BY AUSTIN RUFF
As the semester gets underway, the FHSU Student Government Association met last Thursday in preparation for a busy week.
Vice President Ryan Stanley started the meeting off by reminding those present that next week is “Bring a Buddy to Senate” to get those interested involved in student government. He added that cookies would also be available for those attending.
Executive staff and committee members then gave updates on upcoming events and happenings of the last week. President Mark Faber informed the senate that spring credits are actually higher this semester, despite credits usually trending lower this time of year. He also mentioned that President Mason has introduced the idea of Kansas legislators visiting the library to talk with students regarding the issues facing Kansans. Faber also spoke with Faculty Senate members regarding resolving some Workday issues.
Treasurer David Schulte reminded senators of the upcoming budgeting meetings and club allocations set to begin next week.
Legislative Affairs Director Kendra Clary discussed Higher Education Day, which is held on March 9th at the State Capitol in Topeka. It allows students 5-7 minutes for students to engage in face-to-face meetings with legislators to advocate for important issues facing young people in higher education.
“It is a one-day trip and transportation is paid for,” Clary said, “This year we will be focusing on Higher Education Funding, Mental Health Awareness, and Retention in Schools.”
Community Relations Director, Chloe Stanley, stressed the importance of an increased social media presence in order to better communicate with students, as well as setting up tabling recruitment for the upcoming week.
The Political Action Committee is preparing a resolution in support of Black History Month.
Student Involvement Committee is looking to do a “senator of the week” profile, as well as increasing social media presence.
The Allocations Committee will be holding workshops next week.
Tree Campus USA will be holding an Arbor Day Celebration at the Seven Hills Park on February 28th at 12:00 p.m.
During open forum, the topic of rising textbook prices and unnecessary access codes arose. Some members felt the variety of platforms students are asked to navigate has become burdensome, and ways to promote Open Educational Resources were discussed. It was mentioned that the Faculty Senate pushes for OER.
Several bills were discussed and three were passed. The first two being line-item transfers, and the last being a speaker event request for the Geosciences Club.
The Student Government Association will reconvene at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Black and Gold Room of the Memorial Union.