SGA Updates: 10/16/23-10/23/23
The following is an overview from the previous week regarding updates on various branches, boards, and committees of SGA.
Maya Illanes | millanes@butler.edu
SGA committees have been busy this past week planning events and activities around campus. The Student Activities Committee led by Faith Thompson, has been working on planning an outreach event as well as continuing to approve organizations for Butler students. If you have an organization that you would like to bring to campus, please follow these steps:
Visit the SGA webpage
Click the “Legislative Branch” tab
Click the “New Student Organization” tab to learn more
Gracie Walls with the University Life Committee is working towards several projects to install on campus. Upcoming plans for the months following include four (4) outdoor igloos potentially being placed near the campus Starbucks for students to use during the winter season. The University Life Committee will also host an outreach event next Friday, October 27th, from 1-3 p.m. at the Atherton gazebo.
Additionally, the Academic Affairs committee led by Maddie Siems has been finalizing an outreach event scheduled for next month. They have also begun to schedule meetings with the deans of each college and formulate questions for the dean meetings.
Marianna Green, head of the Student Engagement Board, has sorted and distributed feedback to Irwin Library and SGA from the bulldog study habits tabling. The committee is also finalizing details for their upcoming outreach event, Dawgs Night Out. This event will be held at the mall on November 2nd from 5-6:30 pm in partnership with BUPD local law enforcement and public service to facilitate meaningful dialogue and a space to ask questions.
The Drift, the Yearbook’s committee, led by Ryan Batista, has been working to cover multiple JCA events while creating new photo request sheets for any upcoming events.
Sadia Khatri led the Senate DESB Committee to promote and plan an upcoming outreach event on November 2nd from 4-6 p.m. in the Starbucks lobby.
Each branch and board has been working on outreach events and multiple semester-long projects. The Mental Health and Well-Being (MHWB) Board, led by Julia Fryrear, has been planning mental health pop-ups such as Paws and Think, an opportunity for students to hang out with therapy dogs to destress. The MHWB board is also pairing with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and CCS to create an “Ending the Silence on Mental Health” presentation for students on November 8th (more information to come).
The Appropriations Committee, led by Sydney Haworth, has approved ten grants through the committee, with seven (7) grants passed in Senate. The Appropriations committee is also preparing to host its outreach event, Gyros with Grant Applications, on November 6th from 6:30-8:30 pm.
AJ Boes, Speaker of the Senate, has shared that this week in Senate, two (2) new senators have been confirmed, Brecken Panse as the Class of 2025 Senator and Megan Drake as the College of Education Senator. The Senate now totals a full twenty members. Overall, the Senate has approved seven (7) grants and two (2) student organization endorsements!
The Executive Branch’s Diversity, Equity, and Student Belonging Board (DESB), led by Lauren Stubbs, have been focusing on their last two outreach events, Donuts and Diversity, and celebrating National Coming Out Day. These events center around feedback from students on DEI, inclusivity, and programming, as well as honoring pride with Crumbl cookies. The board has been working to create educational training material for the SGA’s DEI training, with the first training on October 30th. This training will cover topics, including privilege to unconscious bias and how our identity plays a role in all facets of diversity, equity, & inclusion work. They have also been working towards a semester-long project of a compiled list of cultural and ethnic restaurants to serve as a blueprint for students who want to venture into the Indianapolis food community and discover what the Indy food scene is all about.