By: Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer
Monday’s Student Senate Meeting included an acknowledgment of the incident at SAE, a guest speaker, and a budget request.
Officer Reports
President Miranda Zamora ’23 started off by opening the floor to any questions on comments students may have about the email sent out about the incident that occurred this past weekend at SAE.
One student inquired as to what really happened. Senate Advisor and Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Jon Allen responded that due to the ongoing investigation the details that can be shared are what was included in the email.
Another student asked how the college was made aware of the incident. Allen replied that due to the ongoing investigation, he is unable to share that information at the time.
Another student asked if OSAGL had any say in what would happen with SAE. Allen responded that OSAGL does not deal with individual conduct, but SAE is currently on social suspension.
Zamora offered the executive board as a resource if any members need it. She also urged people that know anyone that has been affected or if they were affected to reach out as it will help the investigation.
Vice President Geoffrey Meadville ’25 opened the floor for any nominations for the Social Affinity Group representative. No one was nominated. Meadville stated he will send out an email containing the application for this position.
Meadville also reviewed the attendance policy. He mentioned that some Senate members have missed meetings without having excused absences, and he told members to check if they do have an excuse for that absence.
One member asked about the policy of Senate members needing to attend Senate-funded events and how the executive board will keep this attendance record. Meadville replied that members must attend five Senate-funded events and to keep track of the events as the members will receive an email at the end of the semester asking for which events they attended.
Treasurer Hannah Repole ’25 added that her updates include all the Senate-funded events if members need clarification on which events fit this category. Zamora added that these events are also posted on the Senate Instagram.
Meadville also informed members that they are not to email him if they are going to be absent for a meeting, instead, they are to email Secretary Nick Silvis ’23.
Repole gave the seventh budget update for the 2022-2023 year. She explained that there is $55,832.14 remaining in the budget so far, and $36,283.86 has been spent.
Repole also announced that Thursday morning is the latest she will accept budget requests from clubs for the Friday meeting unless they contact and inform her that they won’t be able to have the event without this meeting. Repole added that two weeks before the event is the minimum for submitting a budget. She reminded clubs to try and plan ahead.
Secretary Nick Silvis ’23 told Committee Chairs to make sure they are logging attendance for their meetings. Silvis also encouraged Senate members that aren’t Committee Chairs to attend committee meetings as they are very important.
Silvis announced that if anyone wants events advertised to contact him with the information.
Parliamentarian Joey Labrie ’25 showed an infographic that displayed what policy will be presented at the Senate meetings for the rest of the semester. Labrie announced that they are on track to finish the Constitutional overhaul by the end of the fall. Labrie asked members to review the policy before the meeting begins and to commit to passing or tabling the policy during those meetings because if the Constitutional overhaul is not finished by the end of the semester, the Senate will not be able to operate in the spring.
Inclusion Officer Allie Acero ’23 asked for members and students to attend the Inclusion Committee meetings.
Advisor Report
Senate Advisor and Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Jon Allen talked about the email that was sent out to Senate and club leaders last semester about the Social Equity and Venue Group that was trying to be created. Allen said this group will commence soon and if anyone is interested in serving on that group to please contact him.
Guest Announcement
Executive Director of Counseling and Wellness Services Krista Dhruv shared a presentation on the goals of the Counseling and Wellness Center. Dhruv said the center is working on how to address the national rise in mental health needs among young people and wants feedback that is specific to Gettysburg students on how to accomplish this goal.
Dhruv started her presentation by sharing the center’s goals, which are to promote health and wellbeing of all students, identify and address barriers that interfere with students’ success in college, and provide responsive and effective education, support, and mental health care to the maximum number of students.
Dhruv also shared some of the changes the center has made surrounding the mental health and wellbeing services provided by the center. The center has expanded their hours to support students in need, including the creation of evening hours Monday through Thursday. The center also now has an open email address so students can make an appointment via email. The center has also advertised UWill telehealth to provide access to all students. The center has also added a wellness coordinator.
Dhruv also included changes that have been made on the wellness promotion side of the center. They have expanded their outreach to organizations such as athletic teams, first year seminars, and events. The center has also worked on building new community partnerships and enhancing their existing ones. They also started the Wellness Advisory Committee this year.
Senate Member and Wellness Committee Chair Kelly Kline ’25 spoke upon the Wellness Advisory Committee. Kline shared the goals of the committee. Kline said that although this committee is more on the administrative side, it is open to all students to attend. Attending this committee allows students to have an input on wellness at Gettysburg.
Dhruv opened the floor to hear from Senate members and students about the Counseling and Wellness Center.
Zamora brought up the issue of faculty members’ reactions to mental health issues. She said that some faculty are good and some are not as good at knowing how to react and knowing what to do when those situations arise. Zamora said it would be helpful for the center to inform faculty members on how to react in those situations.
Senate member Dominic DiLuzio ’26 said that there is a lot of frustration amongst students around the center being closed on weekends because mental health doesn’t follow normal business hours.
A student shared their struggle of being an out-of-state student that had to find a place that would prescribe and fill their medication in Pennsylvania even though they already have this medication prescribed in their home state. The student said they had to contact many places in Gettysburg before finding a place that would fill their prescription and it would have been helpful if the center had a contact list for the students.
Dhruv apologized that the student had such a struggle and shared that the center does have a referral list.
Senate member Ella Prieto ’26 said that informing students in general on how to get medication while attending college would be helpful.
Repole reiterated the struggle for out-of-state students to get their medication in Pennsylvania and the price increase that exists. Repole said that this creates a sense of discontent, and it is very hard on college kids.
A Senate member said the center has great resources, but it would be beneficial if the information was provided on what types of appointments are offered and how to schedule those.
Another member explained the issue they have had with both the counselors they were seeing this year who have left or are leaving this semester. They said it is hard to have to start the process all over again with a new counselor. The member recommended that the center have better employee retention.
This same member also mentioned the issue around setting up weekly appointments, as the policy that is currently in place at the center does not allow for weekly appointments. They mentioned that sometimes biweekly appointments leave a big gap between appointments.
Senate member Isaac Workman ’26 thanked Dhruv for the center maintaining a large presence on campus. They also mentioned that Medicat can be tricky to navigate, especially when filling out paperwork or trying to cancel an appointment.
A student shared that Campus Safety is available to drive students to pick up medication or go to appointments.
Senate member Nicholas Ryan ’26 said it would be beneficial for students to know what types of counseling and services are offered by the center.
Another Senate member added that a lot of students wished the Counseling and Wellness Center was open on the weekends.
A Senate member said that knowing ahead of time which staff is trained in specific areas would be helpful when trying to find a counselor to fit one’s needs.
Senate member Dominic DiLuzio ‘26 inquired if there was a safe space available on campus for people going through a mental health crisis when the center is not open. Dhruv responded that the center does have a counselor on call 24/7.
Dhruv urged students to reach out if they had any more feedback to share.
Committee Reports
The BMC Committee announced that they had fourteen clubs come to their last meeting, and they have been very busy.
The CLAC Committee said they had a great meeting concerning International House, and they were able to resolve the issues with housing. They also said they will be discussing the issue with card swipes and accessibility to different housing locations on campus. They are seeking to change the policy surrounding accessibility into different housing for safety concerns on campus and will be following up at the next meeting. They have also implemented the late fee for the Bikeshare Program.
The Diversity Committee announced they had a student come forward with concerns about racist incidents in Huber, and they are working to address that. They are also still working on creating their observance calendar.
The Inclusion Committee invited anyone with thoughts on the environment and issues surrounding the LGBTQ community and, specifically, the transgender community to come to the meeting to brainstorm ideas to resolve these issues.
The Opinions Committee is having advisors of Residential Life, such as Director of Residence Life & First-Year Programs Danielle Phillips, at their next meeting as they discuss the housing opinion they are working on.
The Policy Committee announced they will be looking at the Student Conduct Policy and Abstention Policy at their next meeting. They asked members to come to the committee meetings to give input.
Club Reports and Announcements
One student announced that Artem is having its Haunt the Gallery event in the Schmucker Art Gallery on Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. There will be a costume contest, music, and host-provider beverages.
Another student announced that the Rocky Horror Show is this Saturday at the Attic. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., and the show starts at 10 p.m.
Another student said Tri Sigma and Crow will continue to table for Scarecrows with Sigma this week.
One student announced that Gettysburg College Republicans are hosting a debate watch party at the Junction on Oct. 25.
Another student announced that the Interfaith Student Council is looking for two representatives from each religious organization on campus. The Interfaith Student Council will host monthly meetings.
Another student announced that OSAGL will host their trunk or treat on Oct. 31 on Stine Lake.
Student Concerns and Announcements
Zamora followed up on student concerns from last week.
Zamora said that the parking for first-years is not separate parking. Zamora also said that the seminary parking spots were eliminated to decrease confusion around parking and parking passes.
Zamora updated students on the concern around the arson incident that occurred in Musselman Hall. She said that the college still does not know who committed the crime but is working to make sure this does not happen again.
Zamora spoke on the concern of text-to-speech from last week. She said that the library has resources for text-to-speech, and there are online resources as well. She added that the Center for Student Success will be compiling a list of all available text-to-speech resources.
Zamora moved on to new concerns for the evening.
One Senate member asked if they would still be getting a representative from Dining Services to be a guest speaker. Zamora replied that she is still waiting to get an update on the issues she sent them last week, but she will see if they will come to a meeting.
Another student raised concern about egg shells and hair in their scrambled eggs. Zamora said to make sure to report it to dining services because they can’t work on fixing issues if they don’t know about them.
Budget Requests
The Vietnamese Association requested $500 to cover costs for their Vietnamese Culture Day which will occur in the OME basement on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. They are requesting $400 for catering, which will be from a restaurant in Maryland. The Vietnamese Association gets catering from this restaurant every year. They also requested $50 for marketing and $50 for utensils. Senate approved the amount in full.
New Business
Senate passed policy from the last meeting and tabled policy from this meeting.
Senate will meet again on Oct. 31.
