GSO representatives? 12 yes, 3 no.
- Cont. Discussion: President-VP Ticket. Presented Summary of Ideas on Increasing Representation to all 6 Schools. (attachment above).
- 9/26/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Discussion & Preliminary Vote: Do you believe that the chartering and submission processes should be mandated of completion by the end of the spring semester prior to the term of the respective board? 68.4% in favor.
- Discussion & Preliminary Vote: Do you think that the GSO should alter the elections process to have the President and Vice President run as a ticket? 66.7% in favor.
- If yes, you think we should mandate that the President and Vice President be members of different schools within the University? 66.7% in favor.
- 9/12/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Chartering & Recognition submission due today!
- Committee interest forms due today!
- Chartering & Recognition:
- Reminder: Elections are mandatory for all sub-orgs.
- Proposed moving chartering & recognition to spring semester.
- 8/29/2025 – Senate Meeting Minutes & Reports. Highlights:
- Committees – We encourage senators to sign up for committees!
- Voucher submission form is now available (for recognized orgs).
- BU Food Policy Update – Threshold increase to $300 and new online form.
- Events: GSO Welcome Event on 9/5, Multicultural Extravaganza on 9/7 & more
- Redesigned website launched today!
- AOB – Resources for international students re: national concerns?
- AOB – Reports template requested.
- Senate Meeting Minutes 2024-25
- Senate Meeting Minutes 2023-24
- Senate Meeting Minutes 2022-23
- Senate Meeting Minutes 2021-22
- Senate Meeting Minutes 2020-21