On Thursday, March 9, the Fordham Rose Hill Student Government (USG) met to discuss public concerns and new campaigning systems.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) stated that their bingo night was a big success and they had a large turnout. They said that, because of the success of this event, they will probably do another one next year as well. Lastly, the RHA is currently planning their formal for this year.

Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Brianna Al-Omoush, FCRH ’24, presented a budget request at the meeting. She explained that for Bronx Appreciation Week, the Diversity and Action Committee (DAC) ordered about 72 shirts for the event, but they do not think that that is enough so they are requesting more money to purchase more. Vice President of Budget Committee Eron Maltzman, GSB ’25, suggested that DAC collaborate with another club or committee for this event, because DAC has already used a lot of their funding for the semester.

Executive President Santiago Vidal, FCRH ’24, reported that a student reached out to him about starting a GoFundMe for the people in Ukraine. Vidal explained that there is a cap on how much money a club can fundraise and that falls under the responsibility of Campus Ministry rather than USG.

Vidal reintroduced the possibility of USG candidates running together on slates. He clarified that candidates would have the option to run individually or on slates and that voters can choose to vote for the slate as a whole or for individual candidates in the slate. Vidal stated that the winners would not be determined by the number of slate votes but by the number of individual votes. He explained that there are many colleges that have begun using the slate campaigning system, such as Boston College and UC Berkeley, and they have found it to make the campaigning system more efficient.

Vice President of Fordham College Rose Hill, Emma Balint, FCRH ’24, brought up the concern that this new style of campaigning may be confusing for students voting. Vice President of Student Life, Brian Inguanti, FCRH ’24, stated that he is not a fan of the slate campaigning system and that he fears that the incumbents will form a single slate, excluding any potentially new members.

Senator Sean Power, FCRH ’24, was elected as Senator of the Month.

Balint stated that she is continuing her work with the deans about revising the core curriculum and will provide updates to United Student Government as the situation progresses.