By: Emmalee Anglemyer
Staff-Writer, Layout Editor
The March 28 Student Government Association Meeting focused on hearing funding requests and reviewing Student Belongingness Survey Results.
Vice President David Saleh announced this week’s Senator Shout-out, Jesuri Garcia Vazquez. Saleh said Garcia Vazquez prioritizes self-development and has grown personally and professionally since joining the SGA. Garcia Vazquez is a first-generation student, and her background has encouraged her to ensure that all student voices are heard.
The Math Club was the first in a string of three funding requests SGA heard this week. Math Club President Allie Pozorski presented a request for members to attend the annual Mathematical Association of America Tri-State Competition and Conference, held April 4 and 5 at Northern Kentucky University.
Pozorski said the club hopes the event will give students the opportunity to “learn to work together, collaborating on math” and to network in the field. They requested $940 for mini-bus transportation, registration fees and hotel rooms for the students and faculty.
Club adviser Kyle Schwieterman confirmed when asked that the math department could cover the expenses for faculty to attend. Ultimately, the SGA funded $600 to cover registration, transportation and lodging for the student attendees.
Next, Senator Garcia Vazquez and Housing Liaison Aldon McCrosson requested $2,500 for catering at the Campus Leadership Awards Ceremony on March 30, which was approved in full..
Finally, the Muslim Student Association requested reimbursement funding for their Inter-Faith Fast-A-Thon event, including an iftar dinner. Vice President Saleh, also President of the MSA, presented the $1,150 request, covering food and decorations. Saleh said the club expected 50-60 attendees but had over 100 turn out to the event, where the club held discussions about Islam and Muslim observances. The senate approved the full reimbursement.
Vice Chancellor Kory Vitangeli shared the results of the IU South Bend 2024 Belongingness Survey. The survey went out to students via email and the Daily Titan in October 2024 and encouraged voluntary participation. In the end, only ~5% of students responded to the survey, making it statistically insignificant. However, the demographics who responded were generally representative of the campus population, with undergraduate students being the demographic which responded the most.
Vitangeli said the main takeaways were that “additional training around Title IX policies and reporting” is necessary and that there should be “opportunity for greater awareness of reporting mechanisms for campus,” especially for part-time students.
The survey also suggested that the administration should continue “finding ways to continue to educate [the] entire campus around harassment, discrimination and violence,” which may include “additional training across campus for employees.”
SGA elections ended this week, and Chief Justice Ben Fox said that election results would be out by April 1. He also reported that there are three senate positions still open with the SGA for next school year.
Finally, Senator Bailey Boyd and Senator Tania Vazquez were appointed to the SGA’s funding request committee.
The SGA meets every Friday from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in SAC 225. These meetings are public, and students are encouraged to attend.
