SGA President Samantha Zwerling
Couldn’t make it to this week’s Student Government Association meeting? Here’s what you missed:
Councilman Robert Day seeks student input on city issues
District 3 Councilman Robert Day spoke briefly about local infrastructure projects and his desire to bring students into discussions about the future of College Park.
“We should be working with students on all the boards and commissions throughout the city because there’s a view and an input that we need,” Day said. “We as a council have really taken a wrong look … it’s not just the student that’s part of our community, it’s the SGA, the fraternities, the sororities that have been here the whole time. They’re not new.”
Day also said the city needs new and better infrastructure to attract the “90 percent of people” who drive through College Park without stopping.
In response to an SGA member’s question, Day said there is no need to change the existing noise standards, but rather it’s a matter of working effectively within the existing system.
Day is an incumbent candidate running against incumbent Stephanie E. Stullich and graduate student Matthew Popkin for one of two District 3 council seats.
Day and Popkin will both attend the Hillel Candidate Forum, which will be co-sponsored by the SGA, on Oct. 3.
SGA president attends discussion on health care
SGA President Sam Zwerling met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act on college campuses.
One outstanding goal, she said, is to reach out to seniors leaving the university who may not know or understand their new health care options and requirements.
“We want seniors who are leaving this little bubble to know there are options available,” Zwerling said.
She also expressed concerns that not enough money invested in higher education is going toward mental health.
New student group
The SGA approved one new student group this week: Meatless Mondays, which is dedicated to promoting a vegetarian lifestyle by not eating meat on Mondays.
Weekly constituent polling
The results of the SGA’s constituent polling this week showed most students polled think the coursework in their majors is preparing them for the workforce, and a plurality of students polled approved of a small fee increase to support a University Health Center shuttle service.
Of the students polled, architecture students unanimously agreed that their coursework was preparing them for the workforce, whereas students in the behavioral and social sciences college, as well as the computer, mathematical, and natural sciences college, more frequently said theirs isn’t doing enough.
