SGA holds weekly meeting; election results announced

BY CORIE LYNN

In the midst of their election season, FHSU’s Student Government Association held its weekly meeting last Thursday.

As the organization held elections that week for Student Senators as well as President and Vice President, the executive staff members, such as President DeMers, spent their week preparing for the transition to a new administration.

The results of this election, announced Monday evening, saw Hailey Reiter and Bryson Homman as President and Vice President, respectively. Stay tuned for further updates.

Vice President Musgrove and Treasurer Applegate likewise spent their week preparing for the transition. Legislative Affairs Director Wisley, however, updated the Student Senate on Voter Registration Day, which was held the previous Tuesday. She also discussed a meeting she had with the Tiger Care Teams, which are tasked with reaching out to students during this semester.

“Really, if you get any outreach from them,” Wisley said, “just make sure you’re answering because they have to be very persistent and make sure they get one response.”

Community Relations Director Dougherty’s week included attending a webinar, advertising for the SGA elections as well as the open SGA executive staff positions.

The only committee reports given that evening came from the Election Committee, the Special Events Committee and the College Advisory Committee for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science.

Senator Reiter of the Special Events Committee stated that the committee met the week before. She stated that they discussed ways to replace the university’s Encore series and what the remainder of the semester would look like.

Senator and vice president-elect Homman of the College Advisory Committee stated that they voted on a new vice-chair for the committee and held a discussion.

The Student Senate then moved into Open Forum, during which the senators discussed whether seniors would receive their caps and gowns.

“President Mason has asked the Commencement Committee to come up with a plan to send out academic regalia,” Dr. Teresa Clounch said. “I will say that because that includes the cap, the tassel, the gown–if you’re a graduate student, there’s a master’s hood, or a doctoral student– along with the diploma cover.”

LAD Wisley followed up Clounch’s statement by saying that graduates should receive their regalia by the first week of June.

Also during this time, CRD Dougherty reminded the senators that they could still apply for the Student Emergency Assistance Fund and that all identifying information will be taken out through the Kelly Center.

“We awarded $3,000 in assistance on Tuesday,” said DeMers, “and we will have $10,000 for the remaining part of this time.”

Following the Open Forum, the Student Senate voted on the organization’s annual budget, which states that it will not receive a fee increase and that the salaries for the executive staff members would be raised. After passing the bill, the Student Senate moved into their concluding announcements.

To begin, DeMers gave an update on an executive staff decision in light of COVID-19, as per the bill that expanded the staff’s powers.

“Treasurer Applegate and I made the decision that student organizations that had money allocated toward them for spring trips, conferences that were canceled or postponed due to COVID-19, that they should be able to utilize some of that money for next year,” he said.

While this decision affects only a handful of organizations, DeMers stated that those students should have the opportunity to attend rescheduled trips and conferences.

During announcements, Wisley also informed the Senate that she is continuing to work with the ACLU to bring a polling place to campus, though they are making adjustments in light of coronavirus-related events.

With the conclusion of announcements, the meeting adjourned.