The SGA Beat - March 27th
Announcements
Students and Senate members can propose constitutional amendments to the judiciary committee until Friday, March 27th. The committee will analyze the amendments and propose them to the Senate on April 10th to be voted on during the following week’s session.
Most senator budgets have gone unused this semester. As a reminder, each senator has €100 to be used at their discretion. There was a call for senators to contribute their funds to a worthwhile cause instead of leaving them on the table.
Guest Speakers
SGA Presidents, undergraduate president Annalisa C., and graduate president Morgan S., spoke before the senate today to update the group on ongoing projects. Annalisa highlighted a successful collaboration between Backmarket and AUP. Students also had the pleasure of dining with President Sonya Stephens in the first of a potential series of dinners for which select students are nominated to attend. The goal is to host two dinners per semester, during which students can engage in a dialogue about AUP life.
Lockers on the first floor of the Quai building will be available for student and faculty convenience. Keys can be rented from the navigation desk.
Improvements to the graduate experience are well underway. Graduate president Morgan S. proposed revamping the grad lounge, affectionately known to some as “The Cave.” Today, an email was sent out asking for student feedback. She confirms that the school has no budget for a water machine or a printer but could add lower-priced items like snacks or a bean bag chair.
This fall, new modules geared toward helping graduate students in their internships will be added. Finally, in the coming semesters, Blackboard and Teams will be replaced by Canvas, providing a more cohesive classroom experience for all.
Senator Spotlight
Representatives from each class updated senators on past, present, and ongoing projects. First-year reps Sofie and Antonia spoke about planning an end-of-year event and were able to share the success of their first-year bonding trip.
Sophomore representatives Jennilynn and Artem are encouraging attendance at this year’s World’s Fair. The event will take place on Thursday, March 28th, on the first floor of Combes. Entry is €5, and attendees must pay online.
Junior representatives Luba and Carol are working on the sophomore mentoring program and the Major’s Fair. Latin will now be offered as a tutorial in the Fall 2024 semester as part of the Classics department, thanks to a recent win.
Finally, senior representative John updated us on Alumni Night, excitedly reporting that some participants had their first go at beer pong. Planning graduation is well underway, and a game night before the end of the semester is possible.
Budget
(Image Credit: Activities and Clubs Committee)
Senators resumed looking at budget proposals after having temporarily stopped considering proposals due to budget shortages.
SGA has reabsorbed funds in the “Clubs” bucket of funding, leaving about €2,644 for the Senate to allocate to other clubs. Nicolas C., the SGA Treasurer, also said that he was expecting to reabsorb about €3,000 from
The Peacock was the first to request funding and received €1,000 for an end-of-semester magazine launch party.
The Student Art Gallery also requested funds for an event they hosted earlier this week, an exhibition of horror movie posters at the Montessuy building. The club requested €200, but their spokesperson said that they had only spent around €100 at the event, so the Senate voted to allocate just this much.
The Wine Society was on the docket to request €859 from the Senate, but with no presenting members, Senators voted to table the issue until next week.
From the “Activities and Social” bucket of SGA funds, senators allocated €795.45 for a student to attend a data privacy conference in Washington, D.C. The vote was narrow, and it came after the issue was tabled for part of the meeting.
