SGA Senate X Closes Fall 2024 Semester With Two Resolutions
Image Courtesy of SGA
By Anthony Curioso
The tenth SGA Senate wrapped up the Fall 2024 semester with a meeting on December 2 in Great Room B at the Pryzbyla Center.
Highlights from the public comment period included sophomore business and politics major Austin Janssen voicing his desire for further action on the Metro UPass program and updates from senior politics major and Student Body President Jeffrey Lance. Lance’s updates included a reminder of the upcoming 40-hour perpetual adoration period hosted by the SGA Catholic Values Executive Initiative and wishes for the senators and the rest of the student body to have a Merry Christmas and a successful semester-end.
Following public comment and the other traditional opening-of-meeting procedures, the Senate dispensed with deliberating on Resolution 006 (A Resolution to Reinstate Student Discounts at Local Restaurants). Sponsoring Senator Gabriel Aliaga, a junior philosophy major representing the class of 2026, defended his resolution by saying that this was a program implemented in the past. The program ended twelve years ago because of waning student interest and other logistical issues with the third-party company contracted to run the program. Still, Aliaga wanted to propose this resolution to show that the current student body is very invested and wants to see this happen. Co-sponsoring senators Gianluca Albanese of the Busch School of Business and Joshua Ortiz of the School of Theology and Religious Studies praised the resolution because of its benefits to the student population and its effort to save students money. Both senators representing the School of Engineering voiced questions about how to avoid the logistical shortcomings faced by the original program. Eventually, the Senate voted by a unanimous margin to pass Resolution 006.
Then, the Senate moved to Resolution 007 (A Resolution to Offer In-Person Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Appointments). Sponsoring Senator Frances Noory, a junior social work major who represents the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSSS), defended this Resolution by stressing the importance of focusing on students’ mental health and how the lack of in-person appointments creates barriers for students who want to work on their mental health. The Senate vote on the entire resolution caused it to pass unanimously.
Updates from sophomore biology major and Student Body Vice President Clare Tong included canceling committee meetings for the week of final exams and announcing an open position in the Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commission in the DC government, which is open to students.
Highlights from the concluding “open floor” period for the December 2 meeting included senior architecture major and Architecture School Senator Elisabeth D’Albero congratulating the Senate on a great first semester; sophomore mechanical engineering major and School of Engineering Senator Richard Harrington voicing the importance of grammar, and Senator Aliaga announcing his immediate resignation due to going abroad next semester.
The next Senate meeting, the first of the Spring 2025 semester, will be held on January 27, 2025, at 8:15 p.m. in the Pryzbyla Center’s Great Room B.
