Suffolk’s Student Government Association discussed Ramadan resources on campus for those observing the holiday and reviewed recent decisions by the finance committee during last week’s meeting.
The week’s meeting was moved online to Zoom due to “higher numbers of sickness and decreasing the spread [of COVID-19],” according to President Angela El-Jazzar.
El-Jazzar began the meeting by striking the first item on her agenda, which featured guest speaker Robert Lam, chairman of Suffolk’s board of trustees. He was unable to attend via Zoom, and is planned to make an appearance at an in-person meeting later this month.
El-Jazzar wished a Ramadan Mubarak to Muslim members of the Suffolk community participating in the month-long period of reflection, service and sacrifice, commonly done through fasting.
She shared available resources that can be found in various dining halls for students who are partaking, and wish to break their fast at a later time than the dining halls offer. More information can be found through Suffolk Dining.
Vice President Stephen Rykola touched on the Suffolk Judicial Review Board (SJRB), as they approved revisions to the Suffolk University Greek Council’s constitution and finalized the SJRB constitution updates, which are to be passed off to the Executive Board this week. Next week, senators should expect the final versions of this document, as well as the revised SGA constitution, as those are the final two items that need to be passed before the end of the year.
Attendance of senators was a point of discussion by Rykola, as last week, the meeting was unable to be held as not enough senators were in attendance. SGA missed out on the official meeting as they did not meet quorum, and therefore missed out on a scheduled guest speaker as well.
Secretary Tara Maltese touched upon the minutes of the past few meetings, as they have been missed due to various reasons.
Treasurer Evan Weston recapped the minutes in regard to the budget of the past few weeks.
- The Environmental Club was approved for $3,000 for Earth Day-related events.
- A CJN capstone project was denied money to assist the production of a short film on gentrification. Film was denied based on the fact that it was for a “school-funded class” and this did not fall under the finance committee bylaws. Project did go forth with production and will premiere on campus.
- Suffolk Her Campus was approved for $197.95 for a Women’s Month event with UNICEF. UNICEF came in and asked for an additional $2,045 for another event, and was approved.
- Fusion Dhakma was approved for $375 for shirts for their club.
- SU Football Club was approved for $4,523 to kick start a competitive league.
- SU Fashion Club had the remainder of their budget released for an event held last Saturday.
- The Forensic Science Society was approved for $899 for hats.
- The Black Student Union was approved for $4,900 for a guest speaker that is scheduled to come later this month.
- SU Block Chain was approved for $855 for various things, including an event at MIT and more storage.
- Hellenic Student Association was approved for $698 for a cultural event to be held April 25.
- CSN was approved for $298 for catering for their final meeting.
The finance committee was scheduled to meet on Patriot’s Day to discuss remaining club budgets, and decisions are scheduled to be announced Wednesday, April 20. At the next meeting, SGA is scheduled to discuss the budget for the 2022-23 school year.
In open forum, there was a discussion surrounding sashes for commencement for seniors in SGA. Secretary Maltese announced that graduation stoles will be available for seniors to purchase, and that work was going to begin shortly surrounding the design.
Vincent Tavanese was nominated for Senator-at-Large for Veterans for the Class of 2022. He is currently enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served two years of active duty. He has since returned to school after being stationed in Japan and across the country. He was unanimously elected to the position.
