SGA Weekly Update

The Behrend Student Government Association's recent Tuesday meeting began with a presentation from Hannah Moran, the new Coordinator of Civic and Community Involvement. Moran spoke about assisting clubs in accessing projects that better connect them with the community, as well as helping plan volunteer projects for the benefit of clubs and the surrounding community alike.

Following this, President John Jarecki announced the SGA’s plan for conducting an event on Constitution Day, Sept. 17th. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., members of the SGA will be hosting a table outside of Bruno’s Cafe, performing interactive activities to inform students about the United States Constitution. An event educating students about the constitution is mandatory for educational institutions which receive funding from the state.

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Throughout the meeting, senators introduced the work that their committees had devised for the upcoming year. The Student Affairs Committee will be generating a drive to distribute cards informing students about Good Samaritan Laws, which protect students that assist dangerously intoxicated peers from prosecution. Endeavors such as these have helped many universities in the past. A 2006 study in the International Journal of Drug Policy states that, “students who are aware that a medical amnesty policy is in effect are 2.5 times more likely than students who expect to face disciplinary actions to call for help when witnessing the signs of alcohol poisoning.”

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The Diversity Committee has also set its eyes on education, hoping to create another event modeled after 50 Questions, which was an educational video created at Behrend in 2017 to bring more awareness to the similarities of Behrend students. In addition to this goal, the committee wants to make the campus more handicap accessible; a highlighted concern was the length of time the elevator in the Stair Tower took before returning to working order. As it is one of the only easily accessible means of reaching the Southern side of the campus, this is an understandable matter of concern. While the elevator has since been restored, this was an undertaking that was noted as particularly important.

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Danielle Wieczorek, head of the Public Relations Committee, stated that the SGA planned to implement a video recap of their meetings in the near future. They drew inspiration from the video series Cat Food, created by the Student Government Association of Penn State Berks. The SGA has mentioned that it will soon be searching for talented editors and creators to aid them in generating a project to keep the students of Behrend up to date on their activities.

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Vice President Andrew Sanford also invited senators to inspire other students to help in the SGA’s efforts in the upcoming year. The committees, one of which every senator must occupy, are gathering a workload that they seem to be struggling to keep pace with. That said, more students would alleviate the pressure on the individuals in committees, allowing them to function more effectively for the Penn State community.