Chatham Student Government (CSG) held its regular meetings on Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 in which they discussed recent and upcoming events, resignations, proclamations and the Constitutional Convention. Below are updates from this month’s meetings.
Events
Meetings for the Constitutional Convention began to occur biweekly on Mondays from 12 – 1 p.m. on Oct. 14. At the Constitutional Convention, CSG’s bylaws will be reevaluated and rewritten by three members of student government as well as three student body members that were additionally selected to vote on the matter. Harper Strobel ‘28 was previously selected but was officially replaced by Mia Pirichy ‘28 during the 10/31 meeting.
Wednesday, Oct. 16, CSG held their “Quad Chat,” which is an opportunity for students to meet their student government representatives and voice their concerns. On the following day, CSG held their regular meeting but relocated to the quad instead of their usual location. This decampment was an effort to make students more aware of CSG and how it functions and to give more people an opportunity to observe and contribute to the open forum portion of the meeting.
CSG’s semi-annual Town Hall will be held on Wednesday Nov. 6 from 11:30 – 12:30 pm in Eddy Theater. Students are encouraged to submit questions and attend the event, which will be focused on academics and administration. University president Rhonda Phillips will be on the panel in addition to Vice President of Academic Affairs Lisa Lambert, Director of Academic Success Jeff Bukowski and Dean of Falk School of Sustainability Lou Leonard. CSG also recently announced that Board of Trustees chair Kent McElhattan will also serve as a panelist at the event. The Town Hall will be mediated by Class of ‘27 Secretary LJ Varley, who mediated the same event last semester.
Bills and Resolutions
Resolution 2024-07 was approved during the meeting on Oct. 3. The resolution calls on the university to provide air conditioning units to students in need of accommodations at no cost to the student. The bill cited the University Statement of Accomodation, which establishes Chatham’s commitment to “fostering an inclusive and supportive campus environment for all students.” The bill is a response to issues students faced at the beginning of this year with high temperatures and difficulty acquiring accommodations from residence life.
A number of bills were introduced and some approved, addressing the establishment and dissolution of committees (CSG committees exist in perpetuity until formally dissolved), the authorities granted to the Constitutional Convention and required CSG office hours. Budgeting bills were passed for the previously mentioned events and money was allocated to student organizations.
Proclamations
CSG passed proclamations recognizing the Chatham Feminist Coalition and the new Planned Parenthood Generation Action Chapter for their contributions to campus as well as the charity events both organizations have held, like the Feminist Coalition’s former’s drag charity bingo that raised funds for the Pittsburgh Equality Center.
Appointments and Resignations
Class of 2025 President Madison Smith resigned effective immediately. Her replacement is former Class of 2025 VP Maggie Vargo, nominated by fellow Class of ‘25 CSG members and Executive President Morgan Rapsky. Class of ‘25 Secretary Jackson Adkins then resigned and was selected to fill the VP position.
Vice President for Communications Jada Jenkins also announced her resignation, effective at the start of the spring semester. A replacement must be a current member of CSG and has not yet been selected.
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.
