Student Senate met Thursday, April 22 at 3:45 pm for the first meeting of their new term. The meeting was held both in-person in Gibble Auditorium and virtually over Zoom.
Since it marked the beginning of a new Senate term, the meeting began with the Oath of Office for all senators.
Senators then continued with the rest of their agenda, beginning with administrative reports. Vice President for Student Life Dr. Celestino Limas started by congratulating students on a well-done SCAD.
He then reminded senators of events that took place that weekend, the Accepted Students Day Friday, April 23 and the Star Celebration for athletics Sunday, April 25.
Assistant Director of Community Living Rina Carpenter gave the report for the Office of Student Activities (OSA), where they informed senators of that weekend’s events for OSA, including yoga on Brinser Field.
Director of Campus Security Andrew Powell gave the next report for Campus Security. He began by reminding senators of the transportation available to the Park City vaccination site.
Powell also provided a staffing update. Assistant Director of Campus Security Dale Boyer, who is on medical leave this semester, has decided to retire.
Director of the Writing Wing Rick Fellinger represented the Center for Student Success. During his report, Fellinger said the Learning Zone will be open for finals week from 11 am to 8 pm Friday, May 7 through Tuesday, May 11, as well as 11 am to 5 pm Wednesday, May 12.
Executive Cabinet reports followed, as the first time for the newly elected members. Executive President sophomore Andrew Furman introduced each member prior to their report.
Executive Vice President junior Christina Schnee announced the dates for next year’s Student Senate fall retreat. Schnee also reminded senators of the dress code and meeting etiquette.
Executive Treasurer junior Kyle Cappucci reported on the finance committee’s last meeting, where they approved the $350 new club allowance to Turning Point.
The meeting finished with the main order of business – internal committee elections. The April 22 meeting focused on electing chairs and vice chairs of Senate’s internal committees.
Student Senate also met Thursday, April 29 at 3:45 pm for another hybrid meeting.
Limas began with an update that since interhall visitation began, the College has not seen an increase in cases through surveillance testing. As of the meeting, there were zero positives.
Limas also provided the statistics from the vaccination survey. There were 1,234 responses, with 1,003 being students. 66.21 percent of respondents disclosed that they had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by the day they took the survey, and 34.76 percent were fully vaccinated. When asked about being fully vaccinated by August 1 79.34 percent of respondents said they planned to be, with an additional 8.18 percent indicating they’re “not sure.”
After Limas, Executive Sous Chef Barry Hornberger talked about a new program Dining Services will implement in the fall semester. This past year, over 52,000 disposable to-go containers were used in the Marketplace. In the fall, they will start using reusable containers and a check-out system. Each student will begin with three credits, and each container will be worth one credit. Once a student returns a container, the credit will be put back on their account. More information will be shared before the start of the program.
During Counseling Services and Student Health’s report, Director of Counseling and Health Needs Bruce Lynch announced Counseling Services is beginning the process of another counseling. They are looking to hire someone who specializes in BIPOC counseling.
The April 29 meeting also finished with the rest of internal committee elections.
Student Senate will host their last meeting of the semester Thursday, May 6 at 3:45 pm in Gibble Auditorium. This meeting will be dedicated to recognizing the senior senators.
