To kick off the first Student Government Association meeting of the Spring 2022 semester, students held emergency elections for treasurer and senate members.

Introductions and Elections

Saginaw senior Madison Montgomery introduced herself as the new head of the Student Budget Allocation Committee (SBAC).

SBAC is a constitutional committee of SGA responsible for allocating funds, through the CMU promise and the Campus Programming Fund, to Registered Student Organizations who request funds for programming and conferences. The committee is made up of SGA representatives from various types of student organizations on campus.

“I’m very excited to get some information out to campus about SBAC and about how to receive your money,” Montgomery said. “I feel like there’s been a lot of misinformation and miscommunication about how to apply and what we can approve.”

SGA held emergency elections for treasurer and members of the senate.

Students voted to elect Mount Pleasant junior Taylor Idema as treasurer.

They then voted to add the following students to the senate:

Brandon Horn
Tyler Zimmerman
Luke Pramuka
Jeremiah Lewis
Evan Carlson
Makayla Spencer
Ella Campbell
Mary Demirkol

Introduced Legislation

Three pieces of legislation were introduced at the meeting to address gun violence, academic wellbeing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and campus dining compensation. SGA members gave their input and will vote on the new legislation at a later date.

A resolution sponsored by Students Demand Action was introduced to SGA, calling for CMU to recognize the first week of February as National Gun Violence Survivors Week. The legislation was created to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence.

One student inquired about events on campus for National Gun Survivors Week, asking why they were not included in the legislation.

"We do have events throughout that week," the author of the piece, Alyssa Heerding said. "But the goal for this legislation is only for recognition and to say that week is National Gun Survivors Week."

Another resolution was introduced to SGA for the Board of Trustees and President Bob Davies to prioritize student’s academic well-being amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by reinstating the Fall 2020 Hyflex Policy.

This would once again give students the option to attend classes virtually.

Some students seemed in support of the Hyflex Policy and asked about including wellness days in the legislation.

"We're trying to fix the immediate concern with feeling like you're being academically compromised when you're prioritizing your own safety," Senator Lauren Hull said.

Students also suggested strengthening the piece by including concern for disabled students and for students who must care for COVID-19 positive family members.

The legislation recommends professors to take action if the CMU Board of Trustees and President Davies do not act by Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. By setting a timeline, students hope to sooner reach their goal of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 on CMU's campus.

The third and final legislation introduced at the meeting called for CMU, Residence Life and Campus Dining to take action to compensate the South and Towers Community Residents for their ongoing hardship in obtaining meals.

In October 2021, Campus Dining announced that dining halls in the South and Towers community would no longer operate on the weekends. This means that students in the South and Towers Community pay the same price as North and East Community residents for a meal plan that has limited hours.

The legislation was constructed in response to frustrations of residents who say that though they were led to believe dining on campus would fit every lifestyle, limited hours of operation make it hard to utilize the meal plan they paid for.

Campus Dining has said this issue has not been caused by food shortage, but by a shortage of student workers.

"I don't think it should be a burden on South and Towers residents if the University can't find staffing, especially when we are paying a significant sum of money to go here," senator Lauren Hull said. "If we're not being provided those services, then we should be compensated."

Several students seemed in support of the legislation, which disapproves Flex Dollars as a form of payment and encourages compensation that equally represents the hardships faced by residents in the South and Towers Community.

Announcements

The Nonprofit Leadership Student Alliance will be hosting an Internship Fair from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Feb. 1 in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.

SGA meets every Monday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.