A soothing energy marked the beginning of the sixth general assembly of the Hamline Undergraduate Student Council (HUSC). The meeting began with a land acknowledgment by Internal President and senior Oliver Engstrom, followed by an executive board roll call led by the Board of Elected Representatives (BER) chair and senior Abbi Kutz.
Housing Representatives listed their issues after the roll call. Manor Representative and first-year Tilly Urbia noted abnormally large cockroaches on the second and third floors and in the laundry room, which Plunkett’s Pest Control, the company that handles the pests on campus, is immediately working on. Urbia issued a warning to all: do not squish the bugs because that attracts more. Dean of Students and HUSC advisor Patti Klein-Kersten noted that some of the most important things you can do to deal with pests is submit a work order immediately and find something to keep them in so Plunkett’s can identify the best course of action.
“We need to get a work order right away… catch [the pest] and put them in a jar [for Plunkett’s identification]. Cockroaches like paper so keep paper off the floor and dispose of that [paper] and food,” Klein-Kersten said.
Apartment Representative and sophomore Sam Luhman noted an increase of fruit flies on the first floor of the apartments due to the trash room. Klein-Kersten explained that efforts have been made to reduce the fruit flies.
“Residential life has fruit fly [traps] in their office, they have passed out plastic fruit fly apples [to attract them],” Klein-Kersten said.
Residential Life has passed out traps with apple cider, vinegar and dish soap to kill them.
Public Relations Committee chair and junior Mohamed Abdirahman emphasized the importance of proof of incidents when it comes to work orders.
“For all your incidents, try to take pictures. The more pictures you take the more work administration can do the next time you see something,” Abdirahman said.
Additionally, Klein-Kersten named residential life a resource for maintenance needs.
“Please call Residential Life, they are staffed to take phone calls and will put in work orders for you, and will call facilities right away. Don’t wait until [the] General Assembly,” Klein-Kersten said.
Treasurer and junior Matthew Maroney emphasized yet again the importance of documentation as it relates to maintenance.
“Tell us when it started, where it happened, what you’ve done about it, tell us how many people you’ve heard about it from, give us all the information,” Maroney said.
The dining committee will have nine different positions for students, such as a representative for a vegan or vegetarian position. The meeting will take place on Oct. 21 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the dining office. The last two dates of the free flu shot clinics are Oct. 9 and Oct. 15, and are open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Anderson Center 112.
The contract Hamline previously signed with Pepsi. Co for seven years will be renewed or reconsidered. That contract with them would affect all Pepsi Co.-related beverages in Leo’s Corner and the vending machines around campus. The Board of Executives Representatives (BER) will have a meeting taking place next Monday, Oct. 14 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The location will be announced in the coming days.
On Oct. 29, instead of the General Assembly, there will be the second annual meeting with the representatives in Anderson 112 at 11:30 a.m.
HUSC External President and junior Elisa Lopez gave a cordial report last Friday to the Board of Trustees on HUSC’s current agenda, the current representatives and how many people are involved in HUSC. Lopez also spoke with the Director of Housing and Residential Life Yolanda Hansen regarding the washers and dryers in Osborn and Shilling Halls. Lopez mentioned that she brought up issues revolving around Drew Fine Arts (DFA) not having key cards to Director of Public Safety Iliana Cantu Delgado to inquire if they can afford to place scanners on every door for better accessibility. Lopez also mentioned her check-ins with Food Resource Center (FRC) leadership for monthly meetings to discuss where funding is going and how their budget is being used.
An annual event titled “Take Back the Campus”, hosted by the Center for Gender+Sexualties (CG+S) will take place Oct. 23 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Alumni Way.
Hamline Marketing is doing a photoshoot for HUSC members, representatives and interested students from Oct. 16 to 18 to promote the university on billboards and bus stops. Interested students can sign up to be a part of this photoshoot by contacting Lopez at elopez03@hamline.edu.
The General Assembly announced a letter writing event for the Minnesota Private Colleges Council (MPCC) taking place on Oct. 15. A specific time and place will be announced in the coming days.
The Elected Official Bonanza takes place on Oct. 17 in partnership with the Hamline-Midway Coalition, as well as Hamline Votes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hamline Votes will make videos of HUSC members submitting 10 second videos of why they are voting this year.
Student athletes have noticed that vending machines do not offer healthier snack alternatives in their spaces and that changes could be made to fix the error.
According to Residential Life, there is a policy page that states that students must “Keep your key on you at all times.” They argue that when students neglect to carry their key, it goes against policy, allowing them to charge you the $25 dollar fee to unlock the door.
This week marks voter education week. The new Diversity Initiatives Steering Committee (DISC) representative Layla Abdullahi was introduced to the general assembly.
Klein-Kertsen mentioned that regarding the MPCC there was an amount decreased from the Minnesota State grant.
“There was an amount cut from anyone who got that grant, Hamline did work to make that up this year,” Klein-Kersten said. She included the importance of supporting private colleges so students can receive more aid.
As the conversation began to conclude, general assembly members enacted a motion to adjourn, seconded by all, swiftly ending the sixth HUSC General Assembly meeting.
