September 24, 2024
2:15pm, Forum 3-130, Downtown Campus Room 200B, Zoom
In Attendance
Student Senators
- Senator Elisabeth Small
- Senator Ashley Wrobeh
- Senator Billy Simba
- Senator Shawn Sanchez
- Senator Elizabeth Cole
- Senator NeeNee Curry
President
- Angelo Romero
Vice President of Governance
- Alicia Crimmins
Vice President of Downtown
- Loritea Ellis
Treasurer
- Esma Demir
Chief of Staff
- Liam Krieger
Secretary of Governance
- Tehya Deisenroth
Student Trustee
- Joseph Leichtner
Historian
- Nick Tran
Office of Student Life
- Advisor: Jodi Oriel
- Faculty Advisor: Mark Sample
Visitors
- Ruben Likoke – Black Student Union
- Rochelle Mercer – Scribe Society
- Xavier Moreira – Veterans Club
- Abby Bechtel – Virtoal Campus/IDEA Council
- Terah Echols – MCC Student
- Mya Thomas – Scribe Society
- Dana Williams – MCC Student
- Justin Leenhouts – MCC Association
- Teri Best – MCC Association
Minutes
Call to Order (2:15 pm)
- Roll Call (see attendance above)
Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a roll call to start the senate meeting. - Land Acknowledgement
- Approval of Minutes
- Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion to approve the September 17, 2024 Student Government Association minutes.
- Senator Small so moved, seconded by Senator Sanchez
- A vote was taken.
- Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the September 17, 2024 minutes as written.
Speak to the Senate
Abby Bechtel- Virtual Campus/IDEA Council –
Abby Bechtel is a faculty member of MCC that helps professors navigate online courses. She also is a part of MCC’s Diversity Council, and she invited SGA to MCC’s Diversity Conference, which centers around the need for colleges to have safe spaces for students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds.
Reports
- President Romero
On Tuesday, September 17th, President Romero attended the Snack & Chat event on the Brighton Campus’s terrace to inform students about Student Government, answer any questions, and promote becoming a Student Leader. SGA would also promote registering to vote to students as it was voter registration day and constitution day, so they discussed why voting is important. Huge Shout-outs to Student Relations Senator Simba and Veterans Senator Sanchez for representing SGA and MCC. This same day, he attended the SUNY Virtual Deliberate Dialogue to instruct faculty and students on how to be trained on Moderating Dialogues and their importance. SGA had booked the forum so Students could have access to a room and enjoy snacks to munch on. He helped moderate one of the Virtual rooms and had great conversations with the group. He hopes to have more events like this and even train more people to moderate deliberate dialogue. On Wednesday, September 18th, President Romero and other SGA members helped shoot a commercial for the 5k walk/run, trying to get community members to attend this event. The video for this is still being worked on, and we hope to promote it on the SGA Instagram and other social media accounts. I will say I met Tiberius, MCC’s mascot, for the first time. On Thursday, September 19th, President Romero and Historian Tran helped with the Pancakes with the President event. He promoted the event to students, got to know President Dr. Burt Nanna better, and asked her anything regarding the school while also getting free pancakes. Later on the day, Dr. Messenger and President Romero had a meeting about promoting more events to Students and finding ways for them to get more information. They saw the Tiberius message as a huge benefit to grab students’ attention. Near the end of the day, President Romero attended the First Operations & Personnel Meeting and MCC Association Board Meeting of the Academic year with fellow SGA and Board members. He would be appointed Vice Chair of the MCCA. They would also look over the fourth quarter financial statements, approve the by-laws, and be presented on the MCCA Annual Report. On Friday, September 20th, he will attend a meeting with fellow SGA members, Facilities, and members of the Muslim Student Association in the Prayer Room that will be built in the new Applied Tech Center. They noticed they had looked at our feedback regarding the student-centered areas and the design of the prayer rooms. Overall, it was a great meeting, and I am thrilled to have seen the ATC’s progress.
- Vice President of Governance Crimmins
On last Tuesday, 9/17, Vice President of Governance Crimmins along with a few other sga members participated in the SUNY SA Virtual Dialogue event which was hosted by MCC Professor Joe Scanlon, Babette Faehmel, and Ashley Mercado. On Thursday, 9/19, Crimmins gave an extensive report to the faculty senate that listed all of the updates from sga since mid-June. Later that same day, the Peace Committee held a meeting and finalized almost all aspects of the Oct 7th event and changed our meeting time to Wednesdays at 5-6:30pm. Later that week, Vice President Crimmins and President Romero helped organize and get the team ready for the Presidents Executive Leadership Team Meeting on Thursday, 9/26. Thank you.
- Vice President of Downtown Ellis
On September 16 , 2024 VP of The Downtown Campus Ellis met with Mary Geister at 10:30 to discuss the roles, and obligations, within the Student Life and Leadership. Later they further discussed future events, and the Upcoming Fall Wellness Fest for this September 30, 2024. Later at 11:00 am VP met with Disability Awareness Club to discuss future events, and collaboration for the Downtown Campus. At 11:30 am VP also met with the Criminal Justice Club to discuss office space for them in the SGA room. At 12:00 –1:00 pm the VP set up a table for Turbo Tax and help get some students registered. The VP also helped students that were interested in starting their own club to brainstorm some ideas that they will be passionate about. On September 19, 2024 VP of The Downtown Campus Ellis joined Operations and Personnel Committee at 2:00- 3:00 pm and the Association Board 3:00-4:30 pm on Zoom. There the VP met with a few other SGA members and all those who served on the board. It was a great introduction to these two committees the VP explains. On September 20, 2024 VP of the Downtown Campus Ellis attended the Prayer Room/Ablution Station/Common Spaces follow up meeting at 1:00 pm with a few other SGA members. She felt it was great to see how this project was coming along since the last few meetings that took place during the summer. The prayer room looks great, and when giving additional feedback. The VP suggested having some storage space for extra mats for students who cannot always bring their own already provided. She spoke about how this will help truly make this accessible for all students who wish to use this facility to Quent Rhodes. Furthermore, VP interviewed a new student leader at 2:00 pm for a new role in the SGA with a few other peers in the SGA, and with Professor Mark. The VP thinks the new student leader is looking forward to having another wonderful individual amongst the growing SGA.
- Treasurer Demir
Treasurer Demir has no report this week.
- Secretary of Governance Deisenroth
Good afternoon. This week, Secretary Deisenroth, along with President Romero, Chief of Staff Krieger, Historian Tran and Senator Simba filmed the ad for the 5k walk and run, and she got to dress up as Tiberius! Secretary Deisenroth also met with the Peace Committee and finalized details of the
October 7th event. She also has been working on the flyers for the board that says all of SGA’s positions, office hours, and fun facts. Thank you. - Chief of Staff Krieger
Wednesday: Finance Meeting and 5K Promotion** On Wednesday, Chief of Staff Kreiger attended the Finance meeting and finalized our budget discussions. Later that day, he shot a promotional commercial for the upcoming 5K event, which will be posted on our Instagram. The video aims to increase student participation by highlighting the scholarship opportunity tied to the event. **Thursday: MCC Association Meeting** On Thursday, Chief of Staff Krieger, along with my fellow SGA members, attended the MCC Association meeting. They were introduced to several members of the board and discussed how the association can continue to support student initiatives moving forward. **Friday: Advanced Tech Center Meeting and Collaboration** On Friday, he met to discuss the development of a dedicated prayer room at the Advanced Tech Center. This initiative aims to provide a space for students to engage in religious practices, promoting inclusivity on campus. Additionally, he collaborated with Shawn Schancez on expanding outreach to students in COS classes. They are strategizing ways to inform them about the various opportunities MCC offers, ensuring we reach a broader audience. **Upcoming Events:** – **CELC Meeting (Thursday)**: The first meeting of the CELC will be held this Thursday at 3 PM. Chief of Staff Krieger plan to represent the student body and ensure their voices are heard. – **Board Presentation (Wednesday)**: Next Wednesday, he will be presenting updates on all SGA events to the board. This includes a discussion on how we plan to align our efforts with Vision 2027, ensuring our initiatives contribute to the long-term goals of the college.
- Historian Tran
Historian Tran had participated in student leader training on Saturday, September 14. Historian Tran has also tabled for TurboVote on Monday, September 16th and Thursday, September 19th.
- Health & Wellness Senator Wrobeh
Hello everyone, Senator Wrobeh hopes this semester has been good to you so far. This week senator Wrobeh continued tabling at the voter registration SGA table. There have been many people registering to vote, and it has been fun introducing herself to the student body more. Educating people about voter registration is very important and she is glad that SGA is doing this.
- Veterans Senator Sanchez
On Monday, September 16th, Veteran Senator Sanchez tabled for TurboVote with VP Crimmins and Historian Tran, where they registered more students to vote. On Tuesday, September 17th, he attended the Snack and Chat with a few other members of the SGA. During this event, he had the opportunity to be interviewed by Channel 10, delivering a message aimed at encouraging younger generations to get more involved with voting. Veteran Senator Sanchez also participated in TurboVote tabling on Wednesday, the 18th, and Thursday, the 19th, where he, Historian Tran, and Health and Wellness Senator Wrobeh helped register even more students and sparked their interest in voting. Additionally, he emailed the head of the COS committee on Thursday the 19th, to propose a plan of action for SGA members to deliver informative presentations to incoming students enrolled in COS courses, with the hope of tackling the issue of students not being aware of what the SGA does.
- Student Relations Senator Simba
Tuesday, September 17 Senator Simba assisted with the first “Snack and Chat” event of the semester, engaging with students in discussions about elections and voting. He actively facilitated voter registration through paper forms and TurboVote, also helping students check their registration status. The media interviewed both Senator Simba and Veteran Senator Sanchez, focusing on the student government’s motivations for organizing voter registration initiatives such as tabling events and “Snack and Chat.” They also emphasized the importance of young people participating in elections. Wednesday, September 18 Senator Simba provided support to Secretary of Governance Deisenroth, President Romero, Chief of Staff Krieger, and Historian Tran in filming a short video commercial promoting the college’s 18th Annual 5k walk/run event scheduled for October 5th. Thursday, September 19 Senator Simba contributed to a tabling event, interacting with students and discussing elections and voting. He encouraged voter registration and assisted students in checking their registration status. He also participated in the first MCC Association Operations and Personnel Committee Meeting, followed by the first MCC Association Board Meeting, where he had the opportunity to meet fellow board members. Friday, September 20 Senator Simba took part in a meeting concerning the prayer room in the new Applied Tech Center. He expressed approval of the design. Additionally, he received an update on the applied center’s seating arrangement and layout, appreciating the diversity in seating options.
- Diversity Senator Small
On Friday, September 20th, Diversity Senator, Elisabeth Small, met with Health and Wellness Senator Wrobeh and Treasurer Demir to discuss the structure of the first Club and Organization meeting as well as icebreakers, scheduling, and monthly promotions based on the forms sent over the week and brainstorming from the previous week. That same day, Elisabeth joined in the Prayer Room and student gathering area discussion to look over designs and 3D renderings of the proposed plans. On Saturday, September 21st, Elisabeth met with Vice President Crimmins to discuss the SGA hallway board and details about the ELT reports. Additionally on Saturday, Elisabeth constructed the form and certificate for Club and Organization of the Month to be completed by clubs and organizations and will be featured on the Monday Message. Elisabeth has also been working on the promotion of the cultural and heritage awareness calendar and cultural events with Global Union.
- Student Trustee Leichtner
Student Trustee Leichtner has no report this week.
- Residence Hall Senator Cole
Residence Hall Senator Cole has no report this week. - Downtown Campus Senator Curry
Neenee Curry is the new Downtown Senator of the Student Government Association. The major she partaken in is criminal justice as she felt it would be a great correlation to her course. As of Thursday the 12th of September Neenee Curry had a meeting with Mr president Angelo, Mrs Jodi, Mr Liam and Mrs Majesty regarding her position with SGA. After Neenee’s amazing interview she was able to attend the Student Life and Leadership training on Saturday the 14th of September. She was able to connect with a few people such as Ms Beth and how they got to speak on parts of their ethnicity, Esma saving Neenee a seat right next to her, Also with Ms Kelly as they connected when she offered a ride to Neenee for the Student Life and Leadership Lasertron event. She really enjoyed herself, connecting with a few others from different clubs and organizations. Even trying to properly introduce herself to Mrs Jodi after a crazy game of laser tag. As a whole Neenee has learned a lot more information about SGA and the members to carry with her as she moves a long with them. She also got to attend last Tuesdays meeting that was held on the 17th of September. Neenee got to learn and watch how the SGA meeting are conducted and held, how things are sorted out.
New Business
- Action Items (requires a senate vote)
- Resolution to Approve the Constitution for Robotics Club
Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the Constitution of Robotics Club.
Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Simba so moved, second by Senator Cole.
Discussion: The Robotics Club has completed and met the standards of the Student Government Association and Office of Student Life and Leadership.
A vote was taken. The resolution passed.
Be it resolved, the senate present and voting that the Student Government Association approve the Robotics Club Constitution effective September 24th, 2024, at Monroe Community College. - Resolution to Approve the Funding Request for Scribe Society
Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the Funding Request for Scribe Society.
Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Wrobeh so moved, second by Senator Small.
Discussion: The funding request has met the standards of the Student Government Association and Office of Student Life and Leadership.
A vote was taken. The resolution passed.
Be it resolved, the senate present and voting that the Student Government Association approve the funding request for Scribe Society effective September 24th, 2024, at Monroe Community College. - Resolution to Approve the Funding Request for Veterans Club
Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the Funding Request for Veterans Club.
Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Sanchez so moved, second by Senator Simba.
Discussion: The Veterans Club has met the standards of the Student Government Association and Office of Student Life and Leadership.
A vote was taken. The resolution passed.
Be it resolved, the senate present and voting that the Student Government Association approve the funding request for Veterans Club effective September 24th, 2024, at Monroe Community College. - Resolution to Appoint Alyssa Ryan to Club & Organizations Senator
Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the appointment of Alyssa Ryan as Club & Organizations Senator
Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Cole so moved, second by Senator Wrobeh.
Discussion: Alyssa Ryan has completed and met the standards of the Student Government Association and Office of Student Life and Leadership.
A vote was taken. The resolution passed.
Be it resolved, the senate present and voting that the Student Government Association approve the appointment of Alyssa Ryan as Club & Organizations Senator effective September 24th, 2024, at Monroe Community College.
- Resolution to Approve the Constitution for Robotics Club
Discussion Items
- There were no discussion items.
Old Business
- There was no old business.
Questions and Comments
- There were no questions or comments.
Adjournment
- Vice President of Governance Crimmins called for a motion for adjournment.
Senator Small so moved, second by Senator Sanchez - Meeting was adjourned at 2:51 pm.
Executive Session
Respectfully submitted,
Tehya Deisenroth
Secretary of Governance