Senate Meeting 11.4.2026

Summary

The UCF Student Government Senate meeting began with 50 of 62 senators present and adjourned at 10:36 p.m.

Executive Branch Reports and Campus Events

• Student Body President Vicaria and Vice President Jones reported on the successful Second Launch event, meetings about possible changes to the SG Ticket Center, and upcoming events, including the Midnight 5K and Buddy Ball Bash.
• Cabinet members described training and planning activities, including the executive branch retreat. Deputy Chief of Staff Lisman said the retreat included ASF and expense-request training, initiative and budget workshops, and meetings with university offices. Several executive officers defended the retreat as professional development and preparation for cabinet members, rather than a vacation.
• Other reports covered Winter Wonderland, the spring student government election timeline, Downtown Day, Day at the Capitol, judicial branch outreach, and student affairs programming. The Day at the Capitol application received more than 100 applicants, up from 59 the prior year.
• Financial reporting put the Senate fiscal account balance at about $425,823, with 53.32% remaining. The finance office had begun an audit of the SLS and ASF business offices and expected to report back at a future meeting.

Senate Business and Legislation

• Several fiscal bills passed third reading, including Bills 5828, 5829, 5822, and 5830.
  • Bill 5830 prompted extended debate over whether to remove funding for a $200-per-person registration payment due before the Business Office was expected to process the bill. Senators disagreed about the timing, whether the expense could count toward the organization’s contribution, and whether the organization would face consequences if the payment could not be reimbursed. The amendment ultimately failed, and the bill passed.
• Two organization travel requests passed second reading unanimously:
  • Funding for 40 members of Advocates for Interactive Media to attend the 2027 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
  • Funding for 13 Medlife members to take part in a 2027 mobile-clinic service-learning trip in Cusco, Peru.
• Resolution 5811, which removed a Senate rule prohibiting AI use in drafting legislation, passed 37–13. Supporters argued that the rule was difficult to enforce and unclear about what counted as AI; opponents worried that removing it could encourage careless or low-quality legislation.
• Other measures passed, including updates to Senate rules and business-office responsibilities, and a resolution recognizing the Florida Student Association’s 50th anniversary.
• Committee reports included approvals and postponements of funding requests, updates to election rules, and work to gather student input on legislative priorities. The Student Body Advocacy Committee also reported raising student concerns with UCF Police about campus lighting and bike-rack maintenance.

Senate Discussion on Proactive Representation

Senator Barios called for more active scrutiny of Senate committees, agencies, departments, and spending priorities, arguing that student needs change and SG should periodically question whether its structures remain effective.

Senators cautioned that success should not be measured by the volume of legislation passed. They emphasized meaningful policy work, outreach and tabling, conversations with students and deans, and learning what university services already exist. Possible areas for further investigation included student financial support and how SG funds are used.

Subpoena and Executive Retreat

The Senate questioned President Vicaria about the executive branch retreat after subpoenaing her to appear. The discussion focused on the retreat’s location, cost, budget approval, and whether its objectives could have been achieved more cheaply on campus.

Vicaria said the retreat was a longstanding practice, supported by prior administrations and university administrators, and intended to provide training, planning time, and team development. She described a two-night retreat in Tampa for 17 people, including training, university-administrator participation, and planning for cabinet initiatives. She also said the budget had been reviewed through established processes.

Senators cited an allocation of about $4,400 and retreat spending of approximately $5,645. They asked about the roughly $1,245 difference, meal and travel expenses, and the decision to hold the retreat in Tampa. Vicaria repeatedly directed detailed questions about specific expenditures and calculations to the comptroller, Deputy Chief of Staff, or university staff, while offering to follow up with answers. Some senators argued that the questions were not being answered directly; others said the discussion had become repetitive and could continue through follow-up conversations.

The Senate voted to end questioning after more than an hour. It then voted to consider another subpoena and approved a motion to subpoena Vicaria, the comptroller, and the Deputy Chief of Staff to appear at the next meeting.

Presenters and Contributors Identified in the Subtitles

• Student Body President Vicaria
• Student Body Vice President Jones
• Chief of Staff (name unclear in the subtitles)
• Attorney General (name unclear)
• Deputy Chief of Staff Lisman
• Governmental Affairs Coordinator (name unclear in the subtitles)
• Director of Student Affairs (name unclear)
• Athletics Coordinator Garcia
• Chief Justice Hoffner
• Supervisor of Elections Callaway
• Activity and Service Fee Committee Chair Coffman
• Caucus Leadership Committee Chair Perez
• Black Caucus Vice Chair Jones
• LGBTQ+ Caucus Chair Gentiel
• Sustainability Caucus Chair Barios
• Internal Legislative Assistant Matthews
• External Legislative Assistant Smith
• CRT Committee Chair Jones
• FAO Committee Chair Phillips
• OS Committee Chair Casemiro
• ENA Committee Chair Gros
• GAP Committee Chair Reed
• LJR Committee Chair Gadio
• SBA Committee Chair Perez
• Senate President Sherman
• Senator Barios, who led the Senate forum and discussion on proactive representation
• Alexander Phips and Darius (surname unclear), representing Advocates for Interactive Media
• Brenda Garza, representing Medlife
• Advisor Ashley, who also delivered a report on behalf of advisor Kirsten