by Owen Marchand, WTOP10-TV

The November Town Hall meeting with President Stanley in the Campus Center’s auditorium attracted a group of students who were eager to ask SUNY Oswego’s president questions on different topics.

These monthly meetings are a great way for students to address any concerns or questions around campus with both President Stanley and fellow faculty members who attend the meetings.

Freshman Ethan Magram, Senator of the Student Association talked about how different campuses have insight on different demographics such as student involvement and asked, “how can we collect better data on students to figure out how they like things on campus, living here, and how they feel about activities such as clubs, etc.” Stanley and other faculty members chimed in by stating how last school year a committee was created to see what students think about. Jerald Woolfolk, Vice President of student affairs and enrollment, mentioned how auxiliary services and residential life do surveys.

Another student brought up the revival of the campus common hour and this was heavily talked about as it took a large point of interest. The common hour is an hour across campus where there are no classes or essentially any activities held. SUNY Oswego used to participate in the common hour, but it was later ended, brought back, and again taken away. The campus held the common hour between 12:45 and 1:00 however, it was voted to be suspended due to conflicts according to President Stanley. Many students and faculty appeared to be interested in bringing it back, however one graduate student at the meeting mentioned remembering how due to the common hour being during lunch time it made the lines at each dining hall very long.

One student simply wanted to thank President Stanley on her email sent regarding the recent presidential election as it brought out many mixed emotions among the Oswego community. President Stanley stated “No matter what happens, we stand together.” She was also amazed at the speak out regarding “The strength, depth of solidarity, humor, and hope for the future.”

One of the last questions for President Stanley was, “I chose this school because I have seen so many advances in the facilities, resident halls, Shineman, etc. How do you and the rest of administration see the future of this?” Stanley talked about how the school’s core values are how the student learns, and having a 24 environment on a campus where students live is also important. This is why many renovations have been made and there are still more to come. She also mentioned how important upkeep is.

The November Town Hall meeting was another success as each student who attended was able to get their questions and concerns addressed and get clarification on anything they were wondering.

On Tuesday evening the Student Association held their weekly meeting of the Senate making it the ninth meeting this semester. The number of senators required to start the meeting was met and following the approval of meeting minutes and the agenda, the meeting was well underway.

The first and only guest to the Senate for the evening was the Native American Heritage Association. The organization was active on campus up until a few years ago when the organization disbanded. The organization was however revived last semester and the Native American Heritage Association are looking to spread the word about them once again becoming an active organization on campus. They presented a budget proposal to the Senate to request funding to help with the costs of bringing a guest speaker to campus. Dr. Michael Oberg is the speaker they wish to talk at their meeting and they have requested funds to compensate Oberg for his time. Two senators offered to write the bill which will be proposed and voted on at a future meeting this semester.

Following guest to the Senate, was Executive Reports. Student Association President Emily Nassir was the first to deliver her executive report. Nassir has been working on several projects over the course of the semester including the SA Food Pantry, which will be receiving funding and will hopefully be up and running soon. Nassir stated that she is excited to be able to provide this service to students on campus. Nassir reminded senators that BidBon is this coming Thursday in the Sheldon Hall Ballroom. Students can bid on what is being auctioned off and all the proceeds made will go to the Johnson Scholarship, which will then be given to a student currently living in Johnson Hall. Nassir also revealed that the email which will contain all the information about OzFest is expected to go out this Friday. There will be 3 artists for OzFest and one celebrity guest.

SA Vice President Shelby Gallaro was next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro stated that she has been helping with the budget council who are in charge of creating the budgets for each organization on campus for the next academic year. SA Vice President and President elections were held before students headed off to spring break and the results were revealed the Tuesday prior to spring break. Nassir was elected President and Gallaro Vice President. Gallaro is working on the official resolution for the election year which will hopefully be passed soon. Following Gallaro’s report, Director of Finance Matthew Peters took the stage to deliver his executive report. Peters stated that budgeting for organizations is moving along. SA employees contracts are being worked on and the updates should be completed soon. Closing his executive report, Peters revealed that pricing for OzFest Tickets is currently being worked on.

Committee Reports were next on the agenda for the evening. Rules and Judiciary Committee  is currently working on completing an election binder which will contain vital and important information that can be of use to senators and student executives. Involvement Committee proposed the idea of having comment cards located around campus in which students can recommend events they wish to see held on campus. They would then look through the cards and respond to them and see if the proposed events are possible. Concluding committee reports was Faculty Assembly, who met prior to spring break and revealed they have approved a Forensic Science Minor for SUNY Oswego.

In Hall Council reports Funnelle Hall revealed that their penny wars event is coming up and all proceeds made will go to Relay For Life. They are also working on their Mr. Funnelle male beauty pageant which is coming up soon. Johnson Hall is working on having a pool tournament in their hall. They are also updating their constitution.

With no special orders on the agenda the meeting moved to the general orders. There were five general orders for the evening. The proposed bills for the Oswego Muslim Association, Two and Half, and  Strong and Healthy all passed by general consent. These organizations will now be able to use the funds provided by the Senate to fund their events taking place later this semester. The final general order was the approval and passing of the Resolution which states the results of the elections that took place mid-March. The Resolution states that 930 total votes were cast which elected Emily Nassir as President of the Student Association, Shelby Gallaro Vice President, and the passing of the Student Fee to be mandatory for all students.

The meeting came to a close following the passing of all general orders. The Student Association hold their weekly meeting every Tuesday at 6pm, in Lanigan 106. The Senate meetings are all open to the public and students are encouraged to attend these meetings to voice their opinions and express their concerns.