Welcome back Blue Jays! Senate has been hard at work since we’ve been back to continue to be the voice of the students and advocate for student rights. This week we were extremely productive in our meeting as we continued to work on some long term projects and research we began last semester.
Our Lighting Committee has developed and presented a proposal to be sent to both the Safety Committee and Facilities Management for their consideration regarding inadequate lighting in certain locations on campus. The committee went out and surveyed the campus to determine which areas on campus they felt were poorly lit. Senate voted to approve this proposal, which will now be sent to administrators for further consideration.
Senate Executive Cabinet, Class Presidents and Treasurers, as well as the Finance committee recently met to discuss the proposed budget that we will present to the Dean of Students to consider for next school year. Many factors were taken into consideration when coming to a decision regarding the amount being asked for, including club funding and better ways to track, maintain and spend Senate funds in a productive and meaningful manner.
Senator Emily Gockley presented her findings and research at last weeks’ meeting regarding different options to help alleviate the overcrowding in the Marketplace. She sat down with the Dining Services Director, Eric Turzai, to consider options such as take out containers, letting students eat in other areas of the BSC, and use of the Bird Feeder for meals to help limit the overcrowding we’ve all experienced at one point or another. Before these options will be considered, other avenues and possible scenarios will be attempted prior to institution of any or all of these methods. Turzai he is more than willing to address the issue and help any way he can to lessen the student’s frustrations.
New members have also joined Student Senate for the Spring 2013 semester. Tom Johnstone and Elly McCarthy were elected as representatives of the Class of 2013, Mikayla Mason has been elected as a Representative for the Class of 2016, and Jack Hess and Jason Halberstadt have been elected as representatives for the Class of 2014. First-year Erik Cianci was also promoted to Class of 2016 president.
We would like to congratulate two senators who have been elected into cabinet positions within their classes. First-year Adam Amspacher has been elected to the Class of 2016 vice president and Alexandra Doran has been elected Class of 2015 class secretary. Congratulations Adam and Alex!
As always, if you have comments, questions or concerns you’d like to see addressed, please feel free to contact any student senator, utilize the comment box outside of Mail Services, or email us at SENATE@etown.edu.