2025-10-14 SGA Senate Meeting Minutes

October 14, 2025

2:15pm, Forum 3-130, Downtown Campus Room 200B, Zoom

In Attendance

Student Senators

  • Senator Maddilyn Keech
  • Senator Elle Reeves
  • Senator Abigail Pottinger
  • Senator John Breedy
  • Senator Rusty Smetanyak

President

  • Lisa Burno

Vice President of Governance

  • Margherita Rizzuti

Secretary of Governance

  • Hajer Enaami

Student Trustee

  • Parker Werven

Office of Student Life

  • Advisor: Jodi Oriel
  • Faculty Advisor: Mark Sample

Visitors

  • Ryan Messenger – Student Affairs
  • Zai Mouzon – MCC Student Journalist
  • Leslie Greenwood – MCC Student
  • Veronica R. Chiesi Brown – Community Relations
  • Dana Williams – MCC Student
  • Audre Schoof – MCC Student – SWE
  • Corey Maltsev- MCC Student
  • Olivia Wolfanger – Radiology Club
  • Courtney Weimar – Community Relations
  • Ginny Geer-Mentry – MCC Association
  • Christine Cormack (attended online) – VAPA
  • April Daniels (attended online) – Faculty Association

Minutes

Call to Order (2:15 pm)

  1. Roll Call (see attendance above)
    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a roll call to start the senate meeting.
  2. Land Acknowledgement
  3. Approval of Minutes
    1. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the October 7, 2025, Student Government Association Minutes
    2. Senator Breedy moved, seconded by Senator Reeves
    3. A vote was taken
    4. Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the October 7, 2025, minutes as written

Protocol for Student Government Association Tuesday Meeting – President Jalisia Burno

Before proceeding to the Speak to the Senate portion of the agenda, the Student Government Association (SGA) hereby establishes the following protocol, to be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

  1. The Chair, Vice President Rizzuti, shall recognize each individual prior to speaking. Only those who have been recognized will be permitted to address the assembly.
  2. Both Student Government Association members and Senate members will be afforded the opportunity to speak, provided they have been duly recognized by the Chair.
  3. All participants shall:
    • Engage in active listening;
    • Remain on topic; and
    • Communicate in a respectful and professional manner.
  4. Only one person may speak at a time. Interjections or interruptions are not permitted

For today’s meeting, the Speak to the Senate segment we ask each person who has expressed concern in the past regarding WMCC and the Monroe Doctrine refrain from repeating the same questions and concerns.  We invite you to assist SGA with creating new and innovative ways for student to receive their campus news and music.  The Student-to-Student Communication Platform committee will meet every Friday at 1:00pm in building 3-139A.

We ask you to continue to be respectful of the meeting protocol.

Speak to the Senate

Corey – MCC Student
Corey believes that everyone is coming to the right place at the right time with finding a solution on what needs to be done for student media/publications.  He believes that since the Student-to-Student Communication meetings have begun good progress has been made but there is definitely more that needs to be done and built on.

Audre Schoof – MCC Society of Women Engineers
Audre brought up a concern that there was not enough food options for Muslim students and their dietary needs on campus. She would like to see an additional restaurant or more options for them

Reports

  1. President Burno

    Good afternoon everyone, This past week on October 6th, President Burno had the opportunity to attend the Board of Trustees meeting and share updates on what her team has been working on since the last time she met with the board. It was a great opportunity for her to reflect on their recent progress and also hear about some new updates directly from the trustees. In addition to this, on Wednesday, October 8th, President Burno had the pleasure of tabling for voter registration alongside Senator Pottinger. During this event, they were able to engage with students and encourage them to register to vote for the upcoming election, which goes hand in hand with their goal to increase civic engagement here on campus. The event was a success, and it was great to see so many students take that important step. In addition to this, on Friday, October 10th, members of President Burno’s team attended their second Student-to-Student Communication Committee meeting. This meeting was another success they got to brainstorm new ideas with members of the student body, create a timeline, and come up with poster designs to help spread the word. President Burno is so excited to see this initiative continue to grow and can’t wait to see the positive impact it will have on the campus community.

  2. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti

    This week, Margherita Rizzuti continued to demonstrate strong dedication and involvement within the Student Government Association (SGA) and across the Monroe Community College community. Along with her team, she has been working consistently on the Bylaws Committee, reviewing and updating key sections to ensure that the organization’s policies remain clear, fair, and effective. Margherita also took part in the Student-to-Student Communication Platform Committee meeting this Friday, expressing her enthusiasm for this new initiative and contributing ideas to help strengthen communication among students and improve the way campus news and updates are shared. In addition to her committee work, she continues to be actively involved with the First Year Experience program, supporting new students as they navigate college life and helping to foster a welcoming and engaging environment on campus. Overall, this week reflected Margherita’s continued commitment to collaboration, leadership, and the advancement of initiatives that promote student connection, engagement, and success at MCC.

  3. Secretary of Governance Enaami

     This week, Secretary of Governance Hajer Enaami actively participated in SGA meetings and outreach efforts. On Tuesday, she attended the public SGA meeting, followed by the Bylaws Committee meeting at 4:00 PM. During these sessions, she contributed to discussions about key updates and ongoing governance matters.  Throughout the week, Hajer engaged with students and SGA members to promote awareness and encourage greater participation in SGA activities. She also spoke briefly in her chemistry class about the SGA’s search for more student involvement, which led to several classmates asking about SGA and its purpose after class… helping increase visibility and interest among students.  On Friday, the SGA team met for a productive meeting to share updates and reflect on recent progress. Hajer noted that several members also participated in the marketing video for MCC. Although she couldn’t attend due to class, she expressed pride in the team’s contributions, recognizing how their enthusiasm positively represented SGA.  Overall, the week was engaging, productive, and strengthened both SGA’s goals and campus involvement.

  4. Health and Wellness Senator Keech

    The Health and Wellness Senator ran the Friday communication meeting with Student Trustee Parker. We all planed how to advertise the survey for student to student communication committee. Everyone had great ideas and the Heath and Wellness Senator is thankful for everyone’s input. The Health and wellness senator will also be working with the health office in the future to find a way to improve mental health awareness around campus.

  5. Public Relations Senator Smetanyak

    Rostyslav Smetanyak has participated in the review and drafting of resolutions concerning funding allocations for the Esports Club and the Radiology Club. Both resolutions focused on providing financial support to help these organizations grow and effectively serve their members. During the review process, we discussed the proposed budgets, verified that the requests aligned with SGA funding guidelines, and ensured that the allocations would promote student engagement and campus involvement. I assisted in refining the language and presentation of both resolutions to prepare them for final consideration by the Senate.

  6. Athletic Senator Breedy
    In this last week, Athletic Senator Breedy attended the ByLaws committee meeting and the pre-agenda meeting. He also participated in a new commercial for MCC on Wednesday.

New Business

  1. Resolution to approve the funding request of $117 for Esports Club

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request of $117 for Esports Club
    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Reeves.
    Discussion: Esports Club has completed and met the requirements set forth by the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life and Leadership.
    A vote was taken, and the resolution passed.
    Be it resolved, the senate present and voting hereby approves the funding request for Esports Club, effective October 14, 2025 at Monroe Community College

  2. Resolution to approve the funding request of $430 for Radiology Club

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request of $430 for the Radiology Club
    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Reeves.
    Discussion: The Radiology Club has completed and met the requirements set forth by the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life and Leadership.
    A vote was taken, and the resolution passed.
    Be it resolved, the senate present and voting hereby approves the funding request for the Radiology Club, effective October 14, 2025 at Monroe Community College

Discussion Items

  1. There were no discussion items

Old Business

  1. There was no old business.

Questions and Comments

Audre Schoof – Wanted to clarify if clubs/orgs were being asked to attend the Open House to promote their clubs/orgs.  Jodi Oriel let Audre know that it’s not open to club/orgs to have individual tables, but if any club/org wanted to provide promotional materials to the Office of Student Life we would have that at our table.  Audre also mentioned she would collect additional information on the dietary needs for some of the Muslim students on campus

Dana Williams – Wanted to know where Open House was being held

Adjournment

  1. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion for adjournment.
    Senator Breedy so moved, second by Senator Keech
  2. Meeting was adjourned at 2:39 pm.

Executive Session

Respectfully submitted