Quiet chatter dispersed among the crowd, as the second meeting of the Hamline Undergraduate Student Council (HUSC) General Assembly came to order. The meeting began with an introduction by Internal President Oliver Engstrom, followed by a roll call of executive board members.
The agenda included a number of items, including a speech from the new Coordinator of Gender + Sexualities Student Program Eli Scriver and two amendments: one to create a student representative for transfer students and another to create a student representative for sustainability practices.
Scriver introduced himself before diving right into the progress that the Center for Gender + Sexualities (CG+S) has already made this year. One such change relates to the center’s hours of operation. In past years, CG+S hours have been very limited, as a student worker was required to be present. However, Scriver has extended these hours to 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., seven days a week. He warns that the doors might be locked, but a simple call to public safety will get you inside. Although there are genuine resources available in the center, such as menstrual products, books, or food supplies, Scriver also indicates that the space can be much so more.
He concluded his speech with a shameless plug for CG+S events coming up: Hamline’s StepUP! Bystander Prevention seminar in November and the Q-Unity retreat for LGBTQ+ and allied students on October 11-12. To learn more, email CG+S at genderplussexualities@hamline.edu.
Executive board members Abbi Kutz and Alexandra Kretsch followed Scriver, where they introduced an amendment to the HUSC constitution, adding a student representative for sustainability. HUSC currently has a student representative for basic needs, but sustainability practices are not encompassed in this role. The role of the sustainability representative would largely be a middle ground between students and the appropriate offices. After a couple of questions from general assembly members regarding logistics, it came time to vote. With a majority of yes’s from the executive board and a unanimous community vote, the amendment passed.
Kutz and Kretsch then proposed a second amendment. This amendment focuses on adding a transfer student representative. After Kutz read through the amendment, the floor was opened for questions. A couple of general assembly members, who also happened to be transfer students, vocalized their support for the amendment. Kretsch emphasized that while Hamline prides itself on an openness to transfer students, the support often doesn’t extend past their first couple of days on campus. The amendment passed with a unanimous community vote and a majority vote from the executive board.
Engstrom gave the closing remarks and the second meeting of the HUSC General Assembly was adjourned.