SGA Student Senate initiative committees provide progress reports

The final Official Senate meeting for the fall semester held in T.H. Harris Annex Hall on November 19 discussed the updates of the Senate Initiate Committees. The committees are built to improve situations and dissolve problems on the Southern University Baton Rouge Campus. Currently, the Initiate Committees are for: Campus Beautification, Campus Dining, Campus Safety, Childcare, Recycling and Sustainability, Special Events and Public Relations.
The goals for the Campus Beautification Committee listed on the agenda were to repaint the Lacumba statues located in front of the John B. Cade Library and the hedges in the front of campus, also painting flowers around the statues. The committee contacted Superintendent of Grounds, Cordell Veal, in regards to these changes, and is currently awaiting a response.
The Campus Dining Committee discussed goals such as: extending cafeteria hours, offering work-study for students dining after-hours, and opening “late night snack shops”. So far, Senators Jasmine Williams and Armond Duncan, who head this committee, have made contact with Aramark and are scheduling a meeting with Vice President Sara Mortin.
The Committee for Campus Safety discussed meeting with SUPD to discuss on-campus lighting and creating a GPS feature on the SUBR app that would provide the current location of the nearest bus. In meeting with the campus police department, the senate discovered that the police force does perform lighting checks on campus three times a week, however they only received one report. The senators are also developing a housing Swipe System, and have contacted several companies and scheduled an administrative meeting.
The goals for the Childcare Committee were discovering a location for an on-campus day care. A possible location would be the building located near Pinkie Thrift Hall, but according the Senator Bianca Brewington, “No one would speak about the old daycare.”
The Recycling and Sustainability Committee is considering adding a Recycling and Sustainability Committee in the Student Government Association, in order to get more students to be aware of sustainability in their daily lives. The senators proposed adding new bins around campus to promote the movement, as well as using waste bins already in place for recycling.
The goals for Special Events Committee listed on the agenda were creating Thanksgiving Baskets, and beginning a “Senate Night Out”. The group also has partnered with Association for Women Students for a Thanksgiving food drive titled “Thanks for Giving”. Their goal is to collect at least 1,127 items.
The Public Relations Committee reiterated the separate website for the SGA, and pushed the concept of Jag Alerts. The website outline is already created, and features each branch of SGA, and set to launch before the Spring 2015 semester begins. Jag Alerts would begin in the spring, and the goal of the concept is to bring awareness to involve on-campus residents in on-campus events.
The Senate will meet again in the spring to discuss more changes to campus life, and evaluate the current changes.