Chatham Student Government (CSG) met on Sept. 5, Sept. 12, Sept. 19 and Sept 26 to discuss the logistics of its Constitutional Convention, compensation for all members, the establishment of give and take racks and more. Included below are updates from the last month of meetings.
Constitutional Convention Updates
Last academic year, the student body voted in favor of allowing CSG to hold a Constitutional Convention to evaluate and make changes to their internal structure. This year, the body has moved forward with the plans. The Constitutional Convention looks to rewrite as much of CSG’s bylaws as deemed necessary and establish a new Constitution for ratification.
Class 2026 President Jonah Schiffgens-Smith alongside Class 2025 Vice President Maggie Smith and Class 2027 Secretary LJ Varley will spearhead the convention and serve as voting members from the Senate.
CSG selected Dominic Colrusso ‘28, Alina Starr ‘25 and Harper Strobel ‘28 as the three voting members of the student body to serve on the Constitutional Convention during their Sept. 28 meeting. They chose these three people to strive to diversify the ages, majors and interests of those serving on the Convention.
Constitutional Convention meetings look to start in the near future. For continued coverage, follow @Communique_cu on Instagram.
Compensation of all members of CSG.
Class 2025 Representative Anna Betar alongside Executive President Morgan Rapsky ‘26 and Schiffgens-Smith proposed a resolution to advocate for the compensation of all CSG members on Sept. 5. Resolution FA2024-05 called for the University to allocate funding to the annual CSG budget to allow for payments to all members of CSG so as to reduce financial barriers and promote equity in student government.
As it stands right now, several members of CSG do receive compensation. The executive president receives $500 a semester; the executive vice president receives $450 a semester; the vice president of communications, the vice president of student finances and the vice president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion all receive $400 and all class presidents receive $350. No other members have been compensated.
The resolution passed during the Sept. 5 meeting. Copies of the resolution were sent to President Rhonda Phillips, the Office of Student Affairs and other relevant stakeholders within the University community.
An ad hoc committee, chaired by Betar, was established during the Sept. 19 meeting to focus on creating proposals regarding four recent CSG efforts surrounding compensation equity, the most recent of which centers on this resolution to compensate all members of student government.
Appointments and Resignations
CSG elected several internal positions on Sept. 19. Vice President for Student Communications Jada Jenkins ‘26 was appointed as the clerk of the Senate. Vice President for Student Finances Gabrielle Slovikosky ‘26 was appointed as the accountant of the Senate. Class 2027 President Connor Domke was appointed as parliamentarian.
Additionally, Class 2027 Vice President Olivia Harris was named chair of the Food Committee; Varley was named chair of the Academic Advocacy Committee and Class 2026 Vice President Madison Butina was named chair of the Safety Committee on Sept 19.
On Sept. 5, Dean of Students Chris Purcell was appointed to a one-year term as CSG advisor.
Carleigh Evans resigned as class of 2025 representative-elect ahead of the Sept. 5 meeting.
If students are interested in getting involved with CSG, they can attend an in-person meeting in the Conover Room in the Mellon Board Room on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students can also visit the CSG website to learn more about the organization.
