On Jan. 12, Central Michigan University students received an email on a new university policy: On Jan. 15, a drop/withdrawal fee will be implemented and students will have to pay $50 per course dropped.

The email told students they could drop their courses by Jan. 14 with no charge; however, students' final warning came at 3:30 p.m on a Friday when offices would not be open over the weekend. This was the same day that CMU's campus was closed due to weather safety concerns.

The Student Government Association has proposed a bill to change this and get rid of the fee altogether. At last night's meeting, the bill was proposed to both the House and Senate for debate on consideration.

"There was a lot of pushback when this was introduced in the Academic Senate meeting," said Madison Gott, an SGA senator who attended the Academic Senate meeting where this policy was introduced. "Provost Mathews said it was targeting students who are 'online shopping' for courses, or applying to multiple online courses only to drop them later. Regardless of that, there's no point in punishing these students for not being able to take that workload."

Carolina Hernández-Ruiz is another senator who attended the Academic senate meeting with Gott. She said that students weren't the only ones pushing back on this policy, but faculty were as well.

"No one wanted it in the first place," Hernández-Ruiz said. "This is just another burden on students' shoulders."

Gott and Hernández Ruiz said that the administration refused to comment on where funds would be going at the meeting, and their only justification for implementing it was due to two other fees being dropped.

These fees were a $100 late registration fee, and a fee that made you pay for dropping a course and switching to another course with equal credits. Despite these changes, they both agree this new fee should be removed.

The bill we be voted on next Monday, Jan. 29. If it passes the House and Senate, it will be sent to administration for consideration.

Emergency Senate Elections

SGA also held emergency senate elections last night, as their were nine vacancies to fill. Out of those nine, five new students were nominated and elected. These students are:

Itzel Neri (Sophomore)
Binah Abby (Junior)
Darnaysia Bellamy (Junior)
Claire Deblanc (Senior)
Ainslee Humphreys (Freshman)

The students were sworn into office that night and attended the senator meeting that followed.

In other events:

Vice President Ryan Biller announced that edits have been made to the SGA Constitution and Bylaws. A video explaing those changes will be released to SGA members Tuesday Jan. 23. There will be a general board meeting to address any questions about the changes on Jan. 29, and voting for the document will run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, with plans to pass the final constitution and bylaws on Feb. 5.
The SGA from the University of Michigan-Flint came to visit CMU, and their SGA president, Lina Azeim, spoke briefly to the audience. She spoke about how her SGA is focusing on advocacy, community and traditions, as well as pushing a sense of school spirit and student wellness. She wished CMU good luck with their upcoming election cycle, and that she looked forward to seeing some members at the upcoming United Student Government Conference, a conference where the 15 Michigan universities' SGAs come together to discuss ideas.
Biller said that the position for Sustainability Chair on the SGA Cabinet is open. The application is available on Engage until 11:59 p.m on Jan. 23. Any students interested can apply here.
The Governmental Affairs Committee is planning to host an event once per month starting in February. Their first event will be focused on election education and information because 2024 is an election year. Dates and details have yet to be determined.