Reporting Period for October 2024

Executive Summary

In October, SGA made significant strides in student engagement, transparency, and project development. Key initiatives included logistics planning for student events, proposing a $72.30 student activity fee increase, and launching the new SGA website and Gold Book. Meetings with university leadership addressed student concerns, including regaining academic scholarships and improving advisor support. The SGA resource room received new AV equipment, and campus-wide communication upgrades are in progress. Efforts to cut costs, such as motion sensor lighting and food waste reduction, were initiated. Challenges included high XUPD event costs and survey approval delays. Financially, SGA maintained balanced spending across initiatives, with notable funds allocated for Homecoming and student events.

I. Meetings

1. SGA Executive Board Meeting: October 10, 2024

• Key Points Discussed:
▪ Planned the logistics of the October Student Body Meeting. ▪ Planned the logistics for Trunk-Or-Treat on October 31.

2. Inter-Organizational Council Meeting: October 14, 2024

• Key Points Discussed:

  • ▪  The IOC voted to propose an increase to the student activity fee by $72.3 per year for the next 5

    years to cap out at $500.

  • ▪  The Big 5 Council Chartering Act (SGAB 80.3) was introduced.

  • ▪  A new process to verify service hours was introduced by the Office of Inclusion & Social Justice.

3. Student Body Meeting: October 22, 2024

• Key Points Discussed:

  • ▪  Homecoming events and safety were covered by XUPD and Miss Xavier.

  • ▪  The SGA Website and the Gold Book were released and explained.

  • ▪  The potential Activity Fee increase was explained by Vice President Lovejoy alongside the

    process for Constitutional Amendment voting.

  • ▪  The Academic Advising survey was introduced, though I have paused it until it is reviewed by

    the Institutional Research Officer.

4. Meetings With Administrators:

  • Board of Trustees: October 7 & October 11

    • ▪  I presented to the Student Affairs Committee the platform of the Reimagined Administration, what we have accomplished, and what was identified as roadblocks.

    • ▪  The SGA Vice President informed the Academic Affairs committee that we are advocating for students to regain lost academic scholarships, improving the faculty advisor system, and determining why non-STEM majors feel undervalued at Xavier.

    • ▪  It was highlighted that students are ignoring information from administration through email and a more effective mode of communication needs to be identified.

  • Vice President of Student Affairs, Curtis Wright: October 8 & October 22
    We went through the feedback provided by the class council officers and discussed what needs to change.

  • ▪  We discussed discrepancies with the Physician Assistant and MAX allocations in the budget.

  • ▪  We investigated into possible external funds to be given to SGA, such as the $15k set aside from

    the pouring rights contract Coca-Cola.

  1. Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Marguerite Giguette: October 29, 2024

    • ▪  We went through the global surveys that SGA plans to release for the year.

    • ▪  We agreed that SGA will not release any more global surveys in order to not interfere with the

      University’s surveys.

  2. 5. Meeting With SGA Officers:

    • Morning Briefings with the SGA Vice President and the Chief of Staff

      ▪ These were used to set goals for each week. Details of the goals can be found in sections II & III.

    • Weekly Meetings with the Presidential Interns

      ▪ The initiatives that they started this month were improving the XCOR curriculum, a housing improvement project in KD, improving emails from administrators, and timely communication for student events.

    • October 28, 2024 with the SGA Chief Justice
      ▪ Ensured that the officers in the Executive Branch completed their bylaw duties and met their

      deadlines.

      II. Initiatives and Projects

  3. 1. Ongoing Initiatives:

    • Better Informing the Student Body

      • ▪  We are currently trying to set up a contract with the vendor we chose for the campus-wide texting system.

      • ▪  We began using the USB drives to upload information on the TVs in the cafeteria, Library, DP, and KD, but this process is not sustainable. The office of Information Technology has bought 3 new TVs and a system for us to display information on them from our computer. This will be complete in early November.

      • ▪  The Big 5 Newsletter has been canceled, as we will be spreading information through campus TVs.

    • Increasing Transparency to the Student Body
      ▪ Our TV and sound system will be installed in the SGA Resource Room on 10/1, and a student

      lobbying form was created. I am waiting for us to solidify our meeting dates during November

      and December to begin conducting public executive board meetings.

    • Implementing Cost-Saving Practices for the University
      ▪ The Secretary of Sustainability has begun creating a proposal to implement a food waste

      reduction program and for many lights in public buildings to be converted to motion sensor

      lighting.

    • Aiding Where we Can in the Mental Health Crisis

      • ▪  The Presidential Interns have been creating proposals to present to the companies that they chose

        to pursue Xavierite discounts from.

      • ▪  The Department of Health and Human Services is currently drafting a wholistic Students’

        Wellbeing Policy.The Secretary of Academic Policy has begun working with the Provost to advocate for students to be allowed to regain a lost academic scholarship.

      • ▪  The Secretary of Innovation has submitted a proposal to the administration to improve outdoor study spaces.

      • Improving the Academic Experience

        • ▪  The Secretary of Academic Affairs has created an academic advisor survey for students to gauge

          their current experience with their academic advisors. It is on hold until November for approval.

        • ▪  This secretary has also created a survey to determine why non-STEM majors feel undervalued by

          the institution, which is also pending approval before being sent in November.

      • Improving the Performance of Student Leaders

        • ▪  The Senate has begun a campaign to educate the student body about the student activity fee and

          the vote needed to increase it until amendment voting occurs in November.

        • ▪  We have started working towards getting all active RSOs a XULA email address.

      • Increasing SGA’s Funding Opportunities
        ▪ We are receiving $15,000 of funding to our budget from the pouring rights contract Coca-Cola.

      • Alleviate SGA Financial Process Issues
        ▪ A meeting has been scheduled with Fiscal Services to occur during the first week of November.

      • Increasing Student Engagement in Events

        • ▪  The company that created the new mascot is sending new skin types. Once that is decided, the

          school will send the current mascot back to be reskinned. I don’t expect to see the mascot until at

          least February.

        • ▪  We are working with the administration to create a consistent policy for the cost of XUPD at

          student events.

      • Student Concerns and Requests During the Term

        • ▪  We’ve created a virtual suggestion box and uploaded it to our Link Tree and SGA Website.

        • ▪  We have started working with the administration to improve the administrative staff’s verbal

          communication with students.

        • ▪  I am waiting to hear a plan from President Verret on how the University offices will improve

          their response times to students.

          III. Accomplishments

      1. Major Achievements:

      • The new SGA website has been released, offering far more transparency. (xulasga.com)

      • The Gold Book has been released.

      • I passed Executive Order 80.6 to simplify the funding process for RSOs in hopes to encourage better

        events.

      • We have successfully advocated for more seating to be placed in the UC Horseshoe.

        IV. Challenges and Issues

      1. Current Challenges:

      • While we were planning the tailgate that we wanted to hold 2 weeks after homecoming, we ran into a couple of tailgate restrictions regarding XUPD that I would like to have removed so that we can

      maximize engagement and enjoyment. Therefore, that tailgate will not occur until we can solidify a new

      policy.

      • As we were beginning to roll out a couple of surveys, we were told that the surveys could only be

        released if approved by the Institutional Research Officer. While that makes sense and is perfectly fine by SGA, informing us about this sooner would have allowed us to send these surveys for approval months in advance. Future SGA administrations will be informed of this process during their transition period.

      • The rates of having XUPD at student events has posed a problem for all student organizations. It has also played a factor in our pep rally, Midnight Madness, not occurring this semester. We hope to come to a middle ground with the administration soon.

      • When organizations are holding events, and something is not according to plan, it is far too strenuous

      attempting to get into contact with UC Set Up. I have asked for a and he is currently working on it.

      solution to be found from my advisor,

      V. Financial Report through October 30

      Leadership Summit
      Welcome Back Week + Eboard Programming

      Student Body Meetings Cabinet
      Administration Projects

      Department of Finance Department of Communications Royal Court
      Internship
      Executive Board Apparel Administration Apparel Photography
      Office Supplies and Refreshments Miscellaneous Expenses (IOC) Admin Performance Pay
      Retreat

      $5,673.59

      $7,650.00 $2,000.00 $11,660.00 $7,379.00 $1,500.00 $5,425.00 $5,700.00 $21,486.68 $5,110.00 $975.00 $3,800.00 $675.00 $200.00 $0.00 $1,800.00 $3,436.55

      $5,458.88

      $5,740.31 $580.36 $465.16 $7,379.58 $503.16 $1,027.30 $1,957.62 $16,067.29 $1,882.69 $955.00 $3,683.00 $675.00 $135.78 $1,307.29 $100.00 $3,436.55

      $214.71

      $1,909.69 $1,419.64 $11,198.84 -$0.58 $503.16 $4,397.70 $3,742.38 $5,419.39 $3,227.31 $20.00 $117.00 $0.00 $64.22 $1,307.29 $20,600.00 $0.00

      Amount Division Category Total Allocation Amount Spent Remaining

      Executive Branch Total $117,240.82 $54,720.18 $67,214.42

      Staff Stipends
      President's Discretionary Fund

      $22,950.00 $9,820.00

      $4,825.00 $16,275.00

      $10,017.00 $11,203.00 $12,080.00 $13,260.00

      $100,000.00

      $40,000.00 $4,800.00

      $5,567.00 $1,160.00 $1,160.00 $1,840.00 $2,080.00

      $22,950.00 $3,710.33

      $1,517.38

      $11,255.76

      $3,166.73 $3,622.93 $5,740.58 $3,534.11

      $0.00

      $19,269.55 $3,635.22

      $3,583.90 $320.00 $196.02 $499.59 $0.00

      $0.00 $6,109.67

      $3,307.62

      $5,019.24

      $6,850.27 $7,580.07 $6,339.42 $9,725.89

      $100,000.00

      $20,730.45 $1,164.78

      $1,983.10 $840.00 $963.98 $1,340.41 $2,080.00

      Legislative Branch Judicial Branch Class Councils

      Homecoming

      BIG 5

      PSA

      Senior Class Council Junior Class Council Sophomore Class Council Freshman Class Council

      (Haven't Begun Documentation)

      Xavier Activities Board Mobilization at Xavier 2.0 (Before Increase)

      Executive Board P1
      P2
      P3

      P4

      Per aspera ad astra, Chase Patterson