By: Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer
On Monday, Student Senate continued previous work on the Constitution overhaul, addressed students’ continuing concerns regarding safety, and discussed restructuring their committees.
Officer Reports
President Miranda Zamora ’23 started off by announcing that finalists have been chosen for the Ralph Cavalier Award based on over one hundred nominations from the student body. Zamora provided the link for the Senate members to vote on the award winner.
Zamora introduced the new Campus Safety liaison, Chad Newlin.
Next, Zamora spoke on the Board of Committee Chairperson ad hoc committee being called into place. This will be run by Vice President Geoffrey Meadville ’25. The hope is to restructure committees for next semester in a way that will allow for better communication.
Finishing her report, Zamora thanked everyone who came to the Student Senate open.
“We had a really good turnout. We really appreciated it. Listeners & Performers really appreciated it,” Zamora said.
Vice President Geoffrey Meadville ’25 revealed that an induction would take place due to the resignation of a previous member. Senate Advisor and Associate Vice President of College Life Jeff Foster led the installation of the new Senate member.
Budget Updates
Treasurer Hannah Repole ’25 gave the third budget update for the 2022-2023 year.
She explained that there is $79,795.71 remaining in the budget so far, and $12,320.79 has been spent.
There were two budget requests.
Student-Athlete Impact Leaders and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee requested $3,500 to have a workshop led by specialist Besty Butterick. The request passed in full.
International Affairs Club and Model UN requested $7,162.50 to help fund an academic trip to Europe. The request passed in full.
Officer Reports
Secretary Nick Silvis ’23 thanked all who came to the Senate Open.
Silvis announced if clubs have events they want advertised, they should send flyers and/or information to him. Silvis will then post the information on Instagram or another desired platform.
Parliamentarian Joey Labrie ’25 reported that the constitutional overhaul will be continued at the meeting.
Labrie also announced the meetings for the Policy Committee will start this week and be held on Tuesdays.
Inclusion Officer Allie Acero ’23 announced that the Inclusion Committee meetings will be held on Tuesdays.
Acero asked that if anyone is interested in a Spanish/Latinx Heritage Month discussion panel to contact her.
Guest Announcement
Director of Infrastructure and Computing Tom Franza introduced new G-Tech Supervisor Kevin Cheng. Franza announced G-Tech has expanded their hours, and available job positions for students will be posted on Handshake soon. Fanza also requested students’ feedback on what they desire from G-Tech.
Committee Reports
All Senate Committees announced meeting places and times for this year.
The Academic Committee announced that EI is trying to expand to include more programs in varying fields.
The Wellness Committee announced their goal of creating a wellness model for the college.
Club Reports and Announcements
SAE and ACS announced they will be hosting their second annual Shave-a-thon on Oct. 14 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Quizbowl announced they will be meeting Tuesadays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 2:30 p.m. in Breidenbaugh 311, and their first tournament will take place on Oct. 15.
Shots in the Dark Improv announced they will be having a show this Saturday at Stevens Theatre.
Model UN announced their meetings are Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Glatfelter 301.
Student Concerns and Announcements
President Miranda Zamora ’23 followed up on concerns from last week. The GPD and State Police Commander made statements that they have not increased their patrol on campus, except when requested by students after recent events. Mid-party walkthroughs will not occur until Campus Safety and Greek life organizations have a discussion on available safety options.
Zamora moved on to the new concerns of the week.
Many students continued to raise concerns on safety and the police presence on campus.
One student raised concern that the police are focusing and intimidating students instead of monitoring Gettysburg citizens. Another student added their notice of cars speeding and running red lights in town without paying any attention to the crosswalks. Zamora said she will take both of these concerns to the President’s Council.
One student asked if there was any way to report police abuse and misconduct. Senate Advisor and Associate Vice President of College Life Jeff Foster informed that many options are available, including speaking to the mayor or the Gettysburg Chief of Police. There is also a form that can be filled out on the borough police’s website.
Another student continued to raise the concern of feeling unsafe and receiving harassment when walking on campus. Zamora said to call 911 when these harassments take place. She also explained that Campus Safety provides students with the service of accompanying them to their destination when they feel unsafe.
A Senate member disclosed that they met with President Iuliano to discuss safety concerns. President Iuliano said students need to talk to GPD first because Campus Safety is not trained for all situations. The college is also working on adding security cameras outside dorms and increasing the outside lighting on campus. President Iuliano also discussed making Campus Security be on duty 24/7.
Zamora added that Senate could host a guest speaker to inform students when to call Campus Safety and when to call 911.
A student voiced concern of multiple reports of students finding bugs in their food at Servo. Zamora reported that she has made several reports on dining concerns.
Another student raised concern about the space between stall doors and the ability for people to see through, as well as the absence of doors in many of the communal showers in first-year dorms. Zamora said she will file a report and reach out to facilities.
Another student was concerned about the lack of library hours compared to last school year. Zamora replied that she has brought this up to the administration, and it is due to the inability for Campus Safety to staff hours late at night.
Another student brought forward the concern of food waste from leftovers at servo and suggested trying to get to-go containers to reduce this waste. Zamora said she has brought this up before, but it is a sustainability issue.
Another student raised a concern on people keeping the bikes from the bikeshare program overnight. It was stated that the issue is known and being addressed.
The final concern of the night was brought forward by a student who had trouble reaching counseling services at the beginning of the semester. Zamora and Foster responded to this, informing that this issue should be fixed now and students can make appointments by walking-in, calling, or emailing. They also mentioned about the new UWill teletherapy that is available outside of the college’s staff.
Zamora also reminded students that there is an online student concerns platform where concerns can be submitted on the Student Senate Website.
New Business
As Senate reviewed amendments tabled from last week, some passed and others were amended on the floor to be tabled for another week. They also reviewed new amendments. Some of these were approved to table, while the rest were sent back to committee.
Senate discussed a possible reconstruction of their main committees and subcommittees to condense unneeded committees while still reflecting students’ interests.
Student Senate will meet again Sept. 26.
