By Paige Comeau ’26
Staff Writer
On Feb. 7, the Student Government Association senate meeting opened with a reading of the agenda, which included E-Board updates, open floor and commission work. Following a land acknowledgment, SGA members noted that there would be a link with relevant information in their weekly email sent out to all senators.
E-Board updates included an update on the recent binder drive. As mentioned last week, only about 33 of the 70 binders requested could be ordered due to supply chain issues. However, after talking with the binder supplier, SGA was able to obtain the remaining 37 binders, all of which will arrive by the end of March.
Also, as announced by SGA, Resident Advisor and Orientation Leader applications are now open and will be due on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 11:55 p.m.
Senate then moved to open floor, a space for senators to voice their updates and concerns. To begin, senators shared announcements. The representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee announced an upcoming basketball game against MIT on Saturday, Feb. 11. She also announced that volleyball will have open play this week and that both soccer and rowing are fundraising.
Two representatives for Project Connect discussed updates for the Spring term, including new international and neurodivergent groups. The representative for the Kachimushi Naginata Club publicized an upcoming Valentine’s Day fundraiser. The Mead Hall Senator, on behalf of the Career Development Center, reminded everyone that applications for Lynk funding are due on Feb. 17 by 5 p.m.
For the second part of open floor, senators were invited to bring up their questions and concerns. One member referenced the mask recycling box in the library atrium and wondered if SGA could set something similar up in the Community Center or Dining Commons. SGA responded by saying that they would love to see something like that and that they would look into it.
Another representative brought up concerns about the food at the dining hall. She stated that this previous week she had received food poisoning from the sushi served in the Dining Commons. Further, she claimed that she knew people who had gotten sick from worms in the produce. SGA told her that the Dining Commons did have safety and cleanliness standards, but that they would reach out to dining, in case something needed to be updated.
The representative for the Jewish Student Union asked, once again, if there were any updates on having Narcan available on Campus. SGA stated that they did not have any new updates. Finally, the Representative for the Class board of 2023 shared a concern they had about transcripts. Many members of their class are currently in the process of applying for jobs and graduate school and are having a very difficult time obtaining official transcripts. Furthermore, when unofficial transcripts are allowed, many times the employers or schools don’t accept them because there is no place on the transcript with Mount Holyoke’s name or emblem. SGA stated that although they did not necessarily know who to reach out to regarding these issues, they will figure it out and look into what they can do.
Senate wrapped up with commission work. The eight commissions were asked to continue working on their petitions, check with their E-Board member about their finished petition and send the finalized copy to the SGA E-Board via email, before being dismissed from the meeting by their E-Board member.