Mike Sherr
Staff Writer
Student Government (SG) met over Zoom on Oct. 28 in their weekly meeting to hear from Staff Senate President Joe O’Brien and vote on old business.
O’Brien, who works in the Division of Information Technology and Campus Safety, told SG that the Staff Senate has recently created two new councils: the Staff Mental Health Council and the Anti-Racism Council.
The Anti-Racism Council will explore new ways for staff members to feel safe and included throughout campus. O’Brien then informed SG that he plans to try and accomplish this through something somewhat different from SG and the Faculty Senate, so that the College is doing as much as it possibly can. “We’ll be working in unison with the Division of Inclusive Excellence, Faculty Senate, and (SG),” O’Brien told the general body.
O’Brien also answered a question about the spring 2021 semester plan. “I can’t get specific, but it's really encouraging,” he said.
The specifics were sent to students the next day by College President Kathryn Foster through email. The plan is very similar to the one for the fall 2020 semester prior to the decision to keep the campus closed. Foster also told students that this plan is tentative and may be changed in the upcoming weeks, or even months.
After O’Brien finished his presentation, SG moved on a vote to recognize IGNITE. This organization is a political group focused around empowering and aiding women in finding political jobs and internships.
The group is similar to WILL, but with the core difference that WILL is an academic program in which an application is needed to join while IGNITE is a student organization that anyone can join.
Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Roshni Raji, told the general body that while Governmental Affairs thinks that IGNITE should become a recognized student organization, the group recommends that IGNITE reduce the requirements for membership. The current requirement states that members must attend five of the eight events during a semester.
Despite this recommendation, the general body voted in favor of recognizing IGNITE as a student organization. SG will not meet on Nov. 4 for their general body meeting in order to take a day off for mental health.
