SGA Senate X Kicks Off Spring 2025 Semester with Packed Agenda
Image Courtesy of SGA
By Anthony Curioso
The Student Government Association (SGA)’s 10th Senate cohort began its spring semester with a meeting on January 27 at 8:15 p.m. in Great Room B at the Pryzbyla Center.
Highlights from the public comment portion at the January 27 meeting included the entire current makeup of the SGA Treasury Board speaking out in favor of a new appointment to the Board and their bylaw amendments, as well as updates from senior politics major and Student Body President Jeffrey Lance regarding the upcoming Celebration of Consecrated Life held by the Catholic Values Executive Initiative.
Following public comment, the next order of business was confirming nominations to fill the vacant senate seats for the Class of 2026 and the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art. The Class of 2026 Senate appointee was junior business and philosophy major Michael Kish, who would resume the seat he held for his first two years as a student at CUA. He was unable to run during the election in September because he was studying abroad at the time.
The appointee for the Rome School was senior vocal performance major Sophia Spencer, for whom this will be her first experience serving in the Senate. The Senate confirmed these nominations unanimously, and Kish and Spencer took the oath of office.
Next, the senate heard an address from and posed questions for junior accounting major Grace Marino, the Student Body Treasurer. Her address outlined the mission and fall semester work of the Treasury Board, presented freshman accounting major James Mazza’s nomination to serve on the board, and proposed amendments to the Treasury Board Bylaws. The senate voted on the bylaw amendments, which passed 23-1, with two senators abstaining for undisclosed reasons. Subsequently, the senate voted unanimously to confirm Mazza’s nomination.
From there, the senators moved to debate Resolution 008 (A Resolution Supporting Fish on Fridays in Garvey). The sponsoring senator, freshman politics major and class of 2028 Senator Nicolas Albarano, defended this resolution by highlighting that many Catholics abstain from meat on all Fridays, even beyond the requirement to do so during the Lenten season, and explaining that Garvey Hall already serves fish on Saturdays. Sophomore business major and Busch School Senator Matthew Moskowski joined several other senators in voicing support for the resolution. In addition, several senators asked clarifying questions surrounding the logistics of the resolution, and the Senate unanimously voted to pass Resolution 008.
In the debate on Resolution 009 (A Resolution to Support the Proposed Reorganization of Academic Programs), the sponsoring senators’ argument for the resolution stemmed from the fact that the reorganization of academic programs, as announced by the University Provost, Dr. Aaron Dominguez, is confirmed to happen regardless of the fate of this particular resolution. The resolution’s sponsors also stressed the importance of building bridges with the University administration. Criticism of the resolution came from all four of the senators representing two of the academic schools affected by the restructuring (the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art and the National Catholic School of Social Service). Several Senators representing schools unaffected by the restructuring also voiced concerns about the Resolution. Ultimately, the Senate voted by a margin of 22-3 to refer this resolution to the Academic Affairs Committee to iron out underlying logistical concerns that the senators voiced.
Updates from sophomore biomedical engineering major and Student Body Vice President Clare Tong included that committee meetings will continue to occur in the same locations as in the fall semester, directing senators to voice questions to the Executive team about the proposed academic reorganization and reminding senators of the reasons why their peers elected them. Tong said that multiple senators had failed to attend the mandatory SGA winter workshop and had not provided reasons for their absence.
The “open floor” period at the end of the meeting featured several items: a suggestion from multiple senators urging deeper reflection on Resolution 009, several senators congratulating Albarano on passing Resolution 008, Kish encouraging the senate to seek out issues that they can fix, and Spencer reading a prepared speech reminding senators about the importance of preserving the Rome School.
The next SGA Senate meeting will be held on February 17 at 8:15 p.m. in Great Room B at the Pryzbyla Center.
