Climate Check:

President Danny Nguyen placed a 10-minute limit on climate check again to accommodate both the planned staff chat and an emergency senate funding proposal.

Sophomore Senator Ani Siva opened climate check with updates on multiple ongoing initiatives. Senator Siva met with Jim Baker, senior director of facilities services, and Bret Biance, director of the residential life office, to discuss the water bottle filling station initiative. Baker and Biance estimated that there should be a water bottle filling station in each dorm by the end of the summer, and asked for SGA’s assistance in determining where students would like the stations to be placed. Sophomore Senator Harrison Tinker and first-year Senator Sameed Aijaz volunteered to help out.

Senator Siva also gave an update on the resident assistant (RA) academic accommodation initiative. Senator Siva explained he planned to meet with Laura Ramsey, director for student accessibility services, on Nov. 10 to discuss using Tiger Tracks to improve physical accessibility on campus and the risk management logistics which go along with that.

Senator Siva raised a concern on behalf of sophomore and first-year international students who don’t feel supported by International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). Treasurer Caterina Mora Androver confirmed this report, citing her own experience as an international student who hasn’t heard a response from ISSS on an urgent issue. Advisor Demi Brown stated that he would follow up with Katsuo Nishikawa, director for the center of international engagement.

Finally, Senator Siva explained that he was setting up meetings with the Chinese language department chair to discuss the structure of the program curriculum. First-year Senator Lacey Miller confirmed that she had met with Jennifer Henderson, associate vice president for academic affairs and that they have been emailing back and forth.

President Nguyen requested an update from Senator Siva on the progression of the dining committee’s search for a dining services provider. Senator Siva revealed what he could without breaching his non-disclosure agreement, stating that the proposal review is due soon and that there should be an update by the end of the semester.

First-year Senator Molly Van Ackeren raised a request to fix the water fountain by the IM field brought to her by constituents who attend rugby practices on the IM field. President Nguyen recommended that Senator Sheridan put in a work order and follow up if the problem is not resolved.

Emergency Senate Funding Proposal:

President Nguyen presented an emergency senate funding proposal for $2,400 for SGA to sponsor tickets to the on-campus postseason NCAA games for all Trinity students. This amount will allow SGA to cover tickets for two post-season games for Trinity Women’s Soccer and Trinity Football and allow 200 students to attend each game for free. Two hundred students is a highball estimate; however, any unused funds will be returned to the student activity fund (SAF) and any costs that aren’t covered by the funding request will be covered either by Advisor Brown or Eric Maloof, vice president for enrollment management. Senior Senator Ameer Mustafa motioned to fully fund SGA $2,400. Senator Siva seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Staff Chat: Jeanna Balreira, director for content strategy

Jeanna Balreira, director for content strategy, attended SGA to give a staff chat on behalf of the office of strategic communications and marketing (SCM). Balreira gave the senate a brief presentation that outlined what digital and physical collateral SCM is responsible for, including Tiger Network, official Trinity social media accounts such as the Alumni groups and Pages, the President’s office and the Athletic Department, and official university publications, including Trinity magazine, IMPACT magazine, Tower News and the LeeRoy daily newsletter. The SCM is also in charge of initiatives to solidify Trinity’s national reputation as well as marketing and brand campaigns.

Balreira fielded questions from the senators. Senator Mustafa asked about the role SCM played in the marketing for on-campus athletic events. Balreira explained that the sports information office in the athletics department is responsible for game advertising.

Senator Siva pointed out that flyers are no longer allowed to be posted in CSI and Marrs McLean which has hurt student body awareness of on-campus events since not everyone checks LeeRoy religiously. Senator Siva asked about ways that SCM can support student life opportunities to advertise student events. Balreira responded by asking for feedback about why students don’t read the LeeRoy. The senators offered multiple suggestions, including making a more phone-friendly version of the LeeRoy and introducing a weekly newsletter in order to make the daily newsletter more digestible.

Senator Aijaz asked Balreira about exciting upcoming SCM projects. Balreira explained that SCM was working with focus groups to develop a weekly bulletin for different target audiences; the bulletin for faculty and staff will debut in January and the bulletin for students will debut next August. SCM is also working on planning Vanessa Beasely’s presidential inauguration and creating a national campaign. Finally, the SCM is working on a national recognition initiative to get information about the university to the individuals who vote on Trinity’s ranking.

Officer Reports:

President Nguyen reminded the senate that Nov. 16 would be SGA picture day. He reminded senators to wear their polo shirts and name tags.

Treasurer Mora Androver informed senators on the finance committee that at their next meeting they will be discussing some rules — e.g. T-shirts and Greek Life rounds — for clarity going into the next semester, and they will only be fielding one funding request.

Vice President Donya Ahmadi gave an update on the Mock Trial situation. Vice President Ahmadi explained that she had received an email from Mock Trial explaining that they hadn’t submitted their receipts because the event will be held in February. Since Mock Trial paid for the event in advance they labeled the funding request as a reimbursement, which led to the initial confusion. Mock Trial has now submitted the receipts for the Oct. 31 funding request and will be submitting another funding request in the future.

Sophomore Senator Ella Charbonnet reminded senators about Free Food Friday. President Nguyen reminded the senate about the upcoming Trinity Tailgate, and requested that the senators repost SGA promotional materials.