The semester’s second to last Council of Organizations meeting was held on Monday, Nov. 15 in the Student Union (SU), where new methods and tools were introduced.
Council Chair Shayna Bentley opened with a recap of last week’s meeting for any who were not in attendance. This included a list of the changes made, such as the one-hour time limit.
“[To make a] plan for trying to make council more useful for all of you, we’re going to do some more brainstorming together,” she said.
Student Association (SA) Vice President of Finance Youssouf Kouyo addressed the council next, discussing the continued conflict with paperwork.
To fix this problem, Kouyo said he will be holding three separate training sessions. It is mandatory for a representative from each club to attend one.
“If you don’t come to the training, your money for the whole semester will be gone,” he said.
The first session is expected to take place on Thursday, Feb. 3, and two will be held on Thursday, Feb. 3, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The sign-up sheet will be available in the SA business office until the last day of the semester.
According to Kouyo there are currently $18,486 in the conferences line, and $40,564 in general programming.
Bentley then resumed, announcing the SA E-board reports. Senate elections are being held from Dec. 7 to 9, so she said anyone interested can find the forms in the SA office or SU 428, and must hand them in no later than this coming Tuesday. There are about 15 seats available.
She also said SA President Jennifer Sanchez is still looking for male representatives for the Pakistani relief effort event, and that a “Know Your Rights” program regarding police relations and encounters will be held in SU 100 on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m.
Bentley continued with what she called a “surprise.”
“For the past weeks everyone has been begging me for a calendar,” she said. “[Now] I have it.”
She said a new tool has been implemented on Blackboard, where organizations can post events or ask others for help sponsoring them. This can be found in the “Tools” tab of Blackboard, listed as “Calendar.”
Since Council has “not really been functioning the way it should be,” Bentley said, she opened discussion to the mixed groups on the floor for suggestions. Rather than sitting in houses, numbers were picked upon entrance, deciding which group they would sit in. It was decided that this will be the process for alternating weeks.
Since the discussion didn’t provide any consensus, Bentley motioned to extend the meeting a few minutes past 8:30 p.m. for each house to elect a representative on the Council Board. The board will meet on Council’s off-weeks, and will discuss what is and is not working, as well as look at charters for new organizations collectively.
“It’s really a chance for all of you to get more involved in Council,” she said. “[It could be] more useful and powerful, and I feel this is a way to start moving in that direction.”
The final Council meeting of the semester will be held on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in SU 62/63.