By Gabriella Lucci
Staff Writer
Student Government swore in the speaker of the General Body and the senators of the Humanities and Social Sciences at their general body meeting on Wednesday, March 4.
During the governance reports, Global Engagement reported that the Global Engagement Council voted to approve the faculty-led programs for the winter 2021 term, which includes trips to the United Kingdom, Peru and Ghana.
Incoming freshmen will also have the opportunity to choose if they want to go to Jamaica or Greece to complete their Freshman Seminar Program (FSP) requirement. About eight students are anticipated to return from their study abroad trips this semester in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
As a precaution, the students will not be allowed on campus until they have self-isolated themselves for two weeks and are cleared by a medical professional.
The Dining Services Committee reported to the general body that dining services on campus will be expanding their cultural events and that utensils in the dining halls have been going missing. While they will be ordering more utensils, they are asking that students return them to the dining halls.
The Honors and Scholars Council announced that it is looking to make a student organization within the honors program at the College. Additionally, the council is attempting to make an alumni networking group to further cement its presence on LinkedIn.
The Environmental Sustainability Council reported on an app called Recycle Coach that students at the College can use for information on where to throw away their food and e-cycle. The app is mainly directed toward freshman and sophomores.
The Campus Diversity Council governance reporter shared that the council went over changes to the Code of Conduct in a previous meeting, and that it is trying to make incoming students more aware of the College’s policy on bias and how to keep campus inclusive.
During the cabinet reports, Executive President Patty Kou reminded the general body that Shannon Conklin, the Director of Career and Leadership Development, will be attending the next general body meeting on March 25, where she will be asking students for feedback on the Career Center.
Vice President for Administration and Finance Neil Trivedi recapped his meeting with Sharon Blanton, the chief of information officer, where they discussed various issues on campus, including Wi-Fi malfunctions. According to Trivedi, Blanton was unaware that there were problems with campus Wi-Fi in some of the residential halls. She recommended that students report any issues whenever they arise.
The Cloud system will be updated, and the Roar app will be taken down, creating one central app for the College. Linked-In Learning is a website that should be utilized by students, according to Trivedi, as it has lots of helpful information that pertains to all sorts of careers. He shared that if the resource is not used, it will be taken down.
Student Trustee Chris Driscoll announced that the cabinet debates will be held either in the Library Auditorium on Monday or in the Education Building Room 115 on Tuesday, April 21, before elections on Thursday, April 23, depending on how many seats are contested.
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and Spike Ball club will be presenting at the next general body meeting in hopes of gaining official campus recognition.
