In the final Undergraduate Student Government meeting of fall semester on Dec. 8, the general council approved two new clubs and one finance request and watched two presentations.
Define American is an organization that talks about “what it actually means to be American,” according to club representatives at meeting. The new St. Thomas chapter is one of many across the country. The nationwide organization was started by journalist and immigration reform activist Jose Antonio Vargas.
Club representatives Joshua Crespo, Yastril Nañez, Karina Cuate and Marisol Morena told the council they wanted to collaborate with other clubs, bring in speakers and “provide a safe space to talk about these issues and challenges” related to immigration and identity.
The second club approved by USG was Happy Tommies, presented by senior Adam Weinzetl. The organization’s goal is to organize “quick, fun events or random acts of kindness” for the campus community.
Weinzetl said club activities might include buying a cup of coffee for a student in the library, eating dinner with someone sitting alone in The View or giving out compliments to passerby on the quad.
Ski and Snowboard Club was awarded $7,087.50 in funds. Chris Meader, vice president of financial affairs for USG, said that the rather large funding counted for both fall and spring semesters, as most of the club’s activities happen in January and February.
Edmund Clark, vice president for information technology services, presented to the general council about commencement. He announced that commencement gowns will be purple, not black, for the first time. Clark also brainstormed with USG members about ways to effectively survey the student and alumni population for their opinions on commencement.
Four original signers of a sexual assault petition, Danielle Wong, Cari Monroe, Emma Kopp and Jadea Washington also spoke to USG about the sexual assault alert system they want implemented on campus. TommieMedia covered the petition here.
The signers were joined by four St. Thomas administrators: Karen Lange, vice president for student affairs; Emily Erickson, sexual misconduct prevention coordinator; Dan Meuwissen, director of Public Safety; and Danielle Hermanny, Title IX coordinator.
Check back to TommieMedia.com in the spring for more in-depth coverage of the petition and the USG presentation about it.
Sophie Carson can be reached at sophia.carson@stthomas.edu.