The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) College Council (CC) passed a resolution on Monday calling on the Election & Rules Committee (E&R) to establish a centralized communication system for election updates and information.
Class of 2029 Representative Gavin Wynn introduced the Equal Access to Election Information Act last week, which requires information to be communicated to all potential USG candidates in future elections before petition signatures are verified. Previously, only candidates serving on CC received email communication before signature verification.
CC also discussed the USG’s proposed 2026-2027 budget, which funds registered student organizations (RSOs). CC Chair Ben Fica said that Dean of Students in the University, Michael Hayes, and the University administration had rejected USG’s request for a $350,000 increase. “That was 17 percent, and that was to accommodate for the 10 percent increase in total RSOs, along with the costs of inflation,” Fica said. “We were told that we would not be getting anything close to that.”
The Student Advocate’s Office (SAO), an independent branch of USG that provides advice and support to undergraduates facing University disciplinary processes, provided its annual report to CC. The co-head student advocates, Jessie Wang and Leena Saif, acknowledged that while there was a sharp increase in AI-related cases last academic year, there has been no significant increase this year. They noted the need for improved marketing to ensure students are aware of SAO.
CC also considered a resolution to remove committee members who neglect their duties. The proposal would allow chairs to designate members they do not expect to attend. This would replace the current case-by-case suspension process.
Wynn also introduced a resolution, Support for the Chicago Phoenix Presidential Debate, to provide $200 from CC’s $1,500 discretionary budget for food at the unofficial USG presidential debate hosted by the Chicago Phoenix, a student-run magazine.
Initially, the resolution received mixed support as members raised concerns about providing funding for an event hosted by a group that is not an RSO or officially sponsored by USG. “If this isn’t a USG event,” Class of 2026 representative Pavlik Braverman said, “and it’s important that it’s not a USG event, then non-USG events sponsored by USG is a weird look.” The resolution was then amended to formally recognize USG’s role in hosting the event.
Following a brief executive session—which required all non–CC members, including the Maroon, to exit the room—opponents dropped their objections and passed the resolution unanimously. CC members suspended procedure to do so. CC Vice Chair Kevin Guo exited the room and did not record a vote or abstention.
College Council holds weekly public meetings in Stuart Hall 104 on Mondays at 7 p.m.
