Sept. 10

Taking place at the Conover Room, CSG held its first meeting. 

Members of the executive board were Melissa Redding ’24 as the vice president of diversity and inclusion, Liz Roszkoski ’23 as the vice president of communications, Emi Perdan ‘24 as the vice president of finances, Leo Liotta ‘23 as executive vice president and Abdul Malik ’23 as executive president. 

President David Finegold’s resignation

Dean of Students, Chris Purcell, talked about the search process for a new president. According to Purcell, the committee board will assess candidates during the year, and students could be a part of the final decision because their student insight can be beneficial.  

Cougars Care

The improved Cougars Care program provides aid to teachers and students who are struggling mentally (non-Title IX related). According to Dean Purcell, the program has better time intervention because students can now get an earlier response, and teachers can provide a concern if they feel that a student is struggling. Additionally, the Cougars Care program does not use anonymous reporting so there can be a prompt response concerning the student. 

Appointments and Resignations

Ethan Kelly resigned as class 2025 president

Sept. 15

The Executive Board explained and demonstrated the procedures in the meetings and their roles to the class 2026 members.

The class of 2026 members are:

Morgan Rapsky: president

Gabrielle Slovikosky vice-president

Jada Jenkins: secretary

Savannah Caruso: treasurer

Madison Stokes and Jonah Schiffgens-Smith: class representatives  

Appointments

Jackson Adkins was appointed as the class 2025 president. 

Strategies to promote mental health

One of the first topics discussed was strategies to promote mental health for students with academically rigorous majors. According to Liotta, it becomes a concern when assignments do not seem to have accomplishable due dates and start to create difficulties in eating and sleeping consistently.  

Class of 2025 President Jackson Adkins discussed re-instating the last semester’s ad-hoc committee, the Athletic Engagement Committee, to create events that all students can participate in. 

Sept. 22

Redding discussed her main objectives.

She discussed that the 2021 listed demands of the Black Student Union (BSU) needed to be addressed. Possible solutions involve creating a possible Heritage Night where students can engage with multiple cultures. Racial sensitivity courses could be implemented for faculty, staff and students as well.

She also discussed having a list of campus officers either as an online directory or poster within the dorms.  

“Students should be aware of who is protecting the campus, so they know who is and is not a part of the police,” said Redding.

Campus App

Director of Student Engagement, Emily Fidago, was a guest speaker to discuss the new mobile app. 

She said that they chose CAMPUS M since it was a “much more comprehensive app with improved functionality.” Information is more accessible for students where they can use the app for meal swipes or flex dollars, access their Microsoft office email or view the events calendar. 

Women’s Institution and PWCP Displacement

Brought forward by Roszkoski, the Women’s Institution and the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics (PCWP) have recently been reallocated to a new, unknown location.

According to Roszkoski, residents originally were in Braun Hall but were not given notice that it would become the new office for the Dean of Science, Art and Business.

Dean Purcell read an email from Student Affairs to CSG members about this issue. The email stated their concerns about students’ feelings of displacement, but the Women’s Institution is still an integral, historical aspect of Chatham University. 

However, Roszkoski was dissatisfied with this response. 

“It makes sense to move SAB to an office space that is more appropriate than Anderson, but it is not fair to displace the previous residents intentionally or otherwise without notice,” stated Roszkoski. 

Liotta was also dissatisfied because students may want to go to the institution but are unaware of the new relocation. 

Parking and Issues

Members discussed the parking issues on campus such as valets parking students’ cars inside the parking spaces, or students being asked to move their car to another location because it may get towed despite the lack of accessible parking on campus. 

Zoe Grater, class 2023 president, proposed a prioritization for parking spaces in the library lot for students. 

Roszkoski shared similar sentiments because it would be unfair for there to be a prioritization of parking spaces for campus students versus commuter students. Instead, she proposed there could be a prioritization of all students over faculty since faculty will likely have more access to parking spaces first.

Special Reports

The Safety Committee discussed students’ concerns about the safe rider program. 

The purpose of Safe Rider is a late-night free service for students. However, one student was denied service because Chatham students were not listed to use the service. 

If individuals are denied, they must contact Chatham Police to gain transportation. 

Appointments and Resignations

Zach Mayan resigned as class 2023 vice president.

Hannah Thomas resigned as a class 2025 class representative. 

Madison Stokes ’26 was nominated as the chair of the food committee.

Sophia Boyle ‘24 was nominated as chair of the safety committee.

Lucas Tavares Naief resigned as the class 2024 representative.

Sept. 29

Roszkoski discussed her plans for the fall semester’s town hall with Dean Purcell. A budget is underway for snacks and a date is still being decided. 

Malik told CSG members that Finegold will attend the Oct. 6 meeting, so questions for him should be given to him in advance for future discussion.

Special Reports:

Stokes discussed with the General Manager of Anderson Nick Corbett to create a board for Parkhurst to be aware of anyone’s allergy issues. 

The Safety Committee members discussed additional lights implemented at Hicks and Linzer Apartments and added reflectors in parking lots for drivers to be aware of tight turns.

Redding discussed her previous talk with Police Chief Donna Grossi about posting the names of officers online. However, it may not occur until the electronic bulletin board is installed, but Redding offered that it could be posted on my.chatham.

Rapsky agreed with this proposal because it would be beneficial for students to check who they just talked to. 

Roszkoski shared similar sentiments. 

“Students can know who they are, and that can bridge the divide between the students and campus police,” stated Roszkoski.

Class Reports

Rapsky discussed a possible idea for the class 2026 project, the Meal Plan initiative. Students could roll over their meal plans to flex dollars to limit the waste of meal swipes in large meal plans. 

Appointments and Resignations

Anna Betar was appointed as a class 2025 representative.

Nathan Tebay was elected as the class of 2025 vice-president.

Jenkins resigned her position as chair of the Athletic Engagement Committee and appointed Adkins who accepted the position.