Student Government (SG) Assembly discussed major upcoming initiatives at their first assembly meeting of the year, held at the Booth School of Business Harper Center last Monday.
A central concern brought up by SG President Sat Gupta was the difficulties faced by undergraduate students when returning to the University after leave. According to Gupta, students who leave the College, whether for health reasons or under forced leave by the University, have said that they have a hard time registering for classes and were not informed about their housing situation until right before the start of the quarter.
Gupta also noted that students have experienced a lack of communication from the bursar’s and financial aid offices, as well as a lack of information on the University website, such as the absence of data relating to the provision of housing.
The assembly passed a resolution regarding the student leave issue which would emphasize its importance and relevance while also serving as an incentive for the University to take more immediate action in solving this problem.
In Gupta’s words, while the resolution “doesn’t really have teeth”—that is, it does not give SG direct influence over leave-related policies or the power to make the administration fix this issue—it does give SG and its representatives “more legitimacy, [which can] hurry up the administration to treat [this issue] like a priority.”
SG Vice President for Administration Natalie Jusko proposed starting an SG initiative to reinstate shuttle services to both Midway and O’Hare airports near the beginning and end of breaks. SG ran a similar program a few years ago, which proved popular with students. Its ending in 2016 was met with outcry from some students.
SG Vice President for Student Affairs Malay Trivedi discussed the upcoming Illinois Student Sexual Misconduct Conference, which will be held on November 9 at Ida Noyes Hall. After the conference, conference participants will send an open letter to the newly elected governor and attorney general of Illinois.
