Annika Schmidt and Cambrea Schrank
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At their Sept. 2 meeting, the SGA Senate confirmed junior and psychology major Rachel Cauwels as the new student body vice president. Cauwels will serve alongside Student Body President Emily Gregory.
Cauwels served as the vice president last year but opted to not run for the position again in the 2021 SGA Elections. Gregory selected Cauwels to fill the role again since the student-elected vice president is no longer in office.
In her address to the senate, Cauwels said, “I, of all people, know that this role that Emily has earned is too much for one person. If I’m being honest, I would tell you it’s really too much for two people.”
She continued, “With the circumstances (a new adviser, a senate who has not served in a time before the pandemic, return to a more normal life and the delta variant), what we need is someone qualified. I would argue that I am not only the most qualified person from SGA to fill this role, but on our campus.”
Former Student Body President Aidan Meadows backed Gregory’s selection, saying, “Rachel is hands down the most qualified … This is a fantastic choice by Emily.”
Cauwels said that her experience working with the faculty assembly, Academic Recovery Team, the Chancellor’s office, the Student Affairs Office and many others will help her and Gregory as they navigate working with administration.
“There is a job to be done here, I am here to do it,” she said.
Cauwels was confirmed unanimously and will resume the responsibilities of the vice president immediately.
The senate also unanimously approved “Ad Hoc Committee Formation: SB-01 Black Lives Matter.” Since approved, there now exists a temporary committee within SGA that will go through 75 student responses on the Black Lives Matter initiative, pick out actionable items and then recommend them to senate.
LAST WEEK:
SGA Senate met to pass a bill providing funding for Student of Color Mental Health Support at their first meeting on Aug. 28. During the meeting, they also passed a resolution in support of the Living Wage Petition organized by the United Campus Workers’ Union and heard a state of the campus address from Student Body President Emily Gregory.
Senate Bill 14 will allocate $3,480 to fund 10 students to attend the Student of Color Mental Health Support Group for 32 weeks. This senate bill was reviewed by senate at the beginning of this semester after being drafted during the spring semester.
The bill passed unanimously.
Representatives from the United Campus Workers’ Union attended the meeting to introduce a resolution in support of their campaign for living wages. Through this resolution, UCCS is being asked to raise the minimum wage on campus to $15 from $12.32.
Members of the senate voted unanimously in favor of the resolution, officially voicing their support for the campaign.
Gregory closed out the meeting with a campus address that covered internal SGA affairs, as well as information pertaining to the beginning of the semester, including the news that a class photo had been taken for the first time in two years.