2026-03-24 SGA Senate Meeting Minutes

March 24, 2026

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

In Attendance

Student Senators

  • Senator Maddilyn Keech
  • Senator Elle Reeves
  • Senator John Breedy
  • Senator Rusty Smetanyak
  • Senator Charles
  • Senator Blaska

President

  • Lisa Burno

Vice President of Governance

  • Margherita Rizzuti

Vice President of Downtown Campus

  • Anthony Flanders

Student Trustee

  • Parker Werven

Chief of Staff

  • Abigail Pottinger

Office of Student Life

  • Advisor: Jodi Oriel
  • Faculty Advisor: Mark Sample

Visitors

  • Christine Cormack (online) – VAPA
  • Cinnamon Nolley (online) – Downtown Campus Student Engagement
  • Ginny Geer-Mentry – MCC Association
  • Audre Schoof – SWE + STEM
  • Tabish Shah – SNA

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 March 17, 2026, Student Government Association Minutes
    2. Senator Breedy moved, seconded by Senator Smetanyak
    3. A vote was taken
    4. Be it resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the March 17, 2026, minutes as written

 Reports

  1. President Burno

    Good afternoon, everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. This past week, I had the opportunity to work alongside my team in preparation for the Middle States visit taking place today. I’m truly excited to be part of this process and to contribute to such an important conversation, while highlighting the impact, growth, and student experience here at MCC.  Additionally, on March 19, we hosted our first election workshop. It was a great turnout, and my team and I were able to walk attendees through the rules and regulations, while also connecting with students interested in stepping into leadership roles.  Overall, it was a very productive and meaningful week, and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.

  2. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti

    This week, I continued to stay actively involved in both leadership development and campus engagement. I attended an election workshop alongside President Burno, which was a valuable experience that provided insight into the electoral process, student participation, and the importance of strong and transparent leadership within student government. It was a great opportunity to continue developing skills that will support my role and future involvement in SGA.  I also had the honor of giving a campus tour to Vice Chancellor Valerie Dent, which was both exciting and rewarding. Being able to represent Monroe Community College in that moment meant a lot to me, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity. In addition, I feel very honored to be selected to give tours as part of the upcoming Middle States process. It is a great responsibility, and I am proud to be able to showcase our campus, our community, and the student experience.  Overall, I am proud of the work we continue to do, and I just want to say to everyone to keep up the great work. The effort and dedication from this team does not go unnoticed, and I am excited to keep building on everything we are accomplishing together.

  3. Student Trustee Werven

    Over the past week I attended an SGA workshop to meet one of the requirements to run for the upcoming election. On Tuesday the 17th, I had the opportunity to sit down with SUNY Vice Chancellor Valerie Dent with a few other student leaders to hear our stories as she shared recommendations for us and continuing MCCs constant success. On Wednesday the 18th, I attended my first math club meeting where we discussed probability and statistics while playing poker! This was such a fun way to learn about how math is all around us and how to beat Chief of Staff Pottinger. In addition, throughout the week I have been collaborating consistently with SGA and the Board of Trustees to prepare for a seamless accreditation process with Middle States. I also somehow got myself into an MCC photoshoot with a few of my collogues in addition to President Burt-Nanna on Thursday. On Sunday the 22nd, I had the privilege to meet accreditors from Middle States during the welcome reception over dinner. I had a great time collaborating and sharing my story on how I ended up at MCC and how this college has given me everything to succeed. In addition to this, earlier today, I had a smaller meeting with the evaluation team in addition to President Burt-Nanna to discuss more about the college. I’ve met with the president of the college multiple times in one week and all I hope is she isn’t sick of me already. Just to sum up, we anticipate a favorable outcome because MCC is one of the greatest community colleges in New York State and will find that decision at a future date

  4. Chief of Staff Pottinger

    Good afternoon everyone, this past week has been both engaging and productive, as I had the opportunity to connect with campus leaders and stay involved in student focused initiatives.  On Tuesday, March 17th, I had the opportunity to sit down with SUNY Vice Chancellor Dent alongside other student leaders to discuss the many services and opportunities available on our campus. It was a valuable experience to share student perspectives and highlight the resources that support student success.  On Thursday, March 19th, I attended an election workshop alongside prospective Student Government candidates to become more informed about the upcoming elections. It was great to see the enthusiasm and interest from students in taking on leadership roles, including positions such as President, Vice President, Secretary, and Trustee. I wish them all the best in their campaigns and future leadership journeys.  Looking ahead, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25th, Resident Assistant Jenna Tracy and I will be hosting a Collective Care program at 7:00 PM in the Canal Hall lobby. During this event, we will be assembling hygiene kits and writing notes to be donated to a local shelter. If anyone is interested in participating, you are more than welcome to join. Thank you

  5. Public Relations Senator Keech

    No report for this week

  6. Public Relations Senator Smetanyak

    This week, I worked on reviewing and processing student organization funding requests, ensuring they were complete and ready for approval. I communicated with organizations to clarify details and provide updates as needed.  Additionally, I attended an elections workshop to better understand the process and expectations moving forward.  Moving forward, I will continue assisting with funding requests and supporting student organizations

  7. Student Relations Senator Breedy

    This week, my involvement was limited because I wasn’t feeling well. I stayed in touch with the team as much as I could and tried to stay up to date with new topics of discussion. Quick reminder, there’s a clubs and orgs meeting here in the forum later today at 4pm, and we’ll be meeting with Middle States at 3pm today. Wishing everyone a good week to come

  8. Clubs and Organizations Senator Reeves 

    This week was a really strong and productive school week for her. She stayed on top of her responsibilities and was especially involved during the student-to-student committee meeting, where the group continued improving their poster and building on their ideas. She contributed thoughtful input on how to make the poster more engaging and effective for students. She also took initiative by working on emailing professors to introduce the new tile and help expand awareness. Overall, her effort and involvement showed growth, and she played an important role in the team’s progress this week

  9. Diversity Senator Charles

    This week was a great week. I attended the SGA Elections Workshop on March 19 and enjoyed connecting with my team about matters related to launching the SGA elections and learning more about the election process and expectations. Overall, I am thankful for the progress we have made and appreciate the collaboration and preparation as we move forward with the elections.

  10. Athletic Senator Blaska

    First off, I’d like congratulate our baseball team for their performance last Thursday, where they went on to win 10-2 against Onondaga Community College at our home opener. So far, our tribunes are 6-4 and are on 2 game winning streak. I hope our guys continue on their winning streak and look to have a great season. On another matter, our pool seems to be filled up again and may be opening soon, if not already. I know that our pool has been closed for some time due to the filtration system needing to be repaired, so it’s nice that it should be opening back up soon if it hasn’t already. It was unfortunate that while I was on the Swim team, the pool had gotten so dirty and had to be closed, but now that its been cleaned and hopefully repaired, I look forward to swimming and enjoying the pool more in the future. Aside from athletics, I know our break is coming up, and I hope everyone here is able to have a good time off. I’m not sure if I’ll be kicking back and relaxing, especially now, as I need to focus more on my studies, working, among taking care of other things, but regardless, I’m sure we could all use the time off and I’ll be happy to come back to school and continue to be apart of things here, after our little break here. Thank you

Old Business

    A. There was no old business.

New Business

  1. Resolution to approve the funding request of $257 for the Student Nurses Association.

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request for the Student Nurses Association

    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Smetanyak.

    Discussion: Student Nurses Association 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 of $257 for the Student Nurses Association, effective March 24, 2026 at Monroe Community College

  2. Resolution to approve the funding request of $1000 for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE+STEM)

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request for SWE+STEM

    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Smetanyak.

    Discussion: The SWE+STEM 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 of $1000 for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE+STEM), effective March 24, 2026 at Monroe Community College

  3. Resolution to approve the funding request of $59.80 for the Robotics Club

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request for the Robotics Club

    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Smetanyak.

    Discussion: The Robotics 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 of $59.80 for the Robotics Club, effective March 24, 2026 at Monroe Community College

  4. Resolution to approve the funding request of $652.93 for the Disability Awareness Club

    Resolved, the Monroe Community College Student Government Association approves the funding request for the Disability Awareness Club

    Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Smetanyak.

    Discussion: The Disability Awareness 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 of $652.93 for the Disability Awareness Club, effective March 24, 2026 at Monroe Community College

Speak to the Senate

  1. There was no one registered to speak to the senate this week

Adjournment

  1. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion for adjournment.
    Senator Breedy so moved, second by Senator Smetanyak
  2. Meeting was adjourned at 2:37 pm.

Respectfully submitted