In a continuation of the Undergraduate Student Government’s effort to garner feedback from students, USG will hold a series of town hall meetings this year called SB Voice events.
The events complement the SB Voice forum launched on the USG website this summer.
USG Chief of Staff Kia Valkonen made the announcement at the Oct. 3 USG senate meeting. “It’s a way for students to talk about pressing issues with members of USG, ” she said.
The series is essentially a rebranding of last year’s USG town hall meetings, but with a few key differences. USG will hold SB Voice events every month instead of calling them spontaneously for particular issues as was the case with town hall meetings during the last academic year. The meetings will be themed to different issues and allow students to break into small groups with USG representatives to voice their concerns.
The first SB Voice session will be held on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Roth Café and will have a healthy-eating theme. Faculty Student Association Customer Advocate Dawn Villacci will speak at the meeting, followed by small group discussions and a full group discussion.
Though last year’s town hall meetings attracted few students, Valkonen hopes holding the event in Roth Café where students can eat during the meeting will increase attendance.
The senate approved three justices—Daniel Roszko, Derek Cope and Sarah Twarog—for the USG Judiciary at the Oct. 3 meeting.
The Judiciary is responsible for approving club constitutions for USG funding, interpreting USG laws and presiding over impeachment charges.
“They are pretty influential,” Mario Ferone, USG vice president of communications and chair of the vetting and communications committee, said. “They set precedents and that affects future decisions.”
USG President Adil Hussain nominated the candidates after they applied for the position through ZebraNet and a job fair held earlier this year. The vetting and communications interviewed each candidate, giving them a mock case to decide as well as asking traditional interview questions.
Senator Vincent Justiniano introduced the candidates at the senate meeting, calling them “very well qualified.” The senate approved all three unanimously without additional questions.
Three judiciary positions remain open.
Three students were elected to represent Stony Brook at the SUNY Student Assembly—the official representative body for students in the SUNY system.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Steven Adelson, who represented Stony Brook in the assembly last year, will represent the USG executive branch. Justiniano will represent the senate and Senator Demoy Dobson will represent the judiciary.
The senate also approved a $400 provisional budget for StandUp Charter, an anti-bullying and homophobia club, and a $700 provisional budget for the Stony Brook chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
October 4, 2013—Updated to include more information about the USG judiciary.
