The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion presented on Undocu-Ally Training during the Student Government Association meeting Oct. 30. The training focused on ways to better support undocumented and immigrant students on campus.
The presenters explained various immigration statuses, including legal permanent residents, non-immigrants and undocumented individuals. They said that immigration is a civil, not criminal issue. They defined allyship as the effort of people from non-marginalized groups to support and advocate for marginalized communities.
Key takeaways included being aware of assumptions, listening without interrogation, keeping sensitive conversations general and never giving immigration advice. The presenters also shared strategies for effective allyship, such as self-education, addressing prejudice and promoting inclusive dialogue.
The presentation was part of CSDI’s “Undocu-Action Week.” In collaboration with the Counseling, Health and Wellness Office and the Immigrant Justice Clinic, they created program training to teach students how to be better allies and support students that are immigrants.
SGA President Charlie Reyna-Demes said that he will provide committee updates each month after his meetings with the committee chairs.
According to Reyna-Demes, the dining committee will be reviewing food prices and potential plans to implement a card swipe system in the dining halls. The housing and facilities committee will be addressing the black mold issue. The diversity committee will be discussing ways to improve engagement consistency. The commuter committee will continue to discuss the idea of a commuter dining plan which is an initiative commuter committee chair Coran Buggy started last year. The academics committee will be looking into the staff and faculty cuts. The athletics committee is planning a spirit week and Ram Rivalry which is an Olympic-style event between the law school, grad school, College of Arts and Sciences and Sawyer Business School. Public relations will be discussing integrating Senator Sit-Down updates, committee summaries, club highlights and showcases.
Reyna-Demes announced he would be meeting with Suffolk President Marisa Kelly and asked the senate for any additional issues he should address. Senators suggested discussing the tuition increase, transparency about how the university is going about the budget and the possibility of having Kelly meet with the senate.
Housing and facilities chair Sam Parenteau suggested the idea of students being able to schedule meeting times with the maintenance or implement a system where students could drop in instead of filing work orders.
In the spirit of Halloween, SGA held a costume contest during the meeting. Dining committee co-chair Zoe Welz won in first place wearing a blow up dalmatian costume. In second place was the class of 2029 senators, Brooke Alarie, Joyce Lukelo, Izzy Ierfino and general member-at-large, Sophia Pita dressed as the Louvre thieves. In third place was Amanda Fagan dressed as SGA advisor, Dave DeAngelis.
SGA Secretary Stephanie Lima recognized the Sawyer Business School senator at-large, Andreas Gobert, for this week’s P.I.L.L.A.R award for his efforts in planning the biannual SGA concert. The award recognizes senators who meet the six pillars which are passion, integrity, leadership, legacy, activism and “Rambition.”
During the open forum, general members Sophia Toumi and Thalia Jean-Baptiste gave updates on their idea to create a survey to gather students’ experiences with discrimination in campus clubs. The idea got approved by the assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Cherina Wright, and the SGA diversity committee.
Class of 2028 senator Fayth Cordeiro and Parenteau gave brief overviews of the Senator Sit-Downs hosted at the Samia Academic Center and Smith Residence Hall dining halls Oct. 29. Students suggested having more activity periods and extending dining hall/cafe hours, installing ice machines in every residence hall and granting all students access to the Smith dining hall. There were complaints about meal plan prices, lack of vending machine upkeeping, Ridgeway gym ceiling leaks and lack of dining hall food variety.
A student complained about being charged for taking utensils, paper plates or napkins in the dining halls. This sparked a discussion amongst the senate about other peoples experiences.
“Depending on who was cashiering, sometimes they would charge me and other times they wouldn’t,” said Alarie. “Anytime I get just an empty cup, they charge 45 cents and I also was charged for just chopsticks before, around the same price as well,” said Alarie.
Dining committee co-chair Nora Swaine addressed the problem.
“We had an issue with this last year…The problem was students were coming for their clubs and grabbing handfuls upon handfuls of utensils and plates and napkins and stuff and[the dining hall] were running out,” said Swaine.
This caused an issue where students couldn’t get utensils because the dining halls would run out. The dining halls started to charge clubs, so they would use their initiative funds instead, according to Swaine.
“They should not be charging individual students,” said Swaine.
She explained she understood why a student would get charged if they were grabbing handfuls of materials to bring back to their dorm, however, they shouldn’t be charged for taking one item. Swaine will discuss this issue with the general manager of Chartwells during their dining committee meeting.
Class of 2027 senator Matthew Williams announced that Suffolk’s gamers charity night for Suffolk CARES will be held Thursday, Nov. 6, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Stoll Room on the fourth floor of the Sawyer Business School building. The entry fee will be $5, which includes a raffle ticket. All proceeds will benefit Suffolk CARES and free burrito bowls will be provided.
Prizes include free tickets and merch for the Boston Celtics, Wasabi Fenway Bowl, the New England Free Jacks and Boston Marathon finish line viewing. There’s also a New England Patriots super fan pack, Fenway Spartan stadium race passes and free pair of OOFOS recovery footwear. The games will include Smash bros, Blackjack, Wii Sports Resort, Flappy Bird and a few board games according to Williams. Students are asked to RSVP through the QR code found on the flyers posted around campus or through their instagram @suffolkbis.
Class of 2026 senator Amanda Fagan announced the Journey Leadership Program and Suffolk’s Latine Student Alliance will be hosting “Leader-Chef,” an event to learn and celebrate the food and heritage of Latin America. The event will take place Nov. 18, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m in the Stoll Room. RSVP through the link in the Journey Leadership Program’s instagram bio @journey_program.
Athletics committee co-chair Bella Wawrzyniak made an announcement of championship games coming up and encouraged students to attend and support Suffolk’s teams.
