By Izayah Morgan Editorial Staff SGA voted to fundraise for Greater Good Charities - a hurricane-relief organization - and discussed accessibility issues on campus on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Olivia West, event coordinator, sent out links to possible hurricane-relief donation websites. SGA members were allocated five minutes to check their emails and ask any question if they had any. Senator Anais Vazques said, “I looked at the email before the meeting and was reading about the three organizations that she [West] had put a link to, and after reading all of them, Greater Good Charities seemed like the best option. “Because they are also helping agricultural and domesticated animals, I think that’s awesome. They're assisting beekeepers by supplying bee pollen substitute, sugar, and syrup to them.” Senator Raffi Elkhoury said, “I think that they are doing a lot in terms of how easy it is to get donations. Somebody can just scan a QR code and donate. The Greater Good one was significantly easier than the other ones, which asked for email, phone numbers, and a lot of personal information.” Senator Alix Ayoub agreed as well. SGA approved Greater Good Charities as the organization for which they and other student groups will fundraise. Ana Julia Ribeiro was appointed as the SGA diversity and inclusion officer.
President Evelyn Campbell praised Julia's addition to the eBoard. Campbell highlighted Ribeiro's previous experience in leadership positions.
Ribeiro said, “I have seen the inside of schools and how segregation still exists in our society … and that's why I believe I can give a voice to people.” During open forum, Ayoub raised concerns on behalf of multiple friends about challenges they are facing due to their disabilities. “I have two friends [who are deaf] having the same thing where they were given bed shaker alarms … and they would go off in the middle of the night. One of the friends said it got to the point that if she were alone with no other roommates, she would leave the door unlocked so that if there were a fire, we could come get her,” Ayoub said. Ayoub also has a friend who uses a wheelchair who has described her residential accessibility issues as debilitating. The friend was told when she moved into her residence hall that each floor would be accessible. However, she has to go to one floor to use the bathroom and another floor if she wants to take a shower, which is not ideal. Campbell responded, “The second issue would be more of a residence life issue. I'm not sure who deals with the bed shaker, but I can look into it.” Senator Tony Sims said, “I’m the president of the Chess Club and we meet in Club Room II. I have found it very frustrating to get students in the door when that door is always locked. “I think having the ability to unlock it during a specific time as a member of eBoard would be very helpful in a situation where Club Room I is occupied and I have to have my events in Club Room II.” Matos suggested that Sims should bring the concern up to Campus Police and the Center for Student Experience office as they have the ability to handle that issue. Matos discussed a problem they had been facing regarding obtaining a meal plan during the semester. “ I was not able to get a commuter meal plan because there was an arbitrary rule that did not allow commuters to get meal plans beyond the add-drop period for classes.” Matos discussed the issue with Acting General Manager of Dining Services Michael Newmark and he quickly allowed Matos to purchase a meal plan. “So my friends who are residents, I will no longer be depleting your guest swipes," Matos said. [Editor’s Note: Tony Sims is a Staff Writer for The Gatepost.]