At yesterday’s Undergraduate Student Senate meeting, the senators found out they will get the recycling containers they’ve been campaigning for, but fewer than they wanted.

Executive Director Katie Hale had previously said she wanted a recycling container at every outside trash can, but because they’re $1,000 each, the campus will only be getting seven to 10.

Michael McDonald, director of Campus Environment and Operations, said it will take some time for the barrels to arrive on campus, but once on campus, no one will be able to steal them.

“These will last forever,” McDonald said. “You won’t find these over in Greek circle. They’re too heavy to pick up. They won’t disappear.”

The process will take a long time because McDonald said he’s short-staffed.

“It’s difficult to go beyond what we’re already doing,” McDonald said. “It takes someone to coordinate it. And honestly, right now we don’t have the staff or people.”

Earlier this semester, Hale and senators Michael Hammond and Elizabeth Eckels approached McDonald with the idea of a graduate assistant committed to the issue of recycling on campus.

Two days after the senators talked to McDonald, David Creamer, senior vice president for administration, agreed that a graduate assistant position would be funded.

“I’m very impressed and a little nervous and afraid of you people,” McDonald said to the senators. “I couldn’t get that money for years, and you got it in two days.”

Also during the meeting, two senators presented their work on bylaws for the new Undergraduate Student Government, debuting next year.

Jonathan Bey, senator for community affairs, worked on bylaws for two positions, director of community affairs and senator of the residence halls.

The director position works the same as Bey’s current senatorial position, he said. A title change is the main difference.

The Community Task Force, something Bey has worked on extensively this year, was not mentioned in the bylaws. He said he didn’t want to unload too much work on the new director position.

All senators agreed the task force was a positive part of student government, and John Wetmore, senator for governmental affairs, suggested to Bey that the task force become a shared role with the two new off-campus senators.

Bey also established a few requirements for the residence hall senator. The senator must live on campus and attend Kent Interhall Council meetings.

Kali Price, senator for academic affairs, worked on 11 proposals, director of academic affairs and a senatorial position for each of the 10 colleges.

Like Bey, Price followed the same guidelines for her director position as were already stated in the current senatorial position. One addition was the task of overseeing the 10 college senators.

Price required each of the college senators to have a declared major within the college. The only problem, she said, was what would happen with the senator of the College of Undergraduate Studies.

“The major requirement would be different,” she said, “but the responsibilities would be the same.”

Suggestions for all of the positions’ requirements will be accepted until Dec. 5, when voting on the bylaws begins.

USS meetings are at 4 p.m. Wednesdays in the Student Center Governance Chambers.

Contact student politics reporter Kelly Pickerel at [email protected].