2025-09-09 SGA Senate Meeting Minutes

September 9, 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

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

  • Dana Williams – MCC Student
  • Ryan Messenger – Academic Student Affairs
  • Angelo Romero – MCC Alumni
  • Maria Gonzales – MCC Student
  • Elizabeth Cole – MCC Student
  • Esma Demir – MCC Alumni
  • Corey Macster – MCC Student
  • Tamara Hilibush-Walker – MCC Faculty, VAPA
  • Lori Moses – MCC Faculty, VAPA
  • Ginny Geer-Mentry – MCCA
  • Shawn Sanchez – MCC Student, Veterans Club
  • Mark Ricci, MCC Faculty

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

Speak to the Senate

Guest Speaker: Leslie Greenwood, student

  • Leslie presented a petition and explained that she introduced the idea at last Friday’s SGA meeting.
  • She expressed concern that if SGA does not act soon on the plan, nothing will move forward.
  • She advocated for continuing The Monroe Doctrine (student publication) and suggested producing a paper.
  • SGA responded that this has already been discussed and plans are underway for a new communication platform.

SGA Response (Lisa & Margherita)

  • Emphasized that SGA is active and fully committed to gathering student voices.
  • Noted that the club (The Monroe Doctrine) is not currently in good standing: no papers have been published since Fall 2022.
  • For a club to remain active, it must meet requirements, which this organization has not.
  • SGA developed a new committee to create a new platform for students to receive campus news and programs.
  • As a result, SGA decided to suspend The Monroe Doctrine due to inactivity.

Additional Comments

  • Cory, a student expressed interest in writing for The Monroe Doctrine but was told that athletics already employs writers for coverage.
  • Leslie responded positively, encouraging his passion, and offered to email him (Cory) about future opportunities.
  • The former advisor to The Monroe Doctrine spoke, noting that the club lost momentum during COVID but that interest still exists. She highlighted the legacy of the paper and MCC’s need for campus media.
  • Mark (via Zoom, former student) also voiced concerns. He stressed that suspending the paper is a major decision that impacts the “college identity” and future students, since written work preserves history.

SGA Clarification (Elle)

  • Reassured that SGA is not silencing student voices but only suspending the paper temporarily until a reliable and active base is formed.
  • Emphasized that student-to-student communication remains a priority.

Leslie’s Question

  • Asked why she could not start a new club.
  • SGA clarified that she absolutely can; the suspension only applies to The Monroe Doctrine and WMCC as they are currently inactive organizations.

WMCC (Tamara Walker’s Concerns)

  • Asked about the criteria for suspending WMCC.
  • SGA noted there were no sign-up sheets or evidence of active membership.
  • SGA added that there were no students who were involved at the end of spring.
  • She also raised a concern about scholarships previously raised by WMCC and asked that funds be directed to communications students. SGA agreed to review this.

Student Proposal

  • A student suggested giving The Monroe Doctrine and WMCC a trial period to demonstrate activity before suspension.
  • Elle responded that suspension must still move forward but SGA is planning a student survey to gather feedback on preferred communication platforms (online, print, etc.).

Reports

  1. President Burno

    President Burno is eager to begin this new academic year as President of the Student Government Association with a new team, bringing fresh opportunities for growth and impact. Over the past few weeks, she has been working closely with her Vice President to ensure a smooth transition. On August 20, President Burno had the privilege of speaking at All College Day, where she shared with faculty members the work SGA has been doing and the goals for the year ahead. On Wednesday, September 3, she also had the chance to table for Student Government, engaging with students, introducing them to SGA, and encouraging them to get involved. In addition, President Burno recently conducted an interview with a candidate who is passionate about student government and who she believes will be a valuable asset to the team. Lastly, she is excited to announce that SGA has officially selected a Vice President who shares the same passion for student government and brings strong knowledge and experience to the role.

  2. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti

    This was the first public meeting for Margherita Rizzuti as Vice President of Governance, and she expressed her excitement in stepping into this new role. Since her appointment, Rizzuti has been working closely with President Lisa Bruno to strengthen their leadership, address student concerns, and stay aligned with the 2027 goals. Over the past few weeks, Rizzuti designed posters for Constitution Day, collaborated with President Bruno to create the poster for the Student Life Fair, which by the way was a great success. visited a COS class with President Bruno to introduce SGA to incoming students, and supported campus engagement efforts during the 9/11 period. She remains committed to promoting student involvement and advancing the mission of SGA. Rizzuti also thanked the entire SGA team for their hard work and dedication, and she wished everyone the best of luck as they move forward into a successful semester.

  3. Secretary of Governance Enaami

    Since the Last Tuesday meeting, Secretary of Government Hajer has been diligently taking minutes and ensuring that all members follow through on their responsibilities. She supported the Muslim Student Association during their tabling event, collaborating with SGA but primarily assisting MSA as they are just getting established. Hajer met with MSA members, explained important details, and reminded them about the upcoming training session on September 13th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, emphasizing full attendance. In addition, Hajer has been working to spread more awareness about SGA and its mission, actively encouraging students to get involved, which aligns with vision 2027. As a result, more students now know what SGA is and that we are looking for new members. On Friday, she also accompanied the MSA to RIT’s MSA for their first general body meeting, which proved to be a valuable experience. Additionally, Hajer has been actively involved in preparations for the 9/11 ceremony, expressing excitement for the upcoming practice session. She has also been ensuring alignment with MCC’s 2026–2027 vision. Hajer briefly attended part of the interview for the Downtown VP position. While she was not present for long, she highlighted that President Jalissa and VP Rizzuti did an excellent job leading the interview. Furthermore, on September 5th, Hajer and the team met with a student who is deeply passionate about journaling and student outreach. The meeting was highly successful, and the group reached meaningful conclusions. Hajer is very proud of the team’s progress and looks forward with great excitement to what lies ahead.

  4. Student Trustee Werven

    The Student Trustee introduces himself as the student trustee for the 2025-2026 academic year. He’s extremely excited to work with the student body and everyone sitting next to him today. Over the summer and during the start of the semester, Maddilynn and himself have been taking steps to create a committee called “student to student communication platform,” where they would then collaborate with the student body to find new and improved ways to share campus news. As a student himself, he’s excited to work on a much-needed renovation for student outreach. He also reiterated that the plan is to use students’ voices to the fullest on what THEY want. Not what WE think they want. On September 3rd, he helped table in the atrium during the student life fair. He did this to help inform students about SGA, the many opportunities that come from the leadership role, and most importantly, getting them in contact with the team to see if they can improve what SGA loves to do and potentially join the team.

  5. Health and Wellness Senator Keech

    The Health and Wellness Senator has started her office hours and has continued to train for her position and has been to one public meeting. The Health and Wellness Senator has also tabled with the club fair with the student government event to recruit new members. On Friday there were two interviews for new members of the student government. We all have also been preparing for the 9/11 ceremony. Everything has been planned, and all roles have been assigned. The Health and Wellness Senator has also planned a meeting the Electon Coordinator to work on the vison 2027 which our main goal is to increase Mental Health.

  6. Athletic Senator Breedy

    Athletic Senator Breedy has no report this week

  7. Residence Hall Senator Pottinger
    Residence Hall Senator Pottinger has no report this week
  8. Election Coordinator Reeves
    Election Coordinator Reeves has no report this week

New Business

  1. Action Items (requires a senate vote)
    1. Resolution to Approve the appointment of Margherita Rizzuti as the Vice President.

      Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the resolution of appointing request for Margherita Rizzuti.
      Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Breedy so moved, seconded by Senator Pottinger.
      Discussion: Margherita Rizzuti 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 Margherita Rizzuti, effective September 9th, 2025 at Monroe Community College.

    2. Resolution for the suspension of WMCC and the Monroe Doctrine.
      Resolved, The Monroe Community College Student Government Association approved the resolution to suspend WMCC and the Monroe Doctrine due to failure to meet the requirements of good standing with the Student Government Association.
      Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion to approve the resolution. Senator Keech so moved, seconded by Senator Breedy.
      Discussion: WMCC and the Monroe Doctrine have not 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 suspension of WMCC and the Monroe Doctrine effective September 9th, 2025 at Monroe Community College.

Discussion Items

  1. There were no discussion items.

Old Business

  1. There was no old business.

Questions and Comments

  1. There were no questions or comments

Adjournment

  1. Vice President of Governance Rizzuti called for a motion for adjournment.
    Senator Keech so moved, second by Senator Pottinger
  2. Meeting was adjourned at 3:34 pm.

Executive Session

Respectfully submitted,
Hajer Enaami
Secretary of Governance