Student Senate met for their weekly meeting on Thursday, March 16 at 3:45 p.m. in Gibble Auditorium for the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meeting.
The moderator selected for the meeting was Class of 2025 Vice President Nicholas Wiley. The meeting was divided in topics of interest, with the first topic being Diversity, Equity and Belonging.
The next topic of interest was Dining Services. A question was asked pertaining to the inclusion of vegetarian meal options in the Marketplace. As of right now, there are no plans to add a separate vegetarian meal section, however they are constantly working to provide the most options they can to accommodate the most students possible.
A similar question was asked about vegetarian and vegan options because the meal swipe exchange program in the Jays Nest currently offers no vegan or vegetarian options, and states that no substitutions can be made. Therefore, a student wanted to know if there were plans to include more accommodating meals to students as a part of the program. This is also something they will look to evaluate, as the program just started this week, so they are looking for feedback to see how it can be improved for the future.
The next topic of interest was Residence Life. A question was asked in regards to why the doors are locked after Residence Life or maintenance enters a student room because students may not keep their keys on them when walking around campus and therefore, will face a lock out fee if the door is locked. It was explained that this is so that liability cannot be placed on residence life or maintenance if, for example, something got stolen from the room and they were the last ones in the room. Another question was then raised as to why students were not notified that Residence Life was entering residences dorm rooms over spring break. It was explained that it was a mistake on Residence Life for not sending out an email to students prior to break.
The next topic of interest was opened up for miscellaneous questions that may not fit into any of the other specific categories. A concern was raised for the Class of 2025, as they were the first cohort to incur the comprehensive fee that includes upkeep to the Bowers Center and the fee of a parking pass but missed the opportunity to be eligible to the Excelsior Scholarship, which was a new merit based scholarship created that is a step above the Presidential Scholarship. The scholarship was first offered to incoming students of the Class of 2026.
The final topic of interest was Student Life. A question was asked in regards to parking during sporting events, if there could be a designated section for spectators to park to allow students to have access to the closer spots rather than them being taken by the spectators. This is something the SLT explained they can connect with Athletics to see if possible.
A question regarding the mold found in Hackman South earlier in the academic year in regards to how often the school conducts air quality tests. It was explained that mold is always in the air, however there is a level that is safe in which the buildings are tested to ensure they stay in that safe range. One question asked to President Betty Rider is if she plans to bring back the ‘President for a Day’ program that had previously been run by previous presidents. Rider stated that there are no plans to do it this semester due to already having a full schedule through the rest of the semester. However, she would be open to bringing back this program if there was student interest.
Student Senate meets weekly on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. in Hoover 212. Meetings are open to all the campus community.
