By Gabriella Lucci
Correspondent
Student Government swore in two newly appointed members and voted on a plastic bag ban at their first general body meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the Decker Social Space.
Executive President Patty Kou started off the meeting by introducing and swearing in two newly appointed members: Neil Trivedi, the vice president for administration and finance, and Roshni Raji, the vice president for governmental affairs.
Next, Kou announced that the Surf Club, which was proposed in the fall of 2019, would be presenting at next week’s meeting. She also introduced the old business which included the I-F2019-03: Single-Use Plastic Policy that was proposed last fall.
The policy, which proposed a ban of plastic bags in all dining halls at the College by January 2021, was reintroduced for voting.
Members discussed goals for the ban, including raising awareness across campus about what plastic bags can do to the environment, making reusable bags at school events and handing out free reusable tote bags during welcome week. To cover costs, each student would be charged a fee of 10-15 cents per bag. The bill was passed.
Following the voting, the governance reports were presented and the heads of each committee briefly covered what was happening on campus.
The cabinet reports consisted mostly of welcome-backs, congratulations to the newly appointed members and reminders about upcoming events.
During her report, Kou announced that President Foster, who is encouraging student feedback, will attend the General Body meeting on Feb. 19.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Kelsey Cogan announced that there are still open senator positions for the following: Arts and Communication (1), Senators of Business (2), Senators of Humanities and Social Sciences (5) and Senator of Science (1). The deadline to apply for senator positions is Feb. 9, with the exception for the Senator of Science position, which is Feb. 16.
SG advisers Avani Rana and Dave Conner welcomed the students back for the semester.
“We really just encourage everyone, as always, (to) take the opportunity to come out and to learn, to do things together (and) take the opportunity to really understand the privilege you all have to be parts of these different processes,” Conner said.
