President Oliver Chapin-Eiserloh started off the meeting by saying this was meant to be a funding meeting, but SGA received no requests.

Climate Check

Sophomore senator Danny Nguyen began the climate check with complaints brought to him from students who found gunk in campus washing machines. Underneath the rubber flaps that seal the machines is often grime or mold that could potentially damage clothes, or as Vice President Nasim Salehitezangi added, could cause health problems. President Chapin-Eiserloh suggested submitting work requests and said the next step would be to email Ernesto Gonzalez, Associate Director of Facilities Services, Jim Baker, Senior Director of Facilities Services or Bruce Bravo, Senior Director of Conferences and Auxiliary Services, who also deals directly with the campus laundry rooms.

Senator Nguyen also mentioned that a student reported uncooked meat at Mabee Dining Hall. The student already sent an email to Charles Robles, Food Service Director, to open communication up between them, as well as the chef.

Sophomore senator Jack Maxwell brought up complaints from Thomas and Lightner residents that people are parking in temporary parking spots permanently and TUPD aren’t enforcing the rules. When guests come to campus for lectures or other events, their spots are often taken by permanent residents parking in them. President Chapin-Eiserloh said to reach out to TUPD directly so they could make those spots a priority to keep an eye on.

Sophomore senator Danae Barkocy inquired about the “Thomas rat situation.” President Chapin-Eiserloh admitted all information about said situation has been on social media and that he is unaware of the official status of any rats in Thomas Hall.

Senator Barkocy went on to mention that class selection is difficult using TigerPaws when some classes don’t offer much explanation as to what they entail. She suggested putting past syllabi on TigerPaws for classes taught regularly by the same professor to provide students with more information before they register. President Chapin-Eiserloh said reaching out to professors is the best way to learn about the class since curriculum can change and old syllabi might be inaccurate. Vice President Salehitezangi also suggested making the courses of study bulletin more comprehensive and accessible on sites like T-Learn.

Finally, sophomore senator Nadesh Vaithianathan asked for an update on washing machine costs. President Chapin-Eiserloh reiterated what Adviser Demitrius Brown, Dean of Students, had said at the previous SGA meeting, saying that this change would occur in time with the fiscal year and no announcements have yet been made.

Funding

Vice President Salehitezangi said she will soon present a report with a breakdown of SGA’s expenses from last semester so there is full transparency on where money goes. In total, SGA funded only $100,000, not including all the “big-ticket items.” She also talked about the finance meeting that occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 8, where three club sports events were funded as well as a conference for Delta Sigma Pi. The next funding meeting won’t be until March, she said.

Textbook Google Form

President Chapin-Eiserloh reminded everyone that after last week’s meeting, SGA sent out a Google Form for reporting textbook costs. So far, they received 80 responses from students sharing how much their textbooks cost this semester with the average being $284, but they need more responses so they can have data to support a goal of making textbooks more accessible. Another goal is making professors aware of how much textbooks cost before they assign them.

Open Senate Seat

President Chapin-Eiserloh also said there are no applications thus far for the open Senate seat in the Class of 2022.