SGA will begin college caucuses, consider funding water bottle refill station

The Student Government Association is looking to get feedback from students through the use of forums, and is considering partially funding a water bottle refill station on campus.

Senate Resolution No. 6, committing SGA to the creation of college forums, was passed at their weekly meeting on Oct. 20 with a unanimous vote.

Presented by Senator Nathaniel Steinlicht, the resolution will create mandatory college caucuses in SGA, so that senators are required to meet and discuss current issues with students, though it wasn’t clear from the resolution how many times they would be required each semester.

Steinlicht said this is a great opportunity for SGA.

“This is a chance to show students we are serious about representing them and care about what their needs are,” he said. “It’s about coming together as a school and hearing each other out.”

The caucuses will also let students know what SGA is doing and will allow them to suggest possible resolutions.

The College of Arts and Sciences, the Beacom School of Business, the School of Health Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, the Graduate School, the First-Year Class and the School of Education will all be represented by a college forum.

Senators that lead a caucus will set the time and location, and any student within that particular school will be welcome to attend. The caucuses will begin in November.

Along with the passing of Resolution No. 6, Senate Resolution No. 7 was brought to the table, which will partially fund a water bottle refill station on the first floor of the I.D. Weeks Library. The resolution was introduced by Senator Chelsea Gilbertson, who said it’s “a dream” to finally be getting filtered water.

The resolution asks for a one-time allocation of $1,250. The full amount needed for the high-low water bottle refill station is $2,750, according to the resolution.

The I.D. Weeks Library has committed to cover $1,500, according to the resolution.

Many SGA senators showed support for the resolution during the meeting.

Senator Logan Bullard said that the current refill station in the MUC has already saved more than 20,000 plastic bottles from being used this year.

“It gives a physical representation of all the water bottles that have been saved by using these stations,” he said.

Gilberston said she hasn’t gone to other sources for funding because it’s a project that is mainly between SGA and the library.

The library was chosen as a location for the refill station because it’s open to the public and students year-round.

The resolution was tabled and sent to the Finance Committee for further discussion. There will be a possible voting on the bill at next week’s meeting.