By Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer
Monday’s Student Senate Meeting included committee reports, budget requests, and the presentation of an opinion.
Officer Reports
President Miranda Zamora ’23 started off by announcing that Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities Elizabeth Farner sent Zamora the responses to the questions presented at the last minute. These answers are linked in the minutes, and if anyone has more questions contact Farner or Zamora.
Vice President Geoffrey Meadville ’25 told Senate members to connect with their mentors and watch for updates from them.
Treasurer Hannah Repole ’25 gave the fifth budget update for the 2022-2023 year. She explained that there is $66,971.57 remaining in the budget so far, and $25,144.43 has been spent.
Repole also asked to please communicate with her, and this can be done simply through email.
Parliamentarian Joey Labrie ’25 announced that they are almost finished with the constitutional overhaul.
Inclusion Officer Allie Acero ’23 asked members to write pronouns on their name tags as long as they are comfortable doing so.
Acero also requested that since the microphones were not working for the meeting to speak loudly and once the microphones operated properly again to use them.
Guest Announcement
Director of Institutional Analyst Suhua Dong gave a tutorial on how to utilize the Outcomes Dashboard that was launched in April. This dashboard displays graduate outcomes within a year after graduation and can be accessed through the college website. Dong highlighted the features of the dashboard and broke it down into three sections. These sections are the informative tool tip located at the top of the page, the statistics, and a breakdown of employment outcomes. Dong put emphasis on how interactive and beneficial this dashboard can be. Students can even download the dashboard as a PowerPoint.
Dong mentioned that there are three other dashboards students can access through the school’s website. She also encouraged that if anyone has questions to contact her.
Committee Reports
The Academic and Career Affairs Committee announced they have received names for the alumni panel they are planning but are still working on setting a date.
The BMC Committee is still planning to hold their meeting this week even though reading days are approaching due to the number of budgets to discuss.
The CLAC Committee announced they will be getting trackers for the bikes in the bike share program and will be better off enforcing the late policies by charging the student if the bike is not returned in time.
CLAC will also be taking up a new project which is to improve housing conditions. They will be working with the administration to do this.
CLAC also announced they will not be meeting this Friday.
The Inclusion Committee spoke about potential guest speakers at their meeting.
The Opinions Committee announced that they had one opinion on lockable shower doors they would be bringing to the floor and are currently working on an opinion about the wifi networks on campus.
The Policy Committee reported that they have a couple of amendments coming to the floor and are currently discussing the Senate Conduct Policy.
The Safety Committee addressed general safety concerns. They are working on a full report about the gray truck that has been taunting students. They have also emailed the Director of Campus Safety and the Borough Manager to see if they would be willing to join a meeting.
The Wellness Committee announced that nobody came to their meeting and are still looking for attendees. They also announced that the new Executive Director of Counseling and Wellness Krista Dhruv will be joining their meeting on Oct. 13.
The Diversity Committee announced that no one came to their meeting and are asking people to please attend.
Student Concerns and Announcements
President Miranda Zamora ’23 followed up on student concerns from last week regarding dining. The head of Dining said employees are going to be retrained on what is classified as a side. Sushi will not be getting a side due to the rising price of sushi from the vendor. To better manage the lines at Bullet, Dining is working on developing new meal plans for next year and working with the provost to improve academic scheduling around meal times.
Zamora was also informed by the head of Dining that the veggie pots are back in the Veggie Corner. The head of Dining also asked that if students see bugs to please report them to Dining so they can work to fix the issue.
Zamora moved on to the new concerns of the week.
One student recommended clear signage for students to understand what is side and what is an additional cost at Bullet on top of the current measures. Zamora reported that she planned to email the head of Dining after the meeting with a follow-up and will make sure to include this.
Another student raised multiple concerns about Dining. One day their Bullet pick-two sides were three days old. They also requested better packaging for to-go orders, especially for the french fries. Zamora replied that packaging issues are due to the prices changing, so Dining is having a hard time finding an inexpensive vendor, but she will make sure to bring it back up with the head of Dining.
Another student was concerned about there being no dairy and egg-free bun options for the veggie burger. Zamora said she will bring it up with the Head of Dining.
One student raised concern about the available options for reporting police. Zamora replied that she will forward the email with resources on reporting options to the student.
Another student raised the concern about the alleged increase in police presence on campus. Zamora reported that as far as her understanding goes there has been no increase except when requested, but if any new information arises she will report it.
Another student brought forward the concern of the laundry app double charging people. Zamora recommended contacting facilities.
One student raised concern that the dryers are not completely drying clothes. Zamora replied to file a report with facilities.
Another student raised concern about dispatch’s slow response time. Zamora reported that this issue is currently being worked on, but she will continue to bring it up with Executive Director of Campus Safety Alex Wiltz and give updates as soon as she receives them.
Budget Requests
There were four budget requests during the meeting.
The Quizbowl Team requested $570 to attend a tournament that will help to prepare the members for future more intense tournaments. Quizbowl will be taking two teams. They informed Senate the big cost is transportation, but they were able to get discounts on the registration fee. Senate approved the amount in full
The Peace and Justice Student Council requested $2000 to cover the costs of the Land Acknowledgement Plaque Installation Ceremony. They explained that the ceremony would cost $5,500 in total but they were able to acquire some funds elsewhere. The $2000 was needed to cover the cost of food and honorarium gifts, each costing $1000. The honorarium gifts would be given to the members of the indigenous communities invited to attend the ceremony for them to use to give back to their committees.
Senate approved $1000 to cover the food costs but did not approve the amount for the honorarium gifts. One of the viewpoints given about the denial of the full amount was that Senate money should not be used to give gifts to individuals outside of the college. Another worry surrounded the amount of money Senate already used from the budget.
The Christian Fellowship requested $4000 to attend the Annual DiscipleMakers’ Fall Conference. They informed Senate members that this is a big event for their club. Fifteen members are signed up, but it is open to anyone. The club needed $200 for each student to be able to cover hotel, food, and event costs. Senate approved the amount in full.
The Caribbean Club requested $120 for reimbursement. The club representatives were not present, so Senate was not able to approve the amount, but a motion was made and approved to send back to the committee.
New Business
The policy tabled from last week was passed. A new policy was brought to the floor. The policy was tabled, amended on the floor, and sent back to the committee, respectively.
One opinion was presented on the floor. This opinion recommended improvements to the campus showering facilities in all dorm-style and private bathrooms in campus residential buildings. The opinion recommended putting lockable doors on all showers in communal bathrooms and locks on all private bathrooms. The opinion was amended on the floor before being passed by Senate.
Senate will meet again on Oct. 17.
