On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, the Stockton Student Senate held a meeting in Kesselman Hall in Atlantic City to discuss academic and student affairs, welcome new senators, and grant club funding.

Student Senate President Andrea Sandoval opened the meeting, saying “I would like to welcome the new senators, who were just recently elected for our Fall elections. We have a Presidential Inauguration Committee that Garrett and I will be a part of; the dates are April 11 and April 12. The student, faculty, and staff dinner is currently being planned for November 16. Today, we are also celebrating five years in Atlantic City.”

Vice President Garrett Testut then stated, “Congratulations to our new senators and to our new Chief of Staff. I am one of the representatives for the Atlantic City Phase III Expansion Task Force; during our next meeting on Monday, we will be discussing the results of the surveys that have been conducted recently. There is another meeting in November and December. Lastly, we are still awaiting the annual campus public safety walk. It’s open to all students, and we walk around the Galloway campus and address any concerns.”

The Academic Affairs Chair, Nana Otoo, announced “Last month, I mentioned that our committee has been scheduling meetings with the deans. Gianna met with Dr. Brent Arnold, the dean of the School of Health Sciences. At this meeting, some key takeaways were that the school was trying to move speech-language pathology into its own independent minor. There is a process for this, but if all goes well, the minor will be available in the fall. Also, at this meeting, there was mention of the ASL minor and its status. The minor will also be available for students to take in the fall. Finally, this week the Provost Search Committee has been conducting interviews with candidates.”

Afterward, the Student Affairs Chair, Tiana Rosario, announced “Earlier this month, we met with Chartwells to discuss the dining survey. In regards to the lack of lids at Sono, it was a vendor issue [and] should be resolved now. For clubs on campus, there was an issue [with] prices when ordering in bulk from Chartwells. That might be a vendor issue as well, and they will look into it.”

The Public Relations Chair, Imani Bennett, announced “I’d like to personally congratulate the 13 newly elected senators and welcome the new committee members. We are working with student affairs and Sweets for Suggestions, an annual event the senate does every year, to help students provide feedback to the Student Senate.”

The Finance Chair, Kaden Ryan, announced “First to note is the K-Pop, and we approved them for $150 for the Halloween Party. The Stockton Socialists were approved for $1,460 for the semester. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes was approved for $1,499. Lastly, we approved $1,490 for the Indian Student Association. The supplemental account currently sits at $104,537, and if everything goes well today will be at  $78,437. 

The first club to request funding was the Geology Club. They were approved for the $7,500 they asked for for their trip to Arizona. The Stockton Ski and Snowboarding Club was then approved for the $8,600 they asked for in order to fund their transportation of 56 people to Canada. The All Starz Dance Club was also approved for $10,000 to fund their trip to Orlando Florida to compete in nationals.

Afterward, the Government Affairs Chair, Timothy Knoll, announced “We have our annual constitutional review coming up and we will review the language…we’re [also] planning an event in November. It’s an election about constitutional agreement.” 

The Diversity and Inclusion Chair, Shane Moore, announced “I did a full reach out to every multicultural, pride, and religious club on campus. The Women’s Gender and Sexuality Center is having a movie screening in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Coalition for Women’s Rights and Stockton Acapella are hosting Sex Mythbusters on the 26th in the Campus Center.”

The next Stockton Student Senate meeting will be on November 28, in the Board of Trustees Room in the Campus Center.