Inform-A-Gator

This week’s senate meeting was a very exciting one! Joe DiChristina, Dean of Students, came in to speak with ASG about what we expect of ourselves in our positions and what you as our student body expect of us. We also discussed the Dean of Students Office’s mission and focus for this academic year. Topics to highlight were diversity, wellness, H1N1 plans, the strategic plan, as well as Joe’s expectations of ASG this year.

Cabinet reports included future plans for homecoming. Look around campus for advertisements starting next week. Also updates on student organizations as well as the Attorney General reviewing the remaining student organization contracts. Finally, we welcomed the 10 new senators for the class of 2013! Congrats to you all and make sure to check out the website for more information about them.

The first order of business for the meeting was welcoming Tony Cippilone from the Athletic Department. He came to thank ASG for the support and PR for the Gold Rush game. He is hoping for a great turn out, as the game will be on FSN, and to continue the support for each athletic team throughout the year.

We then moved onto Cabinet reports. Finance minutes were approved. Student voting welcomed the freshmen Senate candidates who were at the meeting to observe the workings of ASG. The elections will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, and next week we should have the new Senators sworn in. Also, a change this year is that the bios and platforms of the candidates will be available through the ASG website instead of WebAdvisor although voting will still be done through WebAdvisor. Concerts and Special Events along with Public Relations also talked about the Gold Rush football game on Saturday.

One of the main issues brought up during the meeting was with Dining Services. There were questions about the college going trayless, specifically with regard to dispensing of food and plates at Brooks. Since a new conveyor belt is too costly to be purchased at this time, shelves where students can place their plates is being looked into so students will not have to use the bins to empty their plates. Also, because of a ordering mix-up, new plates are late to arrive at the dining hall which is why the plates have been coming hot straight out of the dishwasher and causing students to possibly burn their hands. This will be taken care of as soon as the correct size plates arrive on campus. The rest of the issues were referred to the Dining Services Committee.

Also, for the second week, the amendment to the by-laws adopting the ex-officio members for ASG was passed. Thus creating the new positions for SAAC, Panhel, IFC, and GAP.

We look forward to the next ASG Senate meeting where the new Senators from the Class of 2013 will be sworn into office!

Brett and Liz took the time to discuss the new Liaison positions for IFC, Panhel, and SAAC with the Senate. The new bi-laws passed for the first week! There was also a discussion about the new Major Events Committee (M.E.C.) and the bi-laws pertaining to it. This was also passed for the first week!

All cabinet positions gave highlights of what they have been up to lately. Finance eg and Katie explained to senate last year’s finances and the new finance system briefly. Everything is going to be electronic now so we should be saving a lot of paper! Concerts and Special Events told us all about their exciting ideas for Homecoming. Look for more about this in next week’s blog. Student Voting reminded everyone to keep the buzz going about Freshman Elections! Forms are due this Friday the 4th and freshman running for senate should plan to attend next weeks meeting. Public Relations said to keep an eye open around campus for flyers and posters about new and exciting events that are coming up that ASG is helping to sponsor. Student Affairs is working on the directory and helping out with the Year of Social Change. Student Organization Services is cooking up some “How to’s…” for organizations to have more access to helpful things ASG and the rest of campus has to offer. Finally, the Attorney General has gotten about half way through all the student organization constitutions so be looking out for e-mails in your organization for a meeting about updating your constitutions!

Class Officers were picked for the classes of 2010, 2011, and 2012. Senators also divided up and picked their committees for the year. The Gold Rush for Allegheny’s televised football game is under way! Look for details in the CC Lobby and flyers around campus. Make sure to check out the first speaker for the Year of Social Change on September 25th in the Vukovich Theater at 7 PM. Keep your calendars open for Homecoming events the weekend of October 2nd.