By Alexandra Shapiro
Columnist
Meeting at the New Jersey State House in Trenton, Student Government discussed five resolutions at its general body session on April 30.
Jaclyn Corbo, a junior history major and the primary sponsor of Resolution S2019-06, “In support of the NJ Legislature Adopting Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Protections for Unpaid Interns,” introduced the bill to the general body.
The resolution encourages the New Jersey State Legislature to adopt policies for unpaid interns against anti-discrimination and sexual harassment in an effort to promote protection in the workplace. After a vote, SG passed the resolution.
The next resolution discussed was “RS2019-13: To implore The College of New Jersey to expand its commitment to voter accessibility as an institutional priority through the reevaluation of our Academic Calendar, and by providing the appropriate accommodations that enable all students to partake in election processes.”
There were three primary sponsors of the bill Vice President of Community Relations and junior communication studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies double major Rachel Smith, Head Senator of Humanities and Social Sciences and junior political science and psychology double major Owen Brady and Senator of Humanities and Social Sciences and sophomore political science major Kiana Stockwell.
SG introduced the bill, and they will further discuss it at the next meeting. The next resolution up for debate, sponsored by Smith, was “R-S2019-14: To charge the Steering Committee with reevaluating the Undergraduate Internship Policy at the College and urge the Provost to promote accessible internship practices in regard to course-credit and fulfilling academic requirements.”
After debate by the general body, the resolution passed. Student Government then debated on R-S2019-08, “Final Examination Scheduling Procedure for Classes in the Same Department.” The bill is in regards to the fact that students at the College do not have a say in when their final exams are held.
SG urged the scheduling team in Records and Registration to create a new final exam procedure for exams that are in the same department. The general body insisted that the College’s scheduling team should avoid scheduling final examinations in the same department within a day apart.
Instead, SG maintained that exams should be scheduled at least one week after each other. After debate, this bill was tabled indefinitely due to potential scheduling complications in holding final exams so far apart from each other.
Stockwell introduced her resolution titled, “RS019-15: To implore The College of New Jersey to review its FY 2020 appropriations in order to improve the accessibility of mental health resources on campus.”
The purpose of the resolution is to convey the feedback that the senators of Humanities and Social Sciences collected from students regarding mental health resources on campus, specifically pertaining to their knowledge and experience with Counseling and Psychological Services. After a vote by the general body, the resolution passed.
Student Government did not discuss any governance reports or events at their meeting. Events regarding Finals Fest and the end of the semester are set to be discussed at the next meeting.
