Feb. 2 

Officer Reports:

Communications: Filling in for Elizabeth Ruszkoski ’23, Vice President of Finances Emi Perdan ’23 asked individual officers to reach out to respective guest speakers to discuss tentative dates for them to appear in senate. Additionally, they voted that the panel-forum will occur on Feb. 16 where students can directly ask questions to CSG members.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Melissa Redding ’23, talked with the Asian Student Association (ASA), Latinx Student Association (LSA), and Muslim Student Association (MSA). To discuss their difficulties with obtaining ethnic food. Specifically, the lack of halal food or the inconsistent times when it is provided were discussed as well.

Unfinished Business: 

Recording of Senate Meetings: CSG members discussed recording the senate meetings to have an accurate account of the information discussed. Parliamentarian and Class 2025 Treasurer, Aidan Bobik, suggested that recording the meetings would be bad practice because they shouldn’t privatize the information in these public meetings. Class 2025 Representative, Anna Betar, suggested that recording the meetings would not be bad because they are trying to provide an accurate account of the meeting and make the best work. Also, she stated that there were no personal attempts to hide information. Dean of Students, Chris Purcell, pointed out that the recording of could be used for a violation in the honor code. 

New Business: 

Two resolutions were discussed, and it was decided to send both motions to administration. 

Institute Chapel Hours Across All Campuses: Members discussed that the university should implement chapel hours from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It allocates necessary breaks for students, and it reduces inconsistency for class and events for student engagement.

Raise Student Minimum Wage: Bobik stated that it is only fair to compensate student workers adequately because they contribute to Chatham’s environment. Members discussed that it should be raised to $12 per hour due to the high cost of meal swipes and the high cost of living. Increasing the stipend amount was considered as well.  

Special Reports: 

Athletic Engagement Committee (AEC): Class 2025 President Jackson Adkins provided the finalized hours for the LGBTQ+ and Women’s Workout space: 1-2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9-10 a.m. on Saturdays. It will begin on Feb. 7. 

Open Forum: 

Advisor Concerns: Class 2025 Vice President Nathan Tebay discussed that advisor issues should be addressed because some advisors are unaware of how to properly advise their students. Specifically, the concerns are for new professors or adjunct professors. Members discussed creating some form of training for professors to learn advising guidelines. 

Safety Concerns: Several safety concerns were discussed during the meeting. Class 2025 Representative, Maggie Vargo, mentioned the dilapidated staircase between Ficks and Chatham Apartments. Head of Safety Committee and Class 2024 President, Sophia Boyle, said that she has discussed this issue with facilities and will discuss it again. Tebay said and sent a video to CSG members of an unlocked room in Mellon Hall. The video showed that this door was an elevator, and there was a three-foot drop when the door was opened. Members made a motion for the Safety Committee to contact facilities. 

February 9th:

New Business:

Election Committee: Members appointed Class 2023 Katie Crouch to become the head of the election committee. The election committee is formed every second semester to help assist in the elections of new members. The person must be either a freshman or a member of the senate who is not running for any positions in the fall term. 

Special Reports:

Food Committee: Class 2026 Representative and Head of the Food Committee, Madison Stokes, stated that the guest speaker with Nick Corbett will occur on Feb. 23.  

Academic Advocacy Committee (AAC): Class 2026 President and Head of the Academic Advocacy Committee, Morgan Rapsky, stated that AAC members met with Dr. Colvin Georges, Dr. Kristin Dukes, and Dean of Purcell to discuss the bias reporting form and grievance policy. She said it is currently being re-written to extend the period to report an incident. Also, she said that a meeting with Dr. Jenna Templeton, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, will be held on Feb. 17 from 1-2 p.m. to discuss having an in-service day for professors to learn advisor guidelines. Finally, she discussed that a tentative date to meet Student Registrar is March 16. 

Class Reports:

Class of 2024: Class 2024 Vice President, Ashanti Lopez, said that the ethnic-cultural lounge corner will be created in Woodland 103. It will be measured and set up for the upcoming fall semester.  

Class of 2025: Betar said that a Google Form has been created for students to vote on the pictures that will be used for the collage. Once the voting has been finalized, they will send it to art students in the Class of 2025 to create it. She also mentioned that they want to create a plaque that will memorialize their contributions to the collage. 

Open Forum:

Update on Eden Hall Weekend Shuttle: Lopez asked for updates regarding the accessibility of the Eden Hall shuttle on weekends. Vice President of Communications, Ruzkoski ’25, said that she talked with Mandy Best, the Assistant Director of Residence and Student Life at Eden Hall Campus. According to Ruzkoski, Best told her that students can request vans to travel to the Shadyside campus on the weekends, but there are no requests.  

Lighting on the Chapel Hill Pathway: Rapsky asked about the lack of lighting on the Chapel Hill pathway and whether they could increase the lighting. Lopez told Rapsky that residents near the campus don’t want the lighting on campus to disturb them in their homes or people. Executive Vice President Leo Liotta ’23 said the incredulity of residents not allowing necessary lighting for students’ safety. Betar suggested including a sidewalk to increase safety for students walking up on Chapel Hill. Head of the Safety Committee Sophia Boyle ’24 explained that lights would be very expensive to implement and that constructing a new sidewalk may not be possible due to the recent construction of the dry-stream bed.  

Left-Over Food: Members discussed that left-over food form catering events are thrown away and wasted. Class 2026 Representative, Jonah Schiffegens-Smith mentioned how other universities have texts that tell students about extra food from events and implementing a similar system. Betar asked about the legality of providing free cooked food because it could help with students’ food insecurities. However, she did emphasize that there are two separate issues from this concern: food unsustainability and poor performance of catering services. 

Facilities-Maintenance Issues: Betar said that students should be notified in advance about whether maintenance workers are coming because students may be unprepared for their visit. However, it may also depend upon whether maintenance is most available. 

Feb. 23: 

Officer Reports: 

Communications: Perdan said that the Town Hall-Panel event was successful. Also, the Communication and Engagement Committee will discuss suggestions brought to their attention on Wednesday, March 1 at 8:30 p.m.

Executive President: Covering for Abdul Malik ’23, Perdan stated that she and Abdul met with President Finegold to discuss the Chapel Hours resolution, the Student-Workers’ Minimum Wage resolution, and the plausibility of adding a student representative to the Board of Trustees.

New Business:

Two resolutions were passed by members

Pennsy the Seal Day Resolution: Created by Parliamentarian Aidan Bobik ’25, the resolution includes that Pennsy the Seal Day will be on March 22 which is International Seal Day. According to Bobik, Pennsy the Seal is a vital reminder of sustainability efforts to protect marine life. Actions within the resolution will involve sharing social media posts about conservation efforts for seals. Smith suggested that they could incorporate a mental-health day for students within this resolution. Her argument was that Pennsy could be utilized as a symbol for sustainability towards students’ mental health.  

Amendment to the DEI Committee: Members motioned and passed that their cultural-student organizations on campus will have guaranteed membership to the DEI committee. One representative of each organization will attend. 

Special Reports: 

Safety Committee: Class 2025 Representative, Maggie Vargo, discussed the meeting with Public Safety and facilities. First, the water filters have been checked, the feasibility of fixing the Chung elevator is being examined. She said that gravel pathway on Chapel Hill is not plausible because gravel cannot be salted for ice. Also, carbon monoxide detectors will be installed later in the spring semester.

Academic Advocacy Committee: Rapsky discussed the meeting with Dr. Jenna Templeton, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, they have never created an in-service day for faculty to review advising guidelines. They provide faculty printed guidelines for reference, and they do not choose first-year faculty members. Additionally, the survey to see the rigor of certain neighbors has been released to the student body via the Screaming Squirrel. 

Class Reports: 

Class of 2024: Boyle, stated that the junior to senior project did not produce funding to provide a class gift. Instead, they will be focusing on creating ideas centered around the ethnic-cultural lounge for next year’s senior gift.

Class of 2026: Rapsky stated that they will no longer have sustainability cup distribution events. They are planning their next class project. Collaborating with the Mental Health Club, they want to create a Mental Health Fair. 

If students are interested in getting involved with CSG, they can attend the next meeting over Zoom or attend an in-person meeting in the Conover Room in the Mellon Board Building from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students can also visit the CSG website to learn more about the organization.