First-year Senator introductions
The new Class of 2029 senators and newly appointed Junior Assistant Treasurer Denae French attended their first SGA meeting on Wednesday. They introduced themselves via a “hot seat” system, where senators would have a minute to ask as many questions as possible.
Senior President Omar Ratrut and Junior Vice President Maddie Stovall announced that they appointed French to the position.
Filling Senior Senator Vacancy
Rohit Shetty presented in front of SGA to fill the senior senator vacancy. Shetty was a senator last year. During deliberation, some senators said that Shetty had always contributed and paid attention during meetings and they would love to see him back. SGA voted Shetty in unanimously.
Climate Check
Sophomore Senator Eva Smith said that the washing machines in Dick and Peggy Prassel Hall are not working. She said students have submitted work orders, but they have not been answered other than through an “out of order” sign. President Ratrut said that there was a new head of facilities, and the transition might be causing the delay. Senator Smith said she would reach out to the new head of facilities to investigate the issue.
Sophomore Senator William Regan talked about reckless golf cart driving. SGA Advisor Jessica Edonick reached out to Director of Risk Management and Insurance Jennifer Adamo, who said that she will send out an email to all people authorized to drive a golf cart, reminding them of risk policies. They will also be reassigning training to some individuals.
First-year Senator Hannah Kim expressed concern that Health Services had not done enough outreach to first-years during orientation. Sophomore Senator Nellie Clark shared Senator Kim’s concern, saying that she did not know where the Health Services center was until her sophomore year. President Ratrut said he would set up a staff meeting to talk about the issue.
TUPD collaboration
President Ratrut said that the Trinity University Police Department (TUPD) reached out to SGA to collaborate. TUPD requested that SGA fund a dunk tank for a campus outreach event. The request totaled $1,200. Senators had reservations about funding the dunk tank, since TUPD is not a student organization, and the Student Activity Fund is designed exclusively for student organizations. Senators voted unanimously not to fund the dunk tank.
Expectation reminder
President Ratrut and Vice President Stovall reminded senators of their expectations during SGA presentations. They reiterated the importance of asking questions before deliberating on funding proposals and keeping laptop usage to a minimum.
