Written by T. Kinkley, Campus Arts & Culture Writer
FEB. 17 -- On Feb. 16, the Student Government Association (SGA) had their second meeting of the semester. All meetings that SGA hosts are open to any Washington & Jefferson College students, faculty or alumni. Meetings happen every other week, with the next meeting being on Mar. 16 at 7 p.m., due to an executive meeting taking place on Mar. 3.
Many topics were covered in this meeting, including new dining plans, spring concert, payment issues for student workers, constitution amendment fixes, the new Inside Scoop, a new Pool Club, Purim Carnival and many other items were discussed during the itinerary.
Last week, they signed a new amendment to end all meetings at 8:30 p.m., unless there is a motion to extend. During the Feb. 16 meeting, there was one motion to extend that was granted so that they could finish the agenda. The meeting started at 7 p.m. and ended around 8:50 p.m.
At the beginning of the meeting, we got to hear from Kerri Lacock ’09, who is a staff member in Development & Alumni Engagement. She was involved in SGA and was an editor for the Red & Black, as well as doing many other activities, clubs and involvement around campus during her time at W&J. She spoke about the Day of Giving, taking place on Monday, Feb. 20, where seniors can pledge money to go towards scholarships for other students and they can sign up to help pay for the senior gift to the college. I spoke with Stevie Grey, a class of 2025 representative, after the meeting, who spoke to me about Lacock, “Having Kerri Lacock '09 as a guest speaker at general assembly was very insightful! As part of being a class representative, I aim to stay up-to-date on campus resources, and it was great to learn more about how both myself and my constituents can build connections with alumni.”
“Having Kerri Lacock '09 as a guest speaker at general assembly was very insightful! As part of being a class representative, I aim to stay up-to-date on campus resources, and it was great to learn more about how both myself and my constituents can build connections with alumni.” - Stevie Grey ‘25
After Lacock spoke, the Dining Chair spoke about what the dining committee came up with and got approved during their meeting. In the Commons, they announced that to-go boxes were brought back and that reusable to-go box options are a project they are working on. Also for the Commons, they announced that black bean burgers would be served at the grill station, that the gluten free station would be updated and that they would be adding a deli bar to the salad bar that is self-serve. For George & Tom’s, they have begun speaking about bringing new smoothie options to the grain bowl and smoothie side. For X’Prez’O, they have added new drink options, including iced tea, diet iced tea and lemonade. A few student representatives brought up concerns about cross-contamination of the vegan/vegetarian options that are offered on campus, as well as glove changing.
The Inside Scoop has now taken over the DubJay Diner due to the Student Activities Board dissolving. Many students in SGA were upset about the change, as no one was informed or consulted about the change. One reason that students were upset was how involved students were with the change from Monticello’s to DubJay Diner, compared to the major lack of involvement in the new change. During the previous change, students helped to decide the name and it was spoken about thoroughly. The executive board plans to talk to Student Belonging and Engagement, who runs Inside Scoop, about everything that was brought up during the meeting.
“This week we adopted new amendments to the SGA constitution that would help our committees and meetings run smoothly.” Jude DeWalt, class of 2024 representative”
Along with everything else that happened, there were changes made to A.R.s 2 through 6 to delete contrasting language in the Standing Rules section of the Constitution for the Secretary’s responsibilities. All five A.R.s got approved by the general assembly and will be implemented into the constitution. “This week we adopted new amendments to the SGA constitution that would help our committees and meetings run smoothly.” Jude DeWalt, class of 2024 representative, said.
The Student Government Meetings are open for all to come, as stated above. You can also email any of the executive board members or a class representative to discuss any concerns, questions or comments you may have.