Kansas State University Student Governing Association Newsletter
November 12th, 2018
Executive Branch
Student Body President and Vice President:
Jordan Kiehl and Lacy Pitts, the Student Body President and Vice President, have been hard at work. They have continued to oversee their cabinet’s projects, helping however they can. They also had the opportunity to tour Hale Library, along with Speaker of the Student Senate Ryan Kelly, Speaker Pro Tempore Joshua Arnoldy, and Attorney General Peter Moyer. There is plenty of progress being made, and it is clear that Hale will return better than ever before. Jordan and Lacy would also like to remind you that K-State’s Counseling Services have been moved to Lafene 101. With finals right around the corner, it is important to remember that mental health should never be ignored. The two of them are always looking for new ways to help students, so feel free to email them at jkiehl@ksu.edu and lacyp@ksu.edu.
Cabinet
Student Support Director:
Student Support Director, Ian Boyd, has been working on securing long-term sustainable funding for the Cats’ Cupboard and exploring new advocacy opportunities for outreach to students about food insecurity on campus. He has achieved some progress on the Cats’ Cupboard Advisory Board in advocating for student involvement in fundraising decisions and opportunities. If a student would like to participate in efforts to decrease food insecurity on campus, they can contact Ian Boyd at isboyd@ksu.edu.
Multicultural Affairs Director:
The Multicultural Affairs Director, Makinsey McIntosh, has continued to be involved with the Multicultural Student Center team to work on the schematic design of the center. They have been currently focusing on the outside design and layout of the building. She has also been meeting with the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee to discuss the importance of a separate task force under Adrian Rodriguez and the Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs Office. There is also continued work towards College Diversity Summits and preparing more of the logistics for them next semester.
Academic Affairs Director:
The Academic Affairs Director, Cecilia Pick, has been collaborating with the Career Center and K-State 360 on promoting their different services. Also, she has created a video with K-State Libraries to raise awareness on the relocated services offered after the fire in Hale Library. She is currently collaborating with the Teaching and Learning Center on different projects regarding TEVALs and how to improve the experience for faculty and students to maximize the opportunities for growth through the evaluation.
Graduate Student Council Liaison:
The Graduate Student Council Liaison, Alisa Pajser, has spearheaded the revision of the Graduate Student Parental Leave Policy. She has been in touch with other individuals that have relevant experience in working with graduate students that have been parents in their time on campus to help us finalize revisions. Alisa and the GSC will be looking to garner student support for the policy soon.
Campus Climate & Safety Director:
Campus Climate & Safety Director, Mariana Cruz, has officially begun holding meetings to the Wildcat Task Force Against Sexual Violence. Meetings are held every other Tuesday at 7:00pm in the K-State Student Union. If any student has any interest in sharing their insights with the Task Force or attending a meeting, please email Mariana at cruzmar1104@ksu.edu.
Technology Director:
The Technology Director, Victor Valdez, has began laying the groundwork for updates on a Course Schedule update. This last month, Victor also met with the Technology Committee to review Connect, and look for areas for improvements. These improvements were then presented to a task force focused on creating a way for students to easily find any resources.
State Relations Director:
The State Relations Director, Faith Tuttle, is working with the The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) to plan Higher Ed. Day at our Capitol in Topeka this February. In addition, she led the selection of the 2018-19 Legislative Advocates, and they have started making progress on advocating for the upcoming legislative session.
Sustainability Director:
The Sustainability Director, Phillip Underwood, has been working on creating the Green Action Fund Committee for this academic year. If you have proposals to submit to this fund, please send them to sustainability@ksu.edu. He has also been working with the recycling committee on addressing the game day trash and recycling issues that have come about this football season. He would also like to invite you to look for the new display cases in the Union located near the landfill and recycling receptacles that show you what products can and can’t be recycled.
International Affairs Directors:
The International Affairs Co-director, Sidonia McKenzie, has been working with the KState Proud Student Opportunity Awards Committee to make a separate applications form for international students available on their website. This initiative is complete and international students who need temporary financial assistance can access the forms at https://www.found.ksu.edu/k-stateproud/awards.html. Sidonia is also working to increase spousal access to campus resources. She invites international students with spouses to inform her of any resource on campus that their spouse might be interested in. She can be reached at sidonidam@ksu.edu.
Judicial Branch:
The KSU SGA Judicial Branch has continued to hear student code of conduct cases. Currently, the application for the 2019-2020 Attorney General is open, but it closes at 5 pm Friday, November 16th. All students are encouraged to apply. The link is: https://orgsync.com/83329/forms/340245
Legislative Branch:
Speaker of the Student Senate:
Student Senate has continued to go smoothly. All of our committees and caucuses are continuing to perform above expectations. During the week of November 4th, we discussed strategies to help make K-State more safe for students as a response to the racist letter posted at Jardine. These discussions continued into Senate on November 8th, where Dr. Pat Bosco answered questions on behalf of the university, and Dr. Jessica Elmore spoke about how we recover from these incidents. We then held small group discussions among our members about diversity and safety. That night, clearly saw the impact this incident has had on our campus, as Wildcat Chamber had every seat filled with both SGA members and concerned students. We were reminded of our duty as student leaders. We look forward to the progress that will be made to create a safer university, and we are proud to play a role in it.
Government Relations:
The Governmental Relations Committee spent the last month planning our first “Party at the Polls.” Teaming up with Student Foundation, we welcomed students, faculty, and community members to enjoy free food, live entertainment, and fun games. It was a great opportunity to encourage students to vote and for us to promote civic engagement. We had so much fun planning and hosting this event!
Intern Program:
The second class of the Intern Program met Thursday, October 18th to kick off the five-week introductory phase. Interns who have attended at least three meetings are eligible to apply for Phase 2, where they will be sworn into our Student Senate and will join the first class of 33 interns. Phase 2 interns have been paired with SGA mentors and began a committee rotation to better understand efforts outside of Senate meetings. We look forward to connecting with potential interns for our third class beginning January 31st!
Travel Allocations Committee:
The Travel Allocations Committee has received and reviewed a total of 35 groups this semester. Friday, November 2nd was the deadline to submit funding requests for trips occurring from now until February 15th. The form has been reopened and we are currently accepting requests for the spring semester. Finally, TAC has begun to review the bylaws concerning Sports Club Allocations and we plan to open the Sports Club Allocation form before the end of the semester.
On-Campus Allocations Committee:
The On-Campus Allocations Committee has been busy working on funding several upcoming events and we want to help fund yours too! The form in open on OrgSync for spring events that your organization will be hosting. Also, the deadline for college councils to submit funding requests for Open House this spring is coming up! The form closes on Friday, December 7th at midnight. If you have any questions feel free to send them to nilbergsten@ksu.edu.
Privilege Fee Committee:
Privilege Fee Committee has reviewed Student Design Services and Campus Entertainment Fund which were requested for a 5% decrease of funding to $61,750 and a continuance of $150,000 respectively. The Committee is now reviewing Union Program Council which receives $211,000 from student fees annually.