Valentina Mendoza Gonzalez, Student Council president and third-year Batten student, presented updates on several current efforts being led by the executive board at the final Student Council General Body meeting of the Spring 2024 semester. Student Council also passed two bills, one of which finalized the appointment of fourth-year College student Isaac Glasser as a new director within the organizations branch, which oversees and supports student groups on Grounds, and another which recognized eight new student groups as Contracted Independent Organizations.
In the administrative reports section of the meeting, Mendoza Gonzalez, president and third-year Batten student, presented on several current efforts being led by the executive board. Because Student Council continues to work on developing and maintaining programs for the fall semester over the course of the summer, several discussions have continued with University administration regarding new initiatives.
According to Mendoza Gonzalez, these initiatives include the development of a potential grant for student leaders, which has been discussed with University President Jim Ryan. A second task force has been discussing, with Dean of Admission Greg Roberts, the possibility of creating a new visitation program for high school seniors, which would allow prospective University students from underrepresented backgrounds to tour Grounds.
Mendoza Gonzalez also said she will be meeting with Kenyon R. Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, to discuss further strategies for the Student Council Endowment Fund, which allocates $750,000 to Student Council over a period of three years. Mendoza Gonzalez also noted the significant impact that the endowment has had on Student Council’s operations thus far.
“This is real money, and that’s a lot of money that students are handling,” Mendoza Gonzalez said. “That’s super cool in student self-governance.”
The endowment, which Ryan announced Fall 2023, funds Student Council services such as those provided by the Support and Access Services branch. Creating the visitation program and expanding the endowment fund were both key points of Mendoza Gonzalez’s campaign leading up to the Spring 2024 elections.
During the legislative session, Student Council unanimously passed SB24-25, which recognized eight new student groups as CIOs. CIO recognition allows student groups to qualify for certain benefits on Grounds, including the ability to reserve University spaces for organization meetings and apply for financial support from Student Council’s Student Activities Fund.
The new CIOs recognized included The Spectra: The Virginia Engineering and Science Research Journal, the Cosplay, Costuming and Crafts Club, Cricket Club, Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Student Association, The Civil Discourse Initiative, College Companions and Compassionate Connections Initiative, Night Train B and Graduate Sports Club. Andreas Masiakos, representative body chair and third-year College student, said the student groups met the criteria for CIO approval.
“Our job is, again, not to vet the organizations based on their purpose,” Masiakos said. “[Our job is to ensure] just whether they are satisfying the objective requirements that we set.”
These five criteria include having at least 10 members, with more than half being students, maintaining student officers to lead the organization, keeping and updating a constitution, signing a CIO agreement and non-discrimination policy, and formulating a proposed plan to ensure the longevity of the organization.
Student Council also passed a second bill regarding the appointment of a new director for the Board of Audit and Management Committee. Ryan Bowers, vice president for organizations and third-year Commerce student, appointed Glasser for the position, which oversees the auditing of Student Council’s appropriation allocations of SAF funds.
The BAM Committee’s responsibility is to conduct audits in order to ensure SAF funding and Student Council allocations are dispersed fairly and accurately. BAM randomly selects CIO funding requests each rolling round of applications, investigates how allocations were made and communicates any potential issues or notes to the Appropriations Committee.
Glasser’s role will involve overseeing these operations and serving as a liaison for organization officers and the representative body. Though Bowers could not be present at the meeting, Mendoza Gonzalez spoke on his behalf.
“Ryan has waited to make sure that this person is the best-suited for the role,” Mendoza Gonzalez said. “He is very confident in Isaac.”
Student Council may meet with administrators to discuss new initiatives over Zoom during the summer, according to Masiakos. They will meet again for general body sessions beginning the next academic term.
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