Scott Logush
Sports Editor
Another week, another Merrimack College Student Government Association meeting. We have more updates on the Water Bottle Proposal, Pizza with the President, and have some guests at today’s meeting, so let’s get right into it. As always, the meeting gets called to order, the quorum was met, and last week’s minutes were approved.
President’s Report: Nicholas Barber (Class of 2023)
Barber began his report by welcoming the Endicott College Student Government Association to the meeting. There was a Statement of Intent presented to the Senate for a Class of 2024 seat, and Barber clarified that there is one seat available. After the SGA vote, the final seat remains open. SGA is beginning the next steps towards implementing the beginning stages of the SGA Water Bottle Proposal with the College’s administration. The SGA Blood DRive is approaching and still has 13 vacant spaces. Pizza with the President will be next Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Any guests brought by Senators will count for a tabling requirement.
The SGA Retreat will occur on Saturday, February 25, 2023, in The Hub. Should any Senators be unable to attend they should notify SGA Secretary Max Beland (Class of 2024) immediately. Committee Chairs should have their Main Street Polling questions to the Executive Board by March 1, 2023. Barber concluded his meeting by clarifying that YIK YAK is never an official method of SGA communications, and any messages that claim to be should be regarded as false.
Vice President’s Report: Abigail White (Class of 2023)
The Student Arts Union presented to the Senate for SGA approval. Mariia Diahilieva (Class of 2026) inquired about how the organization would help facilitate collaboration between members of businesses and the art industry. The Student Art Union clarified that experiential components of their club would be essential to working in the art world. After a vote, the club was approved as an SGA Organization. A reminder to sign up for the SGA Relay For Life team was given, and Abby asked the Senate to fill out the Senator Experience survey before the SGA retreat.
Secretary’s Report: Maxwell Beland (Class of 2024)
A tabling form for Admitted Students Day on February 26, 2023, will be sent out by Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Any Senators who will be absent at SGA events should reach out to Max as soon as possible.
Treasurer’s Report: Kiley Martel (Class of 2023)
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers requested $1500 for their banquet which will be celebrating ten years of their major being at Merrimack College. The budget request was approved in full by the SGA.
Parliamentarian’s Report: Anthony Gentile (Class of 2024)
Anthony explained that Senators will be limited to using iPads during meetings after spring break as was voted on by the SGA in previous years. Nathan Persampieri asked about what devices would be allowed, and Barber clarified that the policy could be adjusted to meet Senate needs.
Publicist’s Report: Evan Jones (Class of 2023)
Evan asked the Senate to repost Instagram posts on their own social media accounts.
Advisor’s Report: Peter Rojas
Nothing new to report.
Graduate Fellow Report: Connor Nickerson
Nothing new to report.
Academic Affairs Committee Report: Nicholas Stawczyk (Class of 2026)
The Dean of Student Success, Julie Fitzmaurice, will be the committee’s Interim Point Person until Diane Shaw is back from medical leave. The committee met with Kevin Gately (Registrar) and Kristin Mullaney (Dean of Student Enrollment) to discuss course registration issues that students faced last fall. The Office of the Registrar, Warrior One Stop, ad IT ensured them that they have taken significant steps to ensure a fluid registration process and have provided the committee with a detailed set of plans. Priority registration may be expanded to additional groups on campus this semester.
Academic Affairs asked the Registrar to provide a pamphlet or guide to help students before registration and to give them tips. The Committee will be working with them and the SGA E-Board to ensure that this idea is recognized as an SGA initiative.
By the fall of 2024, there will be a revitalized MyMack, but is still in the early stages of development and the end product is unknown. They will make sure that students are part of this process. The committee will schedule a meeting with Lori Corcoran from ASO on the possibility of implementing American Sig Language at Merrimack. Any students who are pre-approved for course registration should follow up with instructors to ensure they are given the necessary permissions on MyMack.
Campus Infrastructure Committee Report: John Liddy (Class of 2023)
Nothing new to report.
Career Affairs Committee Report: Lorraine Rodriguez (Class of 2024)
The Career Fair will occur on March 15, 2023, and the full list of employers attending can be found on Handshake.
Dining Affairs Committee Report: Amanda Lee (Class of 2023)
The nut-free sign will be put up when the college is clear on Sodexo’s policy in regards to whether it bans nuts altogether or if it is simply Sodexo cannot sell nut products. Stir Fry issues are currently being addressed.
Diversity Affairs Committee Report: Freddy Monroy (Class of 2023)
Nothing new to report.
Environmental Affairs Committee Report: Liv Orlowska (Class of 2023)
Nothing new to report.
Information Technology Committee Report: Brianna Leccese (Class of 2025)
Nothing new to report.
Residence Life Committee Report: Hannah Loan (Class of 2024)
Some residence halls have newer furniture. Deegans have old library lounge furniture to freshen up common areas. All the furniture in the townhouses was switched out last summer, and anything that was still in good condition was moved to other residence halls. There is a push to do similar work in either Monican or the Senior Apartments this summer. 1200 people have attended residence life programs this year. The first round of Intentional Interactions are complete, any resident that has not been contracted will be soon. Liz Kew is the Interim Director of Residence Life.
There have been conversations about Austin Scholars moving to North Res and Honours moving to South Res due to the Austin Scholars Lounge now being in North Res. However, there will be no change for next year. Plans are being looked into about trying to consolidate the units Merrimack has in Royal Crest, but there are no permanent plans at this moment. Residence Life is aiming to increase positive relations with non-Merrimack residents at Royal Crest. Any questions regarding campus security should be directed to MCPD.
There will be changes in the housing selection process this year:
- Residence Life will be using the Myhousing Portal
- Emails with details about how to select residency preferences for next year will be sent weekly
- Residence Life will hold Q&A sessions about how to use MyHousing Portal
- There is not a predictive number of first-year students as Merrimack has a rolling admissions process, definitive numbers will be available in August.
- Should first-year living experience an overflow, Residence Life is planning to utilize the Townhouses
Unfinished Business
Hamel Health:
Barber clarified that recent difficulties with getting an appointment are due to Hamel Health being short-staffed.
The Warrior Shuttle:
Any issues with the Warrior Shuttle should be reported to the Warrior One Stop Email
New Business
SGA Brochure:
Gaby Zola (Class of 2026) presented a proposal for an SGA brochure to give to families and prospective students at Admitted Students Days and other college functions, a discussion was opened on the matter. The Pamphlet has been shared with the Senate so they can look over it and provide feedback as requested by Nicholas Stawczyk (Class of 2026), and the brochure would be updated throughout the years so it can stay current as asked by Amanda Lee (Class of 2023). Francesca Maiuri (Class of 2025) inquired about the possibility of placing the brochure adjacent to the info desk in the SAK and gave some recommendations to improve the brochure. The brochure would be made using Canva to keep the formatting the same as other SGA documents per request by Max Beland (Class of 2024), this will be worked on by Zola, Beland, and Evan Jones (Class of 2023), and the brochure will be produced through Mack Print.
Campus Vans:
Zola opened a discussion on the use of phone holders for the campus vans. Gabby Heroux (Class of 2023) said that they had potentially seen phone holders in the Stevens Center. Barber explained that they could look into if the Stevens Center has the holders for all vans, if not, SGA could work to purchase them with SGA funds. Should that occur, the SGA logo will be present. Stawczyk asked who controls the vans, and Connor Nickerson (Graduate Fellow) explained that the parking office controls the vans and MCPD holds the keys for them.
Announcements
Barber asked that the Senate fills out the food allergy form prior to the SGA retreat.
Roll call was taken and the meeting was adjourned until Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
