By Alyssa Sanford
News Assistant
A heavily-debated club derecognition bill was passed during the Student Government general body meeting on Wednesday, April 8, after members voted to formally recognize a new club.
B-S2015-04 was reintroduced by Jessica Glynn, vice president of Governmental Affairs, after the general body moved to table the bill for later discussion on Wednesday, April 1.
According to the bill, all clubs that have failed to respond to Student Government’s repeated outreaches to reapply for recognition at the end of the year will be formally derecognized by SG and will need to reapply through Governmental Affairs and Student Government next semester.
A new provision to the bill stated that “the deadline will be extended to April 18 at 11:59 p.m.” so that these clubs will have a chance to reapply before being formally derecognized. Instead of solely reaching out to club presidents through their official club email accounts and individual College email accounts, SG will contact club advisors directly to expedite the process.
Vice President Michael Chiumento clarified in the last meeting that SG was not derecognizing clubs without cause. He explained that this bill would give clubs in danger of derecognition a final opportunity to reapply without penalty. Only clubs that have been reached out to “seven or eight times” without response will face possible derecognition, Chiumento said.
President Matthew Wells called for a vote on B-S2015-04, which passed after much debate. As of yet, there is no date set for when derecognized clubs can formally reapply for recognition.
Prior to the vote, TCNJ Red Cross presented before the general body in hopes of gaining formal recognition.
The student organization was approved by Governmental Affairs on Sunday, March 29. GA praised TCNJ Red Cross for its "passionate e-board" and its affiliation with the Red Cross center in Princeton, as well as the National Red Cross.
General body members asked for clarification about the differences between TCNJ Red Cross and Lions EMS, as both clubs provide CPR training. While Lions EMS CPR training is open to the campus community, TCNJ Red Cross provides CPR training for members only, but the e-board insists that their club focuses on disaster relief and service opportunities more than CPR training.
The club currently has between 25 and 30 members, but new members require CPR certification and formal training in order to be considered active members of the club.
Wells called for a vote to recognize TCNJ Red Cross, which passed with no debate.
Chiumento announced that SG elections will take place on Tuesday, April 28, but newly elected members will not take office until Wednesday, May 6, which is the last general body meeting of the semester.
Later, it was announced that “10 Days of Ewing” will be held from Thursday, April 9, to Saturday, April 18. Alternate Student Trustee Kevin Kim said that local businesses will offer discounts and limited promotions to students from the College during this event.
Vendors such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Mamma Flora’s, Philly Pretzel Factory, Carvel, Uncle Ed’s Creamery, Sunny Days Tanning Salon and more will be participating in “10 Days of Ewing,” according to Kim.
“Show up, show your ID. It’ll be a good way to build relationships between TCNJ and these companies,” Kim said.
Next, Glynn announced that Youth Outreach Day will be held on Saturday, April 18 from noon to 3 p.m.
Senior class council President Brian Garsh said that Senior Week currently has 520 registrants.
“We were a little scared because everyone waited until the last minute,” said Garsh of the late influx of registrants before thanking seniors for registering for the three-day event.
The senior class will also hold a combined senior/junior night on Wednesday, May 5, which will have a Cinco de Mayo theme.
Garsh also announced that on Wednesday, April 22, the senior class will host a TD Bank event that will be relevant to a lot of seniors and educate them on paying off student loans. Representatives from TD Bank will talk to seniors about starting the process of paying back the loans six months after graduation.
