Vice President of Inclusive Excellence Kha Yang spoke about her role at St. Thomas, special elections were announced and a budget committee was formed to delegate extra activity fees at the Undergraduate Student Government general council meeting Thursday, Oct. 15.
Guest speaker: Kha Yang
Yang spoke upon request of USG about her role at St. Thomas and ongoing efforts by the university to combat prejudice and hate.
“Each of us have a shared responsibility to show respect and dignity and work towards a just and inclusive society, regardless of where we sit in the institution,” Yang said.
Yang was asked by USG to share an overview of the Public Safety audit. St. Thomas associate professor and law enforcement program coordinator Tanya Gladney is working to review “policies, practices, investigations and particularly to hear student voices,” according to Yang. Gladney was invited to this meeting but could not attend.
Sophomore class senator Angelica Franaschouk asked Yang how she expects the ongoing Public Safety audit to yield an unbiased result if it is conducted by someone within the university.
Yang encouraged the council to pose that question to Gladney in a future meeting.
Special elections
USG will vote on special elections Oct. 29.
Open positions include sophomore class senator, neighborhood senator for Macalester-Groveland, spirituality chair, transfer senator, diversity chair, commuter senator, first-year residential senator and senior class senator.
“We really want to encourage anyone that you think would be a good fit for those positions to run,” Vice President of Academic Affairs Tyran Daniels said.
Students have until Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. to submit their intent to run through Tommie Link. Candidates are then required to collect 25 signatures from classmates to run.
In the event of a tie, Student Body President Michael Sullivan will decide the election.
Additional funds from student activity fees
USG formed a special funding committee to decide how to spend additional funds from the student activity fee.
The student activity fee comes from all undergraduate, School of Divinity, full-time MBA and law school students. This fee covers campus events, speakers and activities. USG funding comes from this fee.
“The student activity fee stayed the same,” Sullivan said, “but some clubs aren’t meeting as much as they typically do.”
Sullivan encouraged the council to find projects that will benefit many students.
“We want to do something that has longevity and can help all students on our campus,” Sullivan said.
Denouncing hate resolution
USG unanimously voted to adopt a resolution denouncing hate.
This resolution denounces hate and white supremacy in all forms at St. Thomas in the hopes of setting a general precedence of acceptance on campus.
“One of the convictions of our university is dignity,” the resolution reads. “We respect the dignity of each person, and value the unique contributions that each brings to the greater mosaic of the university community.”
USG encouraged the university President’s Office to endorse this resolution or release a separate statement specifically denouncing white supremacy.
Club funding
USG confirmed a $2,835 budget for the Data Science and Analytics Club, which will be used for club specific events and catering.
Annie Terry can be reached at terr2351@stthomas.edu.