October 16
The Student Government began this meeting with membership changes after the election. The gavel was passed to new Vice President Carly Salfer. Until the election of Salfer to the position, President Rachael Posusta assumed the role.
Three new senators were also formally introduced: freshman Christopher Ross, sophomore Brandon Fritz, and sophomore Shane Vogt. There were 191 votes cast in the recent election.
The meeting began with a motion which appointed Ryan Coombe as a member of the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee (SAFAC). This committee receives budget requests from campus clubs and organizations and recommends how funds should be distributed.
The constitutions of two clubs were approved by the Student Government, meaning they became officially recognized. These clubs are the Cross Country Ski Club and the League of Legends Club.
After promoting the blood drive, Public Relations Coordinator Rachel Nelson shared the results of the Oct. 15 event. There were 118 donations and the event had a diverse group of volunteers.
All senators and board members were required to attend the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) open session on Oct. 20. The HLC is responsible for determining the future status of SMSU’s accreditation. The open session was a way for students to meet with the accreditors.
“This is a big deal for our school,” said Posusta. “Accreditation is something that you as a school don’t want to worry about losing. It’s great to have student involvement.”
October 23
The meeting began with the appointment of freshman Dylan Wenninger-Parsons as a member of SAFAC.
President Posusta reviewed The HLC open session that took place earlier in the week. Over 150 students showed up, which was a significant turnout.
“I’d like to thank everyone who went to the open student session,” said Posusta. “The reviewers were blown away by how many students we had. They said that they have never had as many students in a review session as they did here at Southwest…and they’ve been to much larger schools.”
The Oct. 30 Gallery Walk for MnSCU’s Charting the Future (CTF) initiative was discussed. CTF aims at creating better collaboration between MnSCU schools. The Gallery Walk event is to gather student feedback on what the long-term project has accomplished so far.
CTF is facing setbacks due to two MnSCU faculty unions bowing out of the project because of transparency and trust concerns. Despite this, feedback from students is encouraged.
The Student Government meeting concluded with the discussion of the constitution for the new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) club. The passing of its constitution was tabled for one week for further review.
