By Raeanne Raccagno
Staff Writer
The College’s Division of Operations presented at Student Government’s Oct. 23 meeting, informing the general body about sustainability improvements, ensuring safety and keeping up with building maintenance.
Shawn Cappellano-Sarver, associate vice president for facilities management, told SG that the College will stop using RoundUp, a weed killer, within the next year. A student organization, Organic Land Management, has been pushing for the end of the herbicide use due to controversy over its main ingredient, glyphosate.
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in December 2015.
RoundOut, a student organization established in January 2024, and the land management subgroup of the Environmental Sustainability Council have been dedicated to conducting research to help eliminate RoundUp and other carcinogenic pesticides used on campus.
“The grounds and facilities workers are rightfully concerned for their safety, so they support the phasing out of RoundUp,” said Maria Hourihan, a sophomore sociology major and a RoundOut member. “Shawn Cappellano-Sarver, a key stakeholder in eliminating RoundUp, was very supportive of the elimination for the safety of his workers.”
Cappellano-Sarver also mentioned at the SG the College’s efforts to become carbon-neutral. He also noted how all lighting fixtures will be changed to LEDs, which will save around one megawatt of energy.
Groundskeeping machines will be switching over to electric vehicles to be less noisy and reduce pollution. Most water heaters will be switched to heat pump water heaters, which produce heat more efficiently.
Daniel Posluszny, the College’s emergency preparedness manager, addressed the first mandatory safety training students completed last spring and the feedback they received.
“I know it was long, it was dry, and then on top of all your school things, you’re saying ‘I don’t want to do this,’” Posluszny said.
Instead of implementing another mandatory safety training, the Division of Operations is presently asking the campus community what it wants to be taught in terms of safety.
Valerie Hernandez, a freshman physics major and an EMT on campus, mentioned how a lot of people on campus are unaware of Narcan available for public use and suggested a Narcan administration and opioid overdose training.
Posluszny informed the general body that in order to receive and carry a kit with the opioid overdose reversal medicine, they will have to complete an online training module through the Safe Colleges platform or attend an in-person training at the Police Department or Health Center.
He also told the general body that there is Narcan in every AED box on campus now, except for the ones outside because the weather could cause damage to it. In addition, stop-the-bleed kits have been added to the AED boxes and the department plans to hold multiple informational meetings on how to utilize them.
Shayaan Makki, a junior biology major and SG’s head senator for the School of Science brought to light how students on campus might not know the differences between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, identifying signs of cardiac arrest or strokes or knowing when to use an AED.
“That's something that I feel like a lot of students and even staff and faculty on campus might not know. And when it comes to those situations, every minute matters,” Makki said. “So I think teaching students about them might be beneficial.”
In terms of climate, Alexis Kervan, SG’s junior class council vice president of public relations and junior marketing major, suggested a “weather for dummies” course and pop-up of weather supplies. The idea came to her after the snow buried her car last spring semester and she didn’t have the resources to take care of it.
Jared Williams, SG’s executive president, asked if the self-defense training organized by campus police would be held again and mentioned the interest it brought before. He also inquired about active shooter training for certain buildings on campus, which the team noted.
Posluszny also talked about a 30-month project to replace all fire alarms on campus that is currently in the works.
Ralph Pignatelli, chief information officer of information technology, wanted to make sure students were aware of the new 24 network printers added on campus. Students can use mobile printing and send their file to any of the printing locations and then tap their student ID on the printer to release the print job.
He also noted that students can use about 40 engineering and more than 40 general-use virtual applications available on the IT webpage. These applications are programs that are usually only found in a college lab, but the resource makes it available to anyone, anywhere.
Cappellano-Sarver also talked about upcoming building renovations, like construction at Forcina Hall in December that will last for about two years to consolidate the School of Nursing and Health Sciences into one building. Separate renovations will continue in Roscoe West.
Hiya Dogiparthi, SG’s chief strategist, met with David Muha, the College’s associate vice president for communications, marketing and brand management, who said the College’s new slogan is “higher education, elevated.” Virtual advertisements about the College will start airing on streaming services.
A recent advertisement for the College was shown at a New York Mets game, and the team may be giving the College a $5,000 scholarship.
Jackie Anderson, SG’s vice president for academic affairs, talked about changes to the Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience happening in 2025 with the committee on academic programs.
“The major changes include the number of students on each project, and that's going to be limited to one,” Anderson said, which collected a spread of surprised reactions from the general body.
They will also be implementing a Transfer MUSE as part of an attempt to make the College more transfer friendly. Transfer students will have the opportunity to work as a second student on a MUSE project.
Students will also be receiving a slight increase in stipends, so the committee on academic programs is working on limiting the review of criteria and making the guidelines more specific.
Jen Qin, a sophomore economics major and SG’s assistant vice president of scholarship and career, met with the committee on faculty affairs to discuss making non-tenured faculty a bigger part of campus and making the path to tenure more manageable.
Aria Chalileh, SG’s vice president for governmental affairs, gave an overview of a potential student organization, the Caribbean Student Association. The organization will be presenting at the next general body meeting for recognition.
SG also performed its swearing-in ceremony for five newly elected members.
Editor’s note: One of The Signal’s news editors, Kate Zydor, is Student Government’s Vice President for Student Services. She does not assist with writing or editing stories about Student Government.
