The Ithaca College Student Governance Council met Sept. 25 for its inaugural meeting with new senate members, who were elected Sept. 19. The meeting was a senate orientation meant to familiarize these new members with SGC procedures, policies and best practices.
The SGC is divided into two parts: the Senate and the executive board. Senior Carli McConnell, president of the student body, explained the college’s senior leadership structure and said it is important for both the Senate and executive board to familiarize themselves with campus leaders who work closely with the SGC.
“The structure is to get you ready to interact with everybody,” McConnell said. “[Because] you can do a lot while being on SGC.”
Sophomore Rishabh Sen, vice president of campus affairs, went over the details of writing a bill and said there are four main kinds of bills: amendments, acts, resolutions and recommendations.
An amendment changes the SGC constitution, an act leads to a long-term permanent change on campus but can be repealed, a resolution is a temporary and short-term change that lasts only for one academic year and a recommendation is made to campus entities the SGC does not have a direct say in. Sen said the installation of gender-neutral bathrooms in academic buildings was one of SGC’s recommendations that led to a significantly inclusive improvement on campus.
Sen emphasized the importance of being prepared to present a bill punctually and said a bill can either be passed, rejected or tabled.
“The entire point [of presenting bills to the Senate] is to be as rigorous as possible … so you want to be as verbose as possible,” Sen said. “Keep in mind [the senate chair] has the right to look at your bill and make improvements.”
Sen added that attendance is an important feature of SGC meetings and members are expected to attend all meetings unless they send in an excused absence at least 24 hours before the meeting.
The executive board outlined the different committees senate members can join: Campus Affairs Committee, Appropriations Committee, Social Justice and Sustainability Committee, Academic Policy Committee, External Reviews Committee, Organizational Review Committee and the Scholarship Committee. McConnell said all Senate members are required to join at least two of the committees.
The Social Justice and Sustainability Committee is currently seeking a chair to run it.
Sophomore Senate Chair Eleanor Paterson went over the parliamentary procedure observed in SGC meetings. Paterson said all motions need to be seconded and have a two-thirds majority to pass and there needs to be a quorum — at least two-thirds of the entire senate present — for a motion to be presented.
Paterson went over the different kinds of points members can utilize during the meeting to add information, correct procedure or request clarification through the point of information, the point of order and the point of inquiry, respectively.
Sarah Boniche, associate director for student involvement in the Office of Student Engagement and adviser to the SGC, said it is important to be conscious of decorum and reminded members that standards of decorum are sometimes rooted in stereotypes and biases.
“I just want to acknowledge that you’re not held to a certain type of standard,” Boniche said. “Certain things like fashion are rooted in white culture.”
During officer reports, McConnell said she will be meeting with Scott Doyle, director of Energy Management and Sustainability, to discuss campus sustainability. McConnell will also be meeting with the Students of Color Coalition to work on creating a liaison position between the SGC and SOCC.
Sophomore Asata Rothblatt, Class of 2026 senator, said during the open agenda that she is working on creating a bill about campus accessibility and invited people to work with her on the issue.
“Everybody knows this is not a very accessible campus,” Rothblatt said. “The seniors of last year started this but they graduated, so I [wanted to continue the initiative].”
During senator reports, sophomore Lili Chalfant, School of Communications senator and assistant to the senate chair, said she met with the Academic Policies Committee’s assessment subcommittee to discuss academic testing. Chalfant also said she plans to meet with Amy Falkner, dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, to discuss the creation of a student council within the school.
“[APC-A and I] have been going over our timeline for the year,” Chalfant said. “[We have been] figuring out goals and have an event called the Summit, which is mostly for professors, [assessing] how we test students.”
In its next meeting, the SGC will be confirming members to the Appropriations Committee and will host Dave Curry, director of career services in the Center for Career Exploration and Development, and Katie Newcomb, assistant director of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, as guest speakers.
The SGC is the sole representative body for the Ithaca College student community. The SGC can be contacted at [email protected].
