On March 12, Student Government met to discuss the progress that the committees have made thus far.
The chairs of the Academic Affairs Committee, the Student Affairs Committee and the director of Business Affairs summarized data and findings from recent meetings. Senators and Co-Chairs Lauren Hoffman ‘25 and Abby Walker ‘27 of the Academic Affairs committee received 89 responses from their Development & Donuts event this past February. They compiled this data into three different sets, categorized by first, second and third-year students. The data is currently under review in order to assess the climate of students towards academics here at JCU.
In addition, another long-term project that has made extensive progress is a focus on American Sign Language (ASL) here at JCU. As of now, ASL counts toward the language core requirement, and students interested in learning sign language can transfer credits over from another university if they so choose.
Unfortunately, not many students are aware of this opportunity and Senators Hoffman and Walker are looking to raise awareness of this option. They also have been looking into bringing ASL into JCU’s selection of languages students can take in. The committee co-chairs feel that this would form a more inclusive environment and possibly create more engagement within the language department.
The Student Affairs Committee shared details regarding their meeting with Parkhurst Dining. Senators and Co-Chairs Tyler Capron ‘25 and Jeff Sinclair ‘26, as well as Senator Luke Kirchberger ‘27 were able to ask questions and make suggestions concerning dining options here at JCU. The biggest improvements so far have been more ways to use both dining dollars and meal swipes. Starting in fall 2024, students will be able to use their dining dollars at Fairmount Circle, which would include Pizzazz, Boaz and Dave’s Cosmic Subs. In addition, students will be able to use a meal swipe to pick up personalized grocery bags. The various selections for these groceries are being finalized, but the bags will be reusable in order to encourage environmental sustainability.
Lastly, Director of Business Affairs Mike Noonan ‘26 was also able to use data to show decisions made from the most recent Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee (SAFAC) meeting. The most significant change was the decision to shift funding for six various programs out of the Student Activity Fund (SAF). The programs that will no longer be receiving SAF funds are DSECB Personnel, JCUEMS, Health Center, Resident Ministry Program, Shuttle Program and Student Wellness. SAFAC concluded that since they did not have jurisdiction over changes in funding within these programs, it made no sense to continue funding them from the SAF budget. These programs are still being operated from another budget.
Senators and committee chairs were able to effectively show their progress thus far and intend to continue working on these projects and many others in order to continue to improve upon the JCU student experience.
Additional news from this meeting that you might have missed:
- Senators Lily Free ‘24 and Abby Birch ‘24 will be collaborating on the next Instagram takeover.
- President Morgan Anderson ‘25 and Vice President Mike White ‘25 ask upperclassmen to continue to encourage participation at JCU events.
