[Uosenate] April 30, 2025 Senate Meeting - hot mic moment

[Betina Lynn]

Dear Senators,

It has been brought to my attention that during Wednesday's University Senate meeting I had a "hot mic" moment and muttered the phrase "There are no funds." I apologize for any confusion this caused to the group.

It appears folks thought I was commenting on the conversation taking place in that moment during meeting. In reality, I spend a significant portion of each senate meeting multi-tasking across multiple communication platforms to address the various needs that come up, such as getting the link to the Zoom meeting to someone because they are having trouble using the one that was sent out in the calendar invite (technology has some limitations).

Generally, I do not catch a portion of what is said during the first 30 minutes or so of the meeting while I am taking attendance, answering direct questions or comments from senators, getting the Zoom link to those who are experiencing difficulty getting into the meeting, etc. I rely on the meeting recording to catch up on what I missed and for producing the meeting minutes. I do not recall the substance of Senator Ducharme's question regarding "funds" and was not commenting on it (most likely, some email caught my eye and I found myself muttering out loud). I will have to watch the video to catch up.

The fact is, I often mutter to myself while multi-tasking at work and at home to track what I'm doing, to build grocery lists until I can access a pen and piece of paper, while doing dishes, while scrolling through my email inbox to quickly scan for things that need to be addressed in real time vs emails that can wait a few hours.

I recall our new University Provost bringing up several key words or "values" in his remarks at the first Senate Orientation he attended, as well as the first 1 or 2 Senate meetings he attended - and one of those key words was "grace." He went on to encourage folks to extend grace to each other and to ourselves.

The simple fact is, we are all 100 percent human... 100 percent of the time.

We are living in rather interesting political times, and I would ask that you please extend that grace in my direction as well and not assume ill intent. On the rare occasion that I do speak up during a senate meeting, it is to discuss process, procedures, and/or deadlines - not the substance of the topic of discussion that is underway.

Again, I apologize for causing any confusion or ill feelings. I simply have a lot to track and navigate during the course of our meetings, and, like you - I am human.

Best,

Betina

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