– CC Curtiss, Director of Student Wellness & Alcohol/Drug Education, spoke to the assembly about ‘Think Outside the Bottle Day’, a Hump Day activity in which students will answer a short survey about their drinking habits, receive feedback from the health educators, and receive a complimentary water bottle. Curtiss asked SGA for various levels of involvement, from approval to funding and participation. The Assembly will vote on this matter in early March. Curtiss also spoke about the CORE survey, which accesses the alcohol and drug usage on campus, urging the senators and class presidents to encourage their constituents to take the survey.
– Eliane Solinga, Director of Financial Aid Services, came in to support Lambdin Senator Rocio Garcia’s proposal to create Financial Aid Fellows, student workers much like CELS Fellows to assist other students with their financial aid forms. Solinga encouraged the Assembly to pass Garcia’s resolution, saying that the Financial Aid Office has issues raising awareness of their services and has exhausted all avenues for PR. After much debate, the proposal did not pass.
– The executive board of Habitat for Humanity explained their plans for an alternative spring break: trips to Alabama and Pennsylvania to help build houses for those in need. Thus far, the club has raised $8,600, but they still need about $7,000 more. They requested about $2,500 from SGA and suggested a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Student Government to raise money and awareness about the program.
– Free Tibet, a club to teach students about Tibetan culture and politics, and the Muslim Student Association, a club to educate the campus on Muslim culture and to create an additional religious dialogue on campus, were both approved.
– Karam Sethi ’12, working alongside with Yalla Bina, have began an initiative called Enlightenment Through Books (ETB), aiming to fundraise $50,000 for the construction of a ConnColl sister school in Pakistan by March 2012. Sethi and Wendy Ogando ’13, president of Yalla Bina, plan to raise the $50,000 through fundraising, corporate donations, and grants, asking SGA to merely approve their efforts. It was approved.
– The Assembly had a straw-poll vote to revote on purchasing RECs, or Renewable Energy Credits. The official vote will take place next week.
