On Thursday, Feb. 16, the Fordham Rose Hill Student Government (USG) met to discuss the changes made to the USG bylaws and new proposals.

The IT Department delegate presented the new service portal for the IT desk and the Fordham Hub. She explained that the newly launched service portal will make the process of getting help from the IT department much easier and cleaner, and they will soon be launching a service portal mobile app. She also stated that the Fordham Hub has been open to first-years for some time but it will now be opened to all grade levels and will make getting in touch with advisors, or other people who help us complete our studies, easier.

Executive President Santiago Vidal, FCRH ’24, stated that Senator Tiberias Benaissa, GSB ’25, will be unable to continue in his position as senator due to a scheduling issue and the USG will be opening an election for Senator of Class of 2025 for GSB this week.

Vidal presented and reviewed the proposed USG statement regarding the Michigan State University (MSU) shooting. The statement was published last Friday and stated that the USG sends their sympathies to the people affected by the MSU shooting and explains to the Fordham community the protocols that the university has in place to protect the students against gun violence.

He then reviewed the new USG bylaws. The first major change to the bylaws that Vidal presented was the change in the impeachment/removal from office process. The impeachment process is now not able to be completed by a single student and has to go through many people before it can be completed. This is to prevent personal motives from being the reason for an impeachment. While it is still being called an “impeachment,” it would actually mean that the officer is completely removed from office. Vidal then explained that the next major change in the bylaws is that both the Dining Committee and International Integration will now be executive committees, rather than joint committees, which increases their power and budget.

Vidal discussed the proposal for an increase in student activity fees. He stated that they are considering raising the activity fees due to the clubs not having enough funding, and he clarified that this money would not be going to the school but to the clubs and the normal percentage still going to the Office of Student Involvement (OSI). He then explained that there has been a more than 30% increase in club membership and prices in general have increased as well, causing clubs to struggle with their budget and a need for higher club activity fees. He stated that the last increase in activity fees was 10 years ago in 2013. The USG will be sending out a referendum to the student body about the possible activity fees increase and they will need at least 15% of the student body to vote “yes” to the increase before it can actually be implemented. If the referendum works, there would be an additional half a million dollars added to clubs and organizations’ funding every year.