The 1924th Regular Meeting of the Student Government Association of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst held its weekly Senate meeting on November 13 in the Student Union’s Cape Cod Lounge.

During the announcements, Jean MacKimmie, Director of Residence Education, gave a speech to the Senate about changes to the assignment process. According to MacKimmie, the changes are intended to “make things clearer and more understandable about what people are entitled to.” She explained that the current reality is that there are more students assigned to campus than there are beds.

The selection processes through which students apply for housing remain the same, but new changes will clarify the process students are in for the admissions process. This is the freshman/sophomore process or the junior/senior process. Additionally, the term Admit Term will now be used in place of Academic Level, to clarify any confusion for students who have completed a different number of semesters and to have a clearer identification of who falls into which category.

There is also a change in the first-year student residency requirement, which now reads: “First-year undergraduate students enrolled in a degree-granting program for the first time must reside on campus during the first two semesters of their registration. . Therefore, Residential Life guarantees on-campus housing for incoming freshmen. University-sponsored first-year abroad programs fulfill first-semester residency requirements.

MacKimmie also added that students who are on the waiting list for housing should remain on the list even during summer break, as residential life is most likely able to help make that possible. “If students want to stay on campus, we are probably able to help them,” MacKimmie concluded.

Attorney General Ryan Darbhanga and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Charlie Goodchild have been working on amendments to Goodchild’s position and aim to have those changes finalized by next week.

Health and Wellness Secretary Kimberly Manyanga encouraged the Senate to complete the National Health Assessment and announced the success of last week’s Narcan training. She explained that she is also in the process of trying to have more Narcan training supplies available in the SGA office, as well as fentanyl test strips and other items of that nature.

Sustainability Secretary Carol DeRose briefed the Senate on planning for its annual Earth Day event, as well as its recent meetings discussing the possibility of creating virtual tours of sustainable sites on campus to add to the website of the SGA.

Maia Shteyman, chair of Ways and Means, announced that she is working with Finance Secretary Dylan Bellerive and Student Affairs and Campus Life (SACL) Finance on processes for withdrawing income from registered student organizations ( RSO) inactive, confirming these processes and calculating how much money. will be in long-term reserves. Shteyman also worked with clubs’ sports advisors to determine what these groups’ biggest expenses are.

Shteyman is also working to change how “across the board cuts” are implemented. Typically for agencies, guidelines are released in September and agencies have until November 22 to submit a budget request, then their requests are reviewed over the Thanksgiving holiday. For RSOs, the guidelines are released in September and also due November 22, then they work with advisors and in budget workshops to get feedback and submit them to the Ways and Means Committee by January 29. Then, the committee spends part of the spring semester reviewing these RSO budgets with Administrative Affairs before their approval by the Senate. Shteyman announced that henceforth, agencies would first complete the budget review process and then go through across-the-board cuts before RSOs.

During the Committee of the Whole, Chairman Colin Humphries and Vice Chairman Dale Leone introduced the new executive working groups.

Humphries explained the purpose of these working groups and said, “while we’ve made great progress, we need all hands on deck over the next seven months.” Humphries encouraged collaboration and communication within the SGA on these issues to effectively bring all branches and members together, in hopes of making SGA history with the implementation of new processes.

Associate President Melena Amoratis echoed Humphries and Leone and said: “We have launched campaigns to make tangible changes… this is the perfect place to do it. »

“The working groups emphasize that we are listening to student concerns and working on them to make positive changes,” Amoratis continued.

President Michel Flanagan reiterated this explanation and emphasized the importance and commitment of teamwork within the SGA to these efforts.

The first working group introduced, chaired by Registry Secretary Ranya Merchant and Undergraduate Registry Oversight Committee Chair Hai Tran, the Registry Reform Task Force, “will be tasked with assessing the inefficiencies of our current processes and develop policy and process reforms to address said inefficiencies,” according to their presentation.

The SATF Reform Task Force, chaired by Vice President Leone, Secretary Bellerive and Shyteman “will be responsible for evaluating our current financial policies, practices and procedures followed by determining what policy changes and initiatives are necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of the Student. Activities Trust Fund (SATF) and the general operating budget of the SGA.

Chaired by Vice President Leone, the Conduct Reform Task Force states: “The Wellman document gives the SGA primary responsibility on matters concerning the Code of Conduct and will have the “privilege” of recommending changes to the Code of Conduct. policy. This task force serves to make recommendations to President Humphries and Vice President Leone regarding conduct reforms.

The Student Advocacy Task Force “will be responsible for identifying how we can better meet the basic needs of our students.” The scope of work of task forces may include, but is not limited to, basic security, housing, and academic affairs needs. The task force’s work will include identifying the most pressing issues facing students and developing initiatives and policies to address those issues. This task force is chaired by President Humphries and Secretary for University Policy Nick Vitale.

Finally, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force includes “supporting cultural RSOs, expanding DEI-focused workshops, resources, and events offered by SGA for officers and members of the campus community and creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment within SGA and across campus.

The task force’s procedures were then explained to the Senate by Humphries and Leone.

During the main motions, Motion S.48 was passed, appointing Shrinidhii Manikandan as Deputy Registrar Secretary.

The meeting adjourned around 8:20 p.m.

Abby Joyce can be contacted at (email protected)