SGA votes in favor of an Academic Senate quarantine accommodations resolution
On Oct. 25, Food Pantry Student Coordinator, Carter Woolley talks to the Student Government Association about combatting food insecurity on campus.
Several guest speakers gave presentations to promote their organizations during the Student Government Association meeting on Monday, Oct. 25.
Following the presentations, SGA voted in favor of a resolution for faculty to better accommodate students who are quarantining.
The resolution was drafted by CMU's Academic Senate Executive Board .
Though SGA voted in support of the notion, they are working to add clarification about what defines “reasonable accommodations” when students need to stay home.
Students also had questions about accommodations during the potential grace period between getting a COVID-19 test and receiving proof of diagnosis.
During the Academic Senate meeting at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 25, senate leaders will speak about the issues students had with the proposal at the SGA meeting.
SGA will work with the Academic Senate Executive Board to address these concerns and compromise to refine the resolution.
The Financial Wellness Collaborative
The Financial Wellness Collaborative is an on campus resource offering one-on-one peer coaching and advice to students with all questions about finance, including budgeting, student loans, health insurance, job offers and more.
“Whether it’s you don’t know how much you owe in student loans, or if you’re looking to understand credit better, or maybe you want to build a budget for the first time, whatever you think of, if you set up an appointment with one of our peer coaches, they can help you out with that,” said Kaleigh Pyko, a peer assistant for the Financial Wellness Collaborative.
Pyko also promoted iGrad, a self paced financial education platform including courses, articles and videos that are free to CMU students.
Students can schedule an appointment with a peer coach online.
Graduate School
CMU alumna and Coordinator of Graduate Recruitment Erin Ellison spoke about the basics of grad school.
Ellison encourages undergrad students to start preparing now by getting good grades, planning with advisors, taking entrance exams, and building resumes, connections and reputations.
“It’s never too early and it’s never too late to think about graduate school or apply to graduate school,” Ellison said.
Many employers favor employees with advanced degrees, and Ellison said a Masters Degree is what can set you apart from other job applicants.
Student Food Pantry
Carter Woolley, a Coordinator of the Student Food Pantry, defined food insecurity as a sliding scale, stating that the student food pantry is there to help you before you don’t have any food on the table. Woolley encourages all students who are battling food insecurity to gain awareness about the mission of the food pantry.
“During COVID-19, food insecurity has gone up not just in college campuses but across the board,” said Student Coordinator Madi Morell.
As the poorest county in Michigan, Isabella County is greatly affected by food insecurity. The food pantry includes perishable and non-perishable items as well as items for hygiene, school supplies, kitchen supplies and more. Resources for food insecurity can be found here.
Sustainability
Teresa Homsi and Eric Urbaniak work for the Office for Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at CMU. The pair defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.”
Although includes environmental sustainability, Homsi and Urbaniak also want to promote social, cultural, human and economic sustainability on CMU’s campus as well.
“We can’t do this work alone,” Homsi said. “SGA and many of your respective organizations play a huge part in some of what we’ve been able to accomplish at this university.”
Urbaniak encourages students to take the CMU sustainability pledge and to have conversations about better implementing sustainability in their organizations.
Entrepreneurship Institute at CMU
Representatives from the Entrepreneurship Institute at CMU promoted the New Venture Challenge, a series of 12 hand-on workshops to help students with an entrepreneurial mindset to transform their ideas into a business.
All students are welcome to attend the New Venture Challenge Workshops on Oct. 22, Nov. 19, and Dec. 3.
Representatives also introduced the Make-a-Pitch competition: an opportunity for students to present their entrepreneurial idea or “venture” for the chance to win up to $1,000.
A new student community space with tools for networking and collaboration for creators and entrepreneurs will open soon be located in Grawn 166.
