On Tuesday, September 30 at 4:30, Stockton University’s Student Senate held their first meeting for the Fall 2025 semester to discuss committee reports, upcoming elections, and the excitement of University Weekend.

Ariel Graziano, President of the Student Senate, began the meeting by informing everyone that executive board and the two Board of Trustees students of the Senate will be going to the National Conference on Student Leadership in Washington, D.C. While attending the conference they will be learning “how to lead as an individual, work in a team, engage with their community and learn how to run a student organization to recruit new members and keep them motivated.”

Graziano then awarded Senator of the Month to Lunasia Webb, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science. Graziano mentioned that “[Webb] has been eager to get started and she shows up to events and takes initiatives.” Webb also stepped up to be a part of the academic committee during her first-year at Stockton.

Vice President Hunter Pico took the floor to speak on the continuous work with administrators and Chartwells to focus on meal plan reform. “Meal plans are not just about convenience, they’re also about affordability and equity and ensuring all students have reliable options,” Pico mentioned.

Following his emphasis on dining, Pico mentioned the off-campus shooting that happened on September 11, where Stockton initiated a shelter-in-place for about 2.5 hours. He took time to recognize the student’s concerns about safety and communication during these types of situations, and that Senate has been assured by school administrators that “campus employees are receiving more guidance and information on how to respond in these moments.”

Pico and the Student Affairs Committee have also met with the Transportation Department to address ongoing shuttle concerns, including the need for a more reliable tracking app, more consistent shuttle times, and improved accessibility for all students. “We emphasize the importance of students having dependable transportation off campus and on campus.” Furthermore, the department has expressed openness to exploring app based solutions and adjustments to the scheduling.

Jaala Howard, the Student Affairs Chair, then addressed that students should pay attention to their emails from Stockton Dining stating the changes they plan to implement. For example, the Boost app is used for placing an order ahead of time and now has a new feature where you can cancel and refund if needed.

An annual dining survey was released on October 1, and once the survey is completed, students will be entered in a raffle to win a prize.

Howard also brought up the changes in Transportation Shifts, the changes are as follows: North Lot is 2:30 to 10:00, Lot 8 is at 3 p.m. and during these times there may be a 10-20 minute delay. For transportation shifts in Atlantic City, during the weekday it’s from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and on the weekends it is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. with no delays or experienced wait time. Any questions can be emailed to parktrans@stockton.edu.

Academic Affairs Chair Nana Alma Otoo reported that she and fellow committee members have been working to create a survey along with the Task Force on reimagining general education, and this will be sent via email to get students input on General Studies. 

Austin Eckert, the Governmental Affairs Chairperson, acknowledged how he is “excited to step into this role and even better represent the student body here at Stockton.” In this, Eckert wants to try and further develop communications and relations with the Hughes Center for Public Policy. He also disclosed that Senate elections for the fall are coming up and OspreyHub voting will be available from October 7-9.

“Overall my committee and I aim not only to be better senators and representatives of the student body, but leaders regarding civic education on campus as well,” stated Eckert.

Public Relations Chairperson, Edwin Ulises Feria-Serna addressed Hispanic Heritage Month, where he had the honor of speaking during the Flag Raising on Friday, September 12. Feria-Serna reminded students of the Senate’s tabling from September 30 to October 1, where they provided Red Cards disclosing imperative information about the rights of students if they were to encounter immigration authorities.

Serna’s committee is working closely to keep their societies active so the student body can stay engaged and informed “since I strongly believe that we are here to serve our Stockton community, I mainly live by the motto by the students for the students.”

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chairperson, Ahnjeles Maldonado, informed that Ospreyhub has more events and programs aligned with LGBTQ+ History come October. Maldonado’s last update was that they are “actively looking to expand [their] horizons on campus, including meeting with student clubs, organizations and campus offices and centers to make sure that [they] hear from our students about which areas [they] should focus our efforts, along with carrying through some of [their] current initiatives.” 

Kaden Ryan, the Finance Committee Chairperson discussed how his committee met with two clubs, one being Stockton’s Hearing and Speech Club, who came forth to discuss an upcoming trip to the American Speech Language Hearing Association Convention (ASHA) taking place in Washington D.C. on November 20 and 22. 

According to ASHA, the convention is one of the biggest, and is enveloped with professional development events for audiologist, speech-language pathologist, language, and hearing scientists; and speech-language pathology and audiology assistants. The convention brings almost 15,000 student attendees and offers more than 2,500 sessions. 

Hearing and Speech Treasurer, Natalie Lombardi, expressed that “it will be a great educational offer for our students, e-board, and a few of our club members.” After discussing the work of the club’s fundraising, Ryan advanced the motion request of $3500, with 23 being in favor and 0 opposing. 

Once the Senate concluded their statements, they opened the floor to the public where Lauren Wilson, Associate Director of Student Development, reminded everyone of University Weekend, happening from October 9th-12th. The festivities start on Thursday, October 9 with the Osprey Ball, which has been brought back to campus to make it more accessible to all students. Tickets can be found at the Information Desk in The Campus Center.

There will be a float decorating party for anyone interested in participating in the parade, a variety show and Light Up Lake Fred hosted by Stockton Entertainment Team (SET), and the Talon Trot 5k. Wilson also highlighted that the route for the parade is starting differently this year, beginning at the Townsend Residential Life Center (TRLC) so this can help involve the first-year students and encourage excitement for the events.

There will be over 80 vendors in the Lot 3 Street Fair as well as a variety of opportunities to have fun with friends and family. “There’s a lot more events than what I mentioned in this brief period of time, but I wanted to make sure that you’re all excited about coming out next weekend,” Wilson stated.

To round out the meeting, Jeffrey Wakemen, Director of Student Development, circled back to a point that Pico made about campus safety, stating that there are two sessions about active shooter training being offered by the Police Department. The dates will be found on OspreyHub.

For more updates from Student Senate, follow their Instagram and OspreyHub.