Happy Wednesday! Here are the updates from Monday’s Senate meeting (4/22).

Initiative updates

• There will be a meeting with Retriever Essentials, for an upcoming event on addressing food insecurity

• There was a meeting with Commons Operations about efficient ways to enrich students with technology.

• There were talks about charging stations but are being reconsidered as stats from other places with charging stations have seen a interest in the beginning but have died down throughout the years. There needs to be something that will be effective in the long run.

• There may be more outlets added onto market street.

• Quad outlets with USB cables have also been considered.

• Reached out to Muslim Student Association and Brittany Brown with student statistics and will be waiting for a response back.

• For the Breaking the Silence event, on May 8th from 5-6:30PM at Sportszone, we have two confirmed panelists Carlos at Mosaic and Tammy Henderson from Africana Studies Department. We are still waiting for a response from the other potential panelists.

• There is another meeting with Erin to work out final details.

Good afternoon and happy Wednesday! Here are the updates from Monday’s Senate meeting on April 15th.

General Public Forum

• An issue that was brought to attention to increasing access in the buildings as those in wheelchairs or dealings with some other physical impediment have difficulty getting to their desired locations- particularly classes in the upper levels of the fine arts building.

Communications Updates

• Student Dining

• There have been talks about rebranding True Grits with new furniture, pictures, and more.

• Campus Friendly Campaigns to be more eco-friendly will include:

• Compostable lids

• Skip the Straw campaign

• The SGA Executive Council initiative will look to promote reusable bags.

• Upcoming events to look forward to include:

• April 17th

• Chicken sub pop-up

• Food Truck Fridays and Wednesdays starting 4/17

• Coopers

• Ice Gems

• April 24th

• For Stop Food Waste Day, there will be a prize wheel and demo using a hydroponic garden.

• April 27th

• Iron Chef Competition

• There is a sign-up form online through social media sites (@UMBC Dining)

• April 29th

• Cultural Cuisine Day

• Halal Night UMBC Muslim Student Association (MSA)

• Masala has gone completely halal.

• Chicken cheesesteak at Pollo.

• Milkshakes to come at UMBC’s Chick-fil-A.

• University Steering Committee

• From the discussions about Retriever Courage, the structure was discussed, emphasizing a two-way communication.

• There is still a need to train 1700+ of the 2800 faculty members on sexual violence

• Student sexual violence training is coming through several outlets in order to get the entire student body involved.(Freshmen orientation and integration into arts and humanities classes.

• There are plans to rebuild the Human Relations Committee.

Senate Initiatives

• We have gotten in contact with Dan Barnhart and will be connected to the operations system to discuss on how to increase the access to outlets for charging- possibly charging stations.

• Yasmin Carter (@ycarter1@umbc.edu) will accept input on how to improve the library (ex. Charging stations, outlets, etc.)

• The Diversity Thinking: A Global Perspective event will be held on May 1st from 3:30PM-5:30PM to talk about interdisciplinary studies and encourage collaboration among different majors. This event will be catered by Peace o’ Pizza.

• A refresh of UMBC’s Bike-Share program has been given the okay and will be implemented in the Spring or early Fall. While there is no final decision, there are plans for the bike racks to be near the Library, Walker Apartments, and the RAC.

• The mental-health awareness event, Breaking the Silence, will be at SportsZone on May 8th from 5PM-6:30PM.

• If any faculty would like to be a panelist contact Bisola Amodu at (b167@umbc.edu)

• After meeting with Retriever Essentials, there is an upcoming event on addressing food insecurity, that will be held every semester.

• There was a meeting with a representative from both the English Language Institute and the Student Disability Services groups to discuss how to mobilize disparate groups.

Please review the attachment for Budget Planning Meetings from E&CS and attend at your convenience!

Good morning everyone! Here are some initiative updates from the Senate meeting on April 8th.

Senator Initiatives:

• There is an upcoming meeting to discuss food essentials.

• We are working on finalizing a space for a food pantry. There is no official space yet but finalizations will be coming soon.

• The Mental-Health initiative is on! Date and location coming soon!

• There was a meeting with a representative from Transfer Students to discuss how to help international and students with disabilities.

• The date for the STEM / non-STEM event will be pushed back because a room could not be reserved. More updates will come when a new date is decided upon.

• Upcoming meeting for a Transfer Student Support Committee

• Any questions that can be asked during a Town Hall meeting, send them to Brandon Liu (bliu3@umbc.edu).

• There is a meeting with NAMI and ELI this week to discuss experiences of students with disabilities and international students.

General:

• UMBC is undertaking a new initiative to change its branding. The “Honors University” brand is working well for UMBC at the undergraduate level, but it is not indicative of the institution as a whole. Instead, UMBC is now branded as a “community of inquiring minds”. For more information on branding and its impact on student life, please email mir@umbc.edu as input is definitely encouraged.

• Senate will be hosting a General Public Forum on Monday, April 15th at 5:35 p.m. where any student can bring concerns forward to the SGA Senate that are unrelated to the budget. If you would like to participate, please fill out this Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8of5tkU7CjOvR4EwW89K1SdiRLfTrOANu4au7fP-tMwgyUw/viewform?usp=sf_link

• The Student Administrative Academic Advising Committee has updated the “audit doughnut” which shows an accurate view of your degree audit. They are encouraging students to plan their classes and walk through registration in new ways. They are making the process for advising easier when you switch majors.

Initiatives:

• There will be a meeting with Assistant Chief Bruce Perry to discuss plans for student outreach to the campus police.

• There is an upcoming meeting with a representative for an initiative to reduce UMBC’s STEM stigma.

• Upcoming meeting for a Transfer Student Support Committee

• Any questions that can be asked during a Town Hall meeting can be sent to Brandon Liu (bliu3@umbc.edu).

Happy Tuesday everyone! Here are some updates on policies and initiatives from Monday’s Senate meeting (3/25/2019).

General:

• Senate will be hosting a General Public Forum on Monday, April 15th at 5:35 p.m. where any student can bring concerns forward to the SGA Senate that are unrelated to the budget. If you would like to participate, please fill out this Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8of5tkU7CjOvR4EwW89K1SdiRLfTrOANu4au7fP-tMwgyUw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Shared Governance:

• Library Policy

• Currently in phase 1 and in the process of discussing ideas for the library renewal.

• Theorizing and coming up with our goals to present to the steering committee

Senator Initiatives:

• We have gotten word back that the Mental Health Forum was approved.

• There will be a meeting with Assistant Chief Bruce Perry to discuss plans for student outreach to the campus police.

• There is an upcoming meeting with a representative for an initiative to reduce UMBC’s STEM stigma.

• There is a goal in mind to create a contract with a bike vendor and renew the UMBC’s bike-share program. While the end goal date is not set in place, there are hopes for by the end of this spring semester.

• Upcoming meeting for a Transfer Student Support Committee

• Any questions that can be asked during a Town Hall meeting, send them to Brandon Liu (bliu3@umbc.edu).