By Jillian Poland
At the SGA meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, senators denied a funding request from the Marketing Club for $13,584 to finance a trip to Montreal.
Senators mainly voiced concerns about the projected ticket costs, the extraneous costs for passports and insurance, and the effect the language barrier would have on student learning.
During the open forum, Senator Mike O’Brien expressed concern about gym equipment in the Athletic Center.
Ezequiel De Leon, SGA president, said he, along with other SGA members, met with the athletic director to talk about the outdated machines in the gym.
De Leon said the athletic director “gave us a timeline of some things that he would change, like getting remotes for the TVs and getting fans in there, and talking with student workers to get in there and do a little more maintenance and clean the instruments.
“Hopefully we start to see some of the things that we talked about,” he added.
Senator Steven DeMeo addressed the poor Wi-Fi access on campus. Other senators offered possible explanations for the slow connection based on information from meetings with IT or University committees.
Senator Cassandra Tedeschi said, “From what I remember from our last budgeting and planning committee, the reason that the Wi-Fi is slowing down is because they are doing these tests and it’s part of a giant three-year plan to improve the Wi-Fi.”
She added, “I’ll know more tomorrow.”
Senator Will Obeng suggested creating a three-person minimum rule for use of the library study rooms, as he often found that one person was using an entire room.
According to Senator Allie Carroll, students are upset that The Red Barn now closes at 8:00 p.m. because it makes it difficult to get coffee on campus at night.
She said, “I’ve heard requests for having coffee available in the library, or having free coffee like they did with midnight snack a couple semesters ago.”
SGA members also addressed student and administrative concerns for the upcoming strategic plan with Rita Colucci, chief of staff and general counsel.
FSU recently reached the end of the current five-year strategic plan for University improvements, said Colucci. The administration sought student, faculty and alumni input as they looked to the next five years.
Class selection, scheduling and Wi-Fi were among the topics discussed.
SGA approved the M.I.S.S. (Motivation. Intersectionality. Sisterhood. Solidarity.) and Afro-Caribbean Dance Group constitutions.
Senator Mikayla Quinlan presented Senator Erin Dempsey with the U-ROCK award.