By Patrick Healy and Julia Barth
Editors note: On this last edition of This Week in Senate, the News Section editors would like to take a moment to thank Patrick Healy and Julia Barth for their reporting on Senate this year. Their solid reporting saved a lot of headaches and our appreciation cannot be understated.
The Undergraduate Student Association met for the final time this semester on Tuesday. Eileen Niland from the Counseling Center spoke to the senate about burnout and even referenced a past Griffin editorial on it. Niland led a de-stressing exercise where senators did breathing exercises, stomped around and laughed with each other… a lot.
The senators then stopped to chow on subsidized Chick-fil-A sandwiches, salads and chicken nuggets.
President Jahare Hudson congratulated seniors and wished everyone luck on the rest of their semester, and he reminded members that their last duty as senators for the 2022-23 academic year is to participate in the Day of Service on April 22. Hudson and the other executive board members expressed gratitude for the senators’ work throughout the year. All but Hudson will not be returning to senate next year.
USA Advisor Jason Francey reminded the senate that the Steve Burns event that is being held on Sunday, April 23 is ticketed and students need to pick them up in the SELD office above the dining hall.
Student Interests Chair Carlo Mastrodonato announced that the next three Thursdays will feature the committee’s signature Thursday in the Quad event. Sustainability Chair Genevieve Fontana laid out the remaining events for her committee’s Earth Week activities, including the campus cleanup on April 22 that is open to all students. The dining hall is planning to hold many events, including free food, for the end of the semester.
To end the meeting — and the 2022-23 senate — President Jahare Hudson presented an end of year recap. He went over the accomplishments of each USA committee as well as the executive board members.
One newsworthy nugget of note in the presentation was that, of the $795,600 collected through the $240/student undergraduate student tax, USA’s Finance Board allocated $466,585.81 to clubs.
The first meeting of the newly elected senate will be on Tuesday, May 2.
These scribes don’t know if it was intentional, but having Niland speak at this week’s meeting was a great way for the senate to destress and have some fun before they part ways. And though democracy and the free press come before anything else, these Griffin editors are grateful for this year’s senate group for being so welcoming.