As first semester approaches its final weeks, the freshman class of 2016 officers held an open meeting on Sunday November 11th at 6:30 pm to see student’s opinions on how things were going around the University.
In case you missed election, here are your 2016 class officers; remember them! The Class of 2016 President is James Kielar, Vice president is Jared Ensling, Executive Assistant is Samantha Anderson, the Treasurer is Samantha Salvio, the Sergeant at Arms is Dana Doyle, and Felecia Edwards is the Class of 2016 advisor.
The first topic discussed, and one that is sure to be causing quite a buzz on campus, is the ‘Condom Gram’ fundraiser. This is sure to get the attention of not only the freshman class, but the entire school as the class officers are taking a risk, but an innovated and memorable one at that. Condoms will be sold for one dollar and all money goes to the class of 2016 for fun trips and events.
A main point of concern for the students attending was the lack of vegan and vegetarian meal options on campus. Emilia Carlo is one freshman who is looking to adopt a vegan diet, but is worried that there aren’t enough food choices for that to be possible. I myself am a vegetarian, and besides there being few choices, I often find that the vegetarian bar in Bartels is closed and nothing is being served there. President Kaplan is aware of these concerns, and opinions definitely need to be further voiced in regards to dining option.
Recycling efforts on campus were another point of interest; many students felt that the school should be taking this environmental aspect more seriously. USGA has recently approved a committee created by Josh Howard to further environmental causes on campus. The officers are looking into cosponsoring with such clubs and organizations, including LEGOS for a campus-wide community service project.
Many different fundraising options were discussed, such as ‘Toys for Tots’ toy drive, ‘Cellphones for Soldiers’, and a Disney movie-themed fundraiser. Keep an eye out for these, as well as a sports night in the rec center to promote teamwork and staying healthy on campus.
The class officers are planning to hold more non-structured open meetings in the near future, possibly even weekly, so freshmen: be on the lookout for the opportunity to voice your opinions. Even if you can’t attend, all the officers insist to shoot any of them an email with your ideas. After all, as our Vice-President Jared Ensling states “It’s an effort from everybody, the more people that participate, and the bigger and better we will be.” Samantha Salvio also emphasized dragging your roommates down if you have to and Samantha Anderson would love to see a larger crowd of people, preferably “standing room only”.
There are over 1000 students in the freshman class yet only 8 were at the meeting. The only way to get favorable things done is to take initiative; don’t just simply ‘be’ a member in the class of 2016, be an active part of it!
