Student Government makes way through list of initiatives

Each year, Student Government (SG) has a long list of initiatives to complete in order to make the University of Miami experience better for all students.

This fall semester, SG has brought to campus Silence the Silence, a sexual violence public service announcement, Smart Meals, a free pass to the dining hall for 25 students and their professors in an effort to enhance the relationship between students and professors outside of the classroom, and it added charging stations to the Student Activities Center (SAC). SG also brought fall speaker David Coleman, also known as the Dating Doctor, to campus to share his advice with students . Next semester, SG has plans to make even bigger changes.

In regards to initiatives on sexual violence awareness and increasing understanding of sexual health, the PSA and fall speaker, which were in conjunction with a campus-wide initiative to end sexual violence on campuses across the nation, are just the beginning, said Julie Earl, SG director of communications.

This semester, SG also held a suggestion day that gave students an opportunity to ask questions or give comments in an effort to boost transparency and better representation of the student population.

“We had about 400 students come to speak to the different senators during tabling,” said Brianna Hathaway, speaker of the senate. “We got a lot of helpful suggestions about things to improve upon our campus.”

However, even with the large turnout, some students say they remain uniformed about SG’s impact.

“I know nothing about SG,” said junior Marissa Rykowski.

Rykowski, who was sitting in the SAC using the new charging station, giggled when she realized she was taking advantage of one of SG’s newest implements.

“This is really useful,” Rykowski said. “My phone dies all of the time.”

There are a number of projects in the process of being completed by early next semester.

The addition of solar panels and lights on the gliders across campus, a project led by SG member Ivan Anderson, was approved this semester and is expected to be implemented as soon as possible.

“We want to provide an avenue for students to be able to study and socialize on gliders at all times of the day, all while becoming more environmentally responsible,” Anderson said.

As part of making the campus environmentally friendly, SG plans on launching a Sustainability Scholarship Competition and getting water bottle filters on each floor of the dorms.

SG also has plans to expand the shuttle route to Trader Joes and Wynwood, to add capacity trackers for the shuttles and dining halls, and to add hot water stations across campus.

In addition, SG representatives are working on extending the class repeat rule for all students.

The extension, which is only for freshmen, will allow students to who receive a C minus or lower in a class to retake it.