By Haylei John, SGA President
Members of the Student Government Association (SGA) have spent the recent weeks working with their assigned committees on specific class projects.
The SGA meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15 was devoted to further discussing the changes to Spring Weekend, voting procedures and campus suggestions.
Additional speakers at the meeting included Nichole Gonzalez, interim vice president for Student Affairs, and Rob DeFazio, interim executive director for Residential Living and Conduct.
The first order of business was the issue of the Spring Weekend quad party. SBU-TV filmed this portion of the meeting, as the student body has asked many questions about these changes. This section of the SGA meeting can be viewed on SBU-TV’s Facebook Live page.
Gonzalez clarified that the decision to completely prohibit the quad party was not made or initiated by SGA. Gonzalez and DeFazio left the floor open for additional questions.
SGA members questioned the manner in which the party would be prevented. Gonzalez explained that extra security and outside officers would be placed in the area to enforce policy.
Other questions were asked regarding programming and the implications of the changes. Students were encouraged to attend this meeting to voice concerns.
Official statements from university administrators will be sent out soon to the entire campus to be clear on Spring Weekend policy.
The next order of business was the voting on and approval of the SGA recommendation on a change to the campus smoking policy. The results of the campus smoking survey, distributed last semester, showed that students would like to see the campus create designated smoking areas, as opposed to the current policy that permits smoking 30 feet from buildings.
This recommendation was approved and has been sent to the administration for consideration. Since SGA does not have the ability to directly change campus policies, senators are able to vote on recommendations that must be discussed and deliberated on by university administration. The decision will ultimately be left to administration, but recommendations ensure that the views of the student body are made clear to the university.
A portion of the meeting was the appointment of Jeancarlos Aponte to the position of senator of the Class of 2020.
Aponte is excited to be involved with SGA and bring insight to the Class of 2020 in planning future events. We are excited to welcome Aponte to SGA as an accomplished student leader.
The executive board of SGA is also looking for additional study space suggestions for rooms to be made available for student use. Various rooms in Swan, Walsh and Plassmann have been discussed. Anyone with recommendations can contact any member of SGA to be passed on to administration.
The student affairs committee met last week to discuss issues such as parking, campus roads and committees. These topics will continue to be discussed, though some immediate responses to concerns have already become apparent.
Crisann Bailey, treasurer of the Class of 2018, brought up the issue of large potholes near Francis Hall and the surrounding road. These specific problem areas on campus are already beginning to be repaired and will continue to be addressed as the weather improves.
Any suggestions or questions can be directed to members of SGA’s executive board.
