By Naidelly Coelho
Interim Asst. News Editor
SGA senators discussed activities they will be hosting in the upcoming week for fundraising purposes at their Nov. 22 meeting.
SGA members were wearing tie-dye shirts to celebrate “Tie-dye Tuesday.”
President Nancy Niemi was invited to the meeting and was wearing tie-dye as well.
Evelyn Campbell, outreach and events coordinator, said the Week of Kindness is starting on Dec. 5.
“We also have another fundraiser at Hot Table on Dec. 6 from 4-9 p.m.,” she said. She said she hopes everyone participates in order to help out.
During open forum, President Dara Barros raised concerns about the lack of healthy food options on campus. “Sandalla’s salads are usually old,” she said.
Barros said the fridge at Sandalla’s is not working, and the restaurant is not accessible to students on weekends.
“I brought this up two months ago. The grace period for dining [services] is over,” Barros said.
Barros also raised a concern about people not using preferred names on campus.
“There is a student who is not feeling comfortable on this campus and they are a resident. They said people are not using their preferred name when it comes to them receiving emails, or if you're a resident, we all get the closing notice and basically, they send that by having their name on a piece of paper and stick it on their doors - basically outing them,” she said.
Student Trustee McKenzie Ward said if it is a legal document, it needs a legal name.
Barros said she will be meeting with Residence Life soon to discuss this issue.
Campbell also raised a concern about committee meetings not being student friendly.
“If they want student voices, they should embark on a separate committee that is more time efficient for students, because I know students can't often sit for two-three hour meetings. They should also use student language and explain to students what's actually the decision they are making,” she said.
Campbell said understanding budgets can be very overwhelming for students.
Barros said that if a senator has committed to a committee, they have to show up.
Ward said the Board of Trustees meeting was heavily focused on student enrollment and different enrollment strategies.
She wants students to email her and answer the question, “What made me come to FSU?”
“I want this to get a better idea of what makes us different from any other school so that we really can highlight that to our prospective students,” Ward said.
Ward also emphasized that since last week’s Campus Safety Walk, Director of Facilities Danny Giard has been responsive and fast-acting on a lot of concerns.
She said the major concern SGA had was about yellow paint that was wearing off on the stairs in between Crocker and Horace Mann halls, which has already been repainted.
“The school is listening to our concerns. … This was the best safety walk we had in years,” she said.
Vice President Raffi Elkhoury said there was a student concern about the library hours.
“Basically, they're saying that as a commuter student, they like a quiet place to study and the library being closed at earlier hours is affecting their ability to get work done,” he said.
In his officer report, Sam Houle, SATF treasurer, said only 24 organizations have presented budgets at the finance committee, but 15 are still needed.
SGA Advisor Leah Mudd encouraged students to say goodbye to the director of the Health Center, Ilene Hofrenning, who is retiring in December.
“She has helped us a lot during COVID - making sure the campus is safe and up-to-date to CDC guidelines,” she said.
The eBoard member of the month was McKenzie Ward for representing students at the Board of Trustees meeting.
The senator of the month was Ben Boyer, for being an active member.
The “U-Rock” was presented to Evelyn Cambell by Ben “Bench” Hurney. He said she has been helpful planning the senators’ retreat and the Week of Kindness.
[Editor’s Note: McKenzie Ward is Opinions Editor for The Gatepost]