Greetings UMBC Student Body!

We, the Senate, would like to welcome the UMBC Community back to campus as we gear up for the Fall 2015 semester! We hope you all are excited for the new opportunities this semester brings us!

Over the duration of the summer, Senate has been hard at work. We have been working on our initiatives and the upcoming trial against SGA President and Executive Vice President, Anthony Jankoski and Daniel Amsini.

If you would like updates on Senate initiatives that we are working on with you, please feel free to attend our weekly meetings at 5:30pm on Mondays in Commons 318! In addition, please do not hesitate to contact your Senators individually, and to continue following our myUMBC page. Each Senator's contact information is listed below.

There have been a few developments in the status of the Impeachment Trial that we are excited to share with you all.

Firstly, Senate would like to reiterate that we have NOT officially received the petition. We understand that Ellis Zapas (Petition Owner) has sent it to the President of SGA, and it shall be handled following the rules for petition as stated in the SGA Guiding Documents. The plans that Senate has been, and continue, to make are in preparation for the receipt of the petition and the trial that will follow.

Next, Senator Andres Garcia has stepped down as Trial Manager due to the personal bias he has toward the accused. Senate has been interviewing potential candidates for the position and we are pleased to announce that we have a new Manager! Belawoe Akwakoku has been selected by Senate to help lead the prosecution for this trial. Belawoe has been involved in SGA every year of his undergraduate education, including two years in the Senate - first as a First Year Ambassador, then as a Senator. We are confident in his ability to lead a fair prosecution and levy charges against the accused to the best of his ability.

Finally, Senate plans on creating a set of baseline criteria for all students that signed the petition to ensure its validity. We plan to create these criteria at our first formal meeting after we receive the petition.

Senate appreciates your patience in these matters as we continue working through events. We are dedicated to an honest and fair trial. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Respectfully,

Your 2015-16 SGA Senate,

Andres Garcia, Summer Speaker (andresg1@umbc.edu)

Sarah Lilly, Summer Assistant Speaker (slilly1@umbc.edu)

Vanessa Barksdale (vanbark1@umbc.edu)

Seth Benefield (sethbe1@umbc.edu)

Oladipupo Eke (eke1@umbc.edu)

Andrew Lopez (alopez2@umbc.edu)

Josh Massey (joshua.massey@umbc.edu)

Brooke Perrin (aperrin1@umbc.edu)

Markya Reed (markya1@umbc.edu)

William Rice (willia8@umbc.edu)

Augustus Williams (august2@umbc.edu)