Student Government passes three resolutions in lengthy senate meeting – The Cauldron
Student Government covered much ground at its recent senate meeting on Friday, Nov. 17, with three resolutions on Israel and Palestine, nonpartisanship, and Wi-Fi brought before the senate, among several additional updates from every branch.
Resolution on Nonpartisanship
Senator of The Edge Joseph Nappi, Public Policy Committee Co-Chair Cael Shaw and Honors College Senator Jack Whitman co-authored “A Resolution to Maintain Nonpartisanship and Free Speech Standards in the Student Government,” which seeks to enshrine nonpartisanship into SGA’s constitution.
“I think it’s been assumed for a very long time that this is a nonpartisan body,” began Nappi.
The resolution begins by identifying Student Government as “a forum for students to come together and discuss issues in a civil and respectful manner,” and the role of Student Government in representing all students regardless of political affiliations.
Political issues may be brought up and addressed through the Public Policy Committee only if it has direct ties to the welfare of the student body and campus community per the committee’s discretion.
“Political parties and candidates do not play a role in what we do here because that is not our job,” said Nappi.
The resolution specifies that “political affiliation,” “political ideology” and “political parties” do not have direct roles in the work of SGA. Definitions for these terms, described as “particularly contentious,” are also outlined in the resolution.
The committee, in deciding whether a particular issue perceived as political should be deemed crucial by SGA, must have two-thirds of the quorum present before making that decision.
If an issue is deemed crucial by the committee, a resolution may be drafted and brought before the senate “through the necessary means – regardless of whether or not the resolution violates the SGA nonpartisan policy therein.”
Free Speech Standards
The resolution also amends the constitution by adding a specific standard of free speech within the scope of the University’s Free Speech on Campus Policy.
The new clause states that SGA will not impair language of student concerns “so long as the language is respectful” and doesn’t violate other SGA or CSU policies.
If the language of a particular student concern provokes a response from the senate speaker, but would risk violating nonpartisan policies, the student may be referred to the Public Policy Committee per the speaker’s discretion.
The clause also states that members of SGA who violate the policy on nonpartisanship “shall be declared out of order by the Speaker of the Senate.”
The resolution passed almost unanimously, with a lone and firm “no” from Senator of the Washkewicz College of Engineering Aaron Retych.
Resolution on Wi-Fi
Whitman was the sole author of yet another resolution titled, “Resolution to Recognize Issues with the Campus Wifi Networks,” which passed unanimously.
Sponsored by Retych and Fenn Tower Senator Jordan Sumter, the resolution begins by saying that CSU’s Wi-Fi is “often unreliable and cuts out,” impairing the ability for students to access resources and complete their schoolwork.
The resolution recognizes the importance of a reliable network connection in the academic affairs of students and the role of the University in providing students with resources for success.
Through this resolution, SGA will connect with the University to facilitate an investigation to determine the cause of network issues, and work with the University, Information Services and Technology, and the Student Affairs Committee to generate a solution to these issues.
The resolution specifies that the project should commence no later than one month upon its passage. SGA will evaluate its progress moving forward.
Advisor and President Update
Kimberly Springer, advisor of SGA, offered an update on upcoming informationals required for students interested in being a part of SGA for the next academic year.
The final informational will take place Thursday, Dec. 7 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Student Center 319. Students can RSVP through VikesConnect.
President Kayland Morris, in her update, shared that she, At-Large Senator Lincoln Short and other students attended the Viking Night Light Tour to share concerns regarding on-campus lighting with administration. CSU and the city of Cleveland, according to Morris, will be looking into these issues.
Morris and other SGA members also met with the Division of Hospitality and chief of police to discuss general safety concerns.
Morris reported that she brought several student concerns before the Faculty Senate during its latest meeting Wednesday, Nov. 8. These concerns included “students feeling unsafe on campus due to harassment both in-person and online” and not receiving responses from CARE when seeking resources.
She brought up additional concerns involving residence life and fire alarms that went off in October without clear cause or reason.
Morris also mentioned that SGA and CSU marketing are collaborating for a winter clothing drive, which is ongoing through Monday, Dec. 11. Students can donate gently used clothing to support the unhoused community in Northeast Ohio. Boxes can be found in every major university building.
A drive involving Lift Up! Vikes is in the works, according to Morris, and updates will come on SGA’s social media.
Morris lastly highlighted the American Student Government Association (ASGA) Conference that 13 SGA members attended in Orlando, Florida several weekends ago:
“At this conference, we learned about many things that I believe everyone at the conference is looking forward to implementing. Most notably, what I took back from this conference is the importance of a strong student government with common goals and utilizing our individual skills and strengths to best advocate for our students.”
Chief of Staff Update
Chief of Staff Adam Royko introduced the possibility of amending his position description.
“As the first chief of staff for SGA, there is no precedent to fall back on regarding my position, and so therefore, it falls on myself to critically examine and evaluate this position that I am in,” said Rokyo.
Royko’s position was created last spring by the SGA senate of the 2023-24 academic year “to streamline SGA policies and procedures throughout the two branches.”
“Within my position, I am in a gray area as I operate on both sides of SGA, both the executive branch and the legislative branch,” began Royko. “While I’m able to fulfill these duties and responsibilities, I believe that this can cause an unnecessary burden and stress for future individuals in this role and can maybe prevent them from faithfully executing the duties and responsibilities of the current position description of the chief of staff.”
Royko shared that the proposed amendment of his job description would allow for him to concentrate his work on the cabinet to ensure that SGA directors and executives fulfill their respective duties.
Director Updates
Director of Marketing and Technologies Anastasia Hunt shared that she received approval from CSU marketing to create a website for SGA, which is currently being drafted.
Director of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Keshav Singhal provided updates on the D.E.I Committee, which conducted its latest meeting that Friday. The committee discussed reaching out to student organizations that promote D.E.I to collaborate and listen to their concerns.
Signal welcomed Senator of Euclid Commons Raiven Sanders and At-Large Senator Sai Evanth Reddy Sheri as new committee members. He also congratulated Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences Donna Salaam as the new committee co-chair.
Director of Governmental Relations Jackson Kidwell shared that he has begun reaching out to other Student Government Associations across the state, including that of Cuyahoga County Community College, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Akron and the University of Kent.
Kidwell’s job is to interact with fellow SGAs in Ohio and across the country to discuss the student concerns they’re facing and gain inspiration from one another.
“We’re all separate governing bodies, but we all have the same message,” said Kidwell.
Kidwell is also Co-Chair of the Public Policy Committee, which meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the SGA office, SC 217 and 218. He shared that the committee will be tracking Senate Bill 83, which has undergone several revisions since SGA passed a resolution condemning the bill in April.
Everyone is welcome to attend committee meetings and share concerns. If concerns don’t pertain to public policy, the committee will redirect students.
Director of Student Affairs Justin Samsa provided an update on the Student Affairs Committee.
Every senator involved in the committee has been assigned several student organizations with which to connect and invite to the SGA office, “with the hope of, of course, having a very large-scale event for all of them to communicate, share ideas…to build a closer campus community.”
Arjun Khanna, previously a Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, was sworn in as the new Director of Internal Records, replacing Jaden Stambolia, who resigned in October.
Senator Updates
Nappi provided an update on the hole in the wall of The Edge, which is now fixed after weeks since the concern was introduced.
Nappi also shared an idea he picked up from the ASGA Conference, which he called the “SGA discount card.” This card, he explained, could be a way for SGA to promote local businesses and provide students with discounts on supplies, textbooks and other necessary materials.
Senator for the College of Health Jayden Jackson shared that through communicating with a student, he learned about the experience of international students on pre-professional tracks and their struggle to secure jobs due to unattainable expectations such as extracurriculars.
“In my meeting and [Senator for the College of Health Claire Keehn’s] next meeting with [College of Health] Dean [Stephanie] Brooks, I hope that we can work together to integrate international students in some of the plans for the pre-health, pre-professional pipelines that Dean Brooks has planned,” said Jackson.
Senator for the College of Business Andrew Sobhy shared a concern on behalf of Coptic Club regarding the doors to classrooms being locked and unavailable, despite student organizations requesting said rooms for club meetings.
Senator for Student Organizations Gavin Paulesc shared that he has connected with Student Media and Web Specialist Dan Lenhart to discuss ways to best advocate for student organizations.
Student Concerns & Committee Changes
The only student concern during the meeting was introduced by Shaw, who reiterated a concern he brought up several meetings ago regarding Gongwer, an expensive nonpartisan source for Statehouse news.
“[Gongwer] is a really expensive nonpartisan news site about state politics in Ohio,” said Shaw. “It would allow public policy, poli[tical] sci[ence] majors, urban majors…to do really in-depth research in a very simple way.”
Several committee changes were also confirmed, as follows:
- Academic Affairs: Sanders, Sheri
- I&L: Paulesc
- Public Policy: Jackson, Paulesc
- Public Relations: Senator of Student Organizations Hassan Ali Shah, Jackson, Salaam
- D.E.I.: Salaam, Sanders, Sheri, Sobhy
- Finance: Ali Shah, Khanna
These changes will go into effect for each committee’s next meeting.
SGA’s next senate meeting will take place Friday, Dec. 8 at 3:40 p.m. in the usual BH 201 location.