By Kaitlin Bavaro
Staff Writer
On Oct. 27, at the student government (SG) meeting, Executive President Roshni Raji said that mask-wearing will most likely continue for the rest of the fall semester. She also said a critical conversation with College health board members will take place at the end of the semester about what was learned this fall in regards to Covid-19, as well as what the College’s protocols will be in the spring.
This news was reported after a presentation from special guest speaker Tyler McGilligan, a patrolman and College alum, who spoke about self-defense and situational awareness.
The meeting kicked off with McGilligan’s presentation. He first defined assault and its variations and then gave safety tips such as being mindful of one’s surroundings, sharing one’s location with a trusted person, utilizing car service apps like Uber and Lyft and having a good exit strategy for going out in public or meeting with people on dating apps.
McGilligan also shared some myths about self-defense that are counterproductive, like holding one’s keys as a weapon, carrying weapons one has not been trained to use or calling someone when walking alone. McGilligan ended his presentation by sharing campus police resources and also said that campus police will be holding self-defense classes on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. for the spring semester.
After McGilligan’s presentation, SG moved into their approval minutes and opened the floor for agenda items. Two new student organizations were passed, ASL club and People4plants, which will both be voted on during the Nov. 3 meeting.
Taekwondo club, a potential new organization on campus, pitched their idea to SG so that they can officially begin operating and holding meetings. They plan to have tri-weekly meetings for students of all skill levels with their members doing activities such as sparring, Poomsae and board breaking. The club would also like to hold competitions and perform at College cultural events.
After the Taekwondo club’s pitch, SG members moved into an open discussion to decide when they should meet with the club again. SG decided that the club is not ready to be officially recognized because they first need to organize insurance, gear and their meeting locations in the Recreation Center. SG decided that once the Taekwondo club meets these requirements, they can reevaluate their pitch.
After the pitch, the meeting moved into brief governance reports from executive committees, standing committees, ad hoc task forces and councils and boards and extended governance.
The meeting ended with important dates for SG events shared in the advisor report, as well as “mad props,” which is where compliments are given anonymously from board members to other board members of SG.
