At this week’s Council of Organizations meeting on Monday, April 11, the body held its elections.
Before elections, it was announced that he “Green Thinking” page on the SUNY New Paltz website will be redone soon, including a calendar that will hold a list of green-initiative events. The Environmental Task Force will be making a list of events that have taken place in the past and those that will take place in the future.
Vice President of Programming Anthony Lino spoke of the Rock Against Racism event which has garnered controversy over the last few weeks. He confirmed that Nas will be coming, but not without a few concessions being made.
“With the solidification [of booking Nas] I have dealt with some issues.” said Lino.
With the booking of Nas as the entertainment, the event cannot be held on Old Main Quad as it has been in the past due to security concerns. Lino urged students to sign the petition to have it on the quad, citing a similar circumstance at the University of Nebraska that hosted Lupe Fiasco without any security issues. He hopes the petition will move the administration to appeal their decision and allow the event to take place outside where more than 1,500 people can attend the event designed to promote the theme of unity.
Vice President of Finance Youssouf Kouyo spoke about the outcomes of the Buudget and Finance Committee (BFC) weekend. Kouyo said that decisions were already made and students who are not happy with their decisions should see him. Organizations not named on the list should go to General Programming.
Before elections, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Governance Caitlin Ryan reported that the total amount of funds offered to students attending conferences has been increased. If a student is presenting at a conference he or she can receive up to $600, if they are attending they can receive up to $400 and the maximum amount for groups of students to attend conferences has been increased to $2,200.
Elections were also held this week. Council Chair Shayna Bentley was the only person nominated for her current position and regained the council chair seat through unanimous vote. After her election, Bentley said it would be her goal to make council and the Student Association as a whole more effective.
The next and final council meeting of the semester will be held on Monday, April 25.