The University of North Florida Student Government committees met last Friday to review the 2026-2027 Activity and Service Fee Budget, approve funding requests, appoint an associate justice, and discuss the questions for February\u2019s Osprey Voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Rules and Oversight Committee (R&O) and the University and Student Affairs Committee (USA) also reviewed title revisions in accordance with their respective policies and procedures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rules and Oversight Committee\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Rules and Oversight Committee (R&O) approved the appointment of Criminal Justice major Tais Fernandes to the judicial branch as an associate justice.<\/p>\n
In a speech to the Senate body, Fernandes referenced her involvement in UNF\u2019s Brazilian Student Association (BRASA UNF) and experience as an events assistant at the Student Union in relation to her leadership skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When asked by Senator Hunter Hayes how she defines leadership, Fernandes said she would like to be involved in situations that no one else would want to take on. If confirmed as an associate justice, Fernandes also said she would prioritize facts over beliefs.<\/p>\n
When Hayes asked whether she had read the statutes and titles for the judicial branch, Fernandes admitted she had not yet read all the responsibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though Hayes voted no for Fernandes\u2019 nomination following her response, R&O Committee Vice Chair Nevaeh Perez said that Fernandes should be given more time to continue learning her judicial responsibilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to think about student government as a place for students to learn and gain practical experience,\u201d said Perez. <\/p>\n
Senate President Pro-Tempore Winter Slaughter also agreed with Perez\u2019s sentiment if Fernandes were to be appointed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three votes passed Fernandes\u2019s appointment, with one opposing vote from Hayes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the R&O meeting, the body discussed changes to Title IV of the Student Government Constitution. One of the proposed revisions was that members of the UNF Senate body during budget hearings could receive an absence point if absent, as recorded in the initial or final roll call, for missing meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Budget hearings are held every spring ahead of the Activity and Service Fee Budget. <\/p>\n
According to Title XI<\/a> of the SG Constitution, \u201cEach year Agency Budgets shall be zero-based and reviewed by the B&A Committee who shall report their findings and make appropriate recommendations to the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the budget hearings are such an important thing we do in the Senate,\u201d said Slaughter. \u201cThis should be a thing that all senators are required to go to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Senators who accumulate six or more absence points, even after appealing to the R&O Committee, will be subject to the removal process, according to SG. Slaughter proposed that senators reduce their absence points by volunteering for events with written approval from the Senate President and the Senate Pro-Tempore.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bill was passed unanimously and will be subject to Senate approval.<\/p>\n Budget and Allocations Committee\u00a0<\/p>\n During their meeting, the B&A Committee approved a special request for the Ceramics Guild<\/a> and a travel request for z\/Ospreys<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Afterwards, UNF Student Body Treasurer Katherine Toro Villanueva and Associate Director Jason Edgar of SG\u2019s Business and Accounting Office reviewed the 2026-2027 Activity and Service Fee Budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Fencing and Hema Club was also on the committee\u2019s agenda, but no representative was present, so their special request was not heard. The B&A committee will table or postpone the special request until further notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n Below are the travel requests the committee approved, along with the amounts requested.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ceramics Guild: $1,800\u00a0 Representatives for the Ceramics Guild said they will use the funds to host Karina Mago, a visiting Venezuelan ceramic artist whose work spans ceramics, painting, and printmaking, for a workshop.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to their presentation, hosting an artist like Mago will provide UNF students with access to professional artist connections and encourage creative practices beyond regular coursework. Mago is expected to visit UNF on April 1 for the workshop and give a lecture on April 2.<\/p>\n \u201cKarina is going to show us how she makes most of her work, and it\u2019ll provide hands-on experience for us to implement those techniques into our own art,\u201d said one of the Ceramics Guild representatives.<\/p>\n The B&A unanimously approved the special request.<\/p>\n President Daniel Thompson of z\/Ospreys said that the money from the proposed travel request will help five students attend a supercomputing manufacturing and research workshop in Poughkeepsie, New York, from March 23 to 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funds will be allocated for the students\u2019 transportation and lodging, according to Thompson. <\/p>\n According to Thompson\u2019s PowerPoint presentation, z\/Ospreys is UNF\u2019s mainframe enterprise computing club. By attending the workshop, students can meet with professionals from technology companies such as International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)<\/a>. <\/p>\n IBM is a multinational technology and consulting company that focuses on supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cIBM has been a big source of hiring for recent graduates from the [UNF] School of Computing,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n Senator Hunter Hayes expressed some uncertainty about how the event would benefit the entire UNF student body and asked Thompson how the workshop\u2019s success would be measured.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was finding, after some questioning about how this benefits the student body, to be inconclusive,\u201d said Hayes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senator Benjamin Shmia disagreed and believed the workshop would benefit the student body.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf students who go to this event get internships, that\u2019s just a good thing,\u201d said Shmia. \u201cIt helps make UNF look good in general.\u201d<\/p>\n B&A Committee Chair Hazel Joseph, Senator Brock Varzaly and Treasurer Villanueva abstained from voting due to being members of z\/Ospreys. The travel request passed with six votes, with Hayes casting the only opposing vote.<\/p>\n 2026-2027 Activity and Service Fee Budget<\/p>\n During the discussion of the 2026-2027 Activity and Service Fee Budget, Treasurer Villanueva highlighted that the biggest changes were the rise in OPS (Other Personnel Services) wages and the reduction in the total A&S from $6,121,419 <\/a>to $5,959,525.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0UNF SG 2026-2027 Activity and Service Fee Budget breakdown:<\/p>\n Student Union: $1,199,612 During the budget discussion, Slaughter asked why the Office of Student Life budget has not increased. According to the budget document sent by Villanueva, the current Office of Student Life\u2019s budget exceeds its 2025-2026 budget.\u00a0 However, it is about $50,000 less than the 2023-2024 budget, which allocated $774,588.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are we not helping Student Life?\u201d said Slaughter. \u201cThis is what attracts people to our school.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a Student Life representative, the organization is primarily funded by A&S fees and is not always granted additional funds amid inflation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Office of Student Life<\/a> is responsible for encouraging UNF students to participate in on-campus events that promote school spirit and social development throughout the fall, spring, and summer semesters. <\/p>\n Slaughter expressed concern that Student Life would need a larger budget to continue hosting large events such as OzFest <\/a>in the upcoming years.<\/p>\n After the discussion, the budget was passed unanimously with seven votes. The Activity and Service Fee Budget Bill will be subject for approval at the next SG Senate General Body meeting on Feb. 27 in the Senate Chambers.<\/p>\n The University and Student Affairs Committee\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nz\/Ospreys: $1,989.47<\/p>\n
\nOsprey Student Conduct Advisors: $11,231
\nLend-A-Wing Food Pantry: $93,430
\nOffice of Student Life: $723,827
\nStudent Conference Travel: $35,000
\nStudent Wellness Complex: $1,204,363
\nEco Adventure: $286,772
\nAquatics Center: $30,131
\nOsprey Involvement Center: $106,353
\nClub Funding: $41,000
\nStudent Government\/Executive: $177,554
\nStudent Government\/Legislative: $64,072
\nStudent Government\/Business & Accounting: $1,005,768
\nStudent Government\/Judicial: $15,581
\nStudent Government\/Elections: $25,859
\nBlack Student Union: $7,000
\nPride Club: $7,000
\nSpecial Requests: $65,000
\nBusiness Overhead: $490,921
\nSpinnaker Media: $2,000
\nTotal A&S Indexes: $5,959,525<\/p>\n