SGA: Veteran space legislation, new SGA website
The Student Government Association was alive with fresh energy and new faces at the meeting on April 8.
Stan Shingles: New interim vice president of Student Affairs
The new Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Stan Shingles came to SGA to tell students about his return to the university and to remind students that Student Affairs is there to support them. He is taking the place of former vice president Renee Watson, who departed earlier that day.
Shingles said he appreciated university president Bob Davies' confidence in having him fill the interim role, and that he came to remind students that the Division of Student Affairs is there to support them
"One thing that I will assure you is you're the most important thing at this university," he said. "You're the most important priority at this university. Please hold us accountable to that."
He encouraged students to visit the office if they needed to, or even to just say hello if they were comfortable with that.
Legislation for veterans' space passes Senate
A new legislation from the Veteran Student Association unanimously passed through the Senate Monday night.
The legislation proposes the creation of a "veterans oasis space," or a designated space located either in the University Center or Anspach Hall for veteran students to go to for studying, events or to relax. According to the legislation: "It would be more than a place to study, but a place to foster community."
The legislation requests for the room to have a variety of appliances, such as tables, computers, a microwave, a fridge and a vending machine. It also requests for the space have extended hours and to be open on weekends.
The vote passed the Senate unanimously through those in attendance. Senators in attendance unanimously approved the vote, 9-0 with eight members absent. It will be reviewed by the House at the upcoming SGA meeting on April 15.
New SGA website launched
Originally, students and faculty looking for information on SGA or to find files from meetings would have to do so through their Engage page. Starting next academic year, that will change.
Vicente Vargas, the historian for SGA, announced that a new SGA website he created is now live for students to view and interact with. He said that SGA President Tyler Zimmerman came to him earlier in the year with the idea, and now it has been launched.
"My vision for it was just to have a centralized place for all documents and that it can be updated after every meeting," he said. "Anything SGA-related would ultimately be uploaded there."
The website includes a variety of tabs and resources for students, such as a cabinet page, a documents page, a link to show all the RSOs in attendance and an upcoming "Question of the Week" form visitors can fill out.
Vargas said that he worked on the site "on and off" throughout the year, but mainly built it during the second semester. He said it took him roughly three to four months to get it to where it is now, but that there are still things to be added to it, such as updating photos and making the embedded Google Forms interactive instead of placeholders.
"Right now it's at a starting point," he said. "Hopefully as time goes on, we can keep adding to it."
In Other Events
- SGA Vice President Ryan Biller discussed the results from the Freedom of Expressions conversation they held last week, showing that the Yale statement passed onto the Academic Senate. Biller said that the Academic Senate also approved the Yale statement at their April 2 meeting by almost 90%. Next it will move to the administration's office where a policy will be drafting surrounding freedom of expression on campus.
- A brief elections recap was given at the meeting, revealing that Carolina Hernandez Ruiz, Aashka Barot and Akua Acheampong will be the president, vice president and treasurer, respectively, for the next academic year. Hernandez Ruiz and Barot won the vote by 40.17% and collected 638 votes via Engage last week, out of a total of 1,588 votes. Biller said the elections report will be finalized and published on the new SGA website in the near future.
- Governmental Affairs is holding a Model United Nations (MUN) event where each student will represent a country and serve on a committee to solve an issue. Committee Chair Joseph Marah said the goal of the event is to introduce students to things like public speaking, diplomacy and negotiations in a real-life United Nations simulation. Official details regarding date, time and location(s) will be sent out on a flyer later this week.
- Multiple events are happening around campus that students can RSVP for or attend, such as a Missing and Murdered Indigenous 5K and One Mile Walk, the International Culture Expo and the Golden Gala.
