The Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Jan. 25, to discuss core curriculum concerns and the new Student Activity Fees Referendum.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative announced they will partner with the women’s basketball team to host an event on Feb. 10 for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. There will be a women’s basketball game against the University of Massachusetts, with a sports clinic before the game to teach people from the Bronx community and a signing event after the game.
A special election for the Vice President of Facilities and Dining position was held as Jamie Serruto, FCRH ’24, announced at the last meeting that he would be stepping down. Peter McGowan, FCRH ’24, ran for the newly opened position. He stated that he is the current vice-chair for the Facilities and Dining Committee, and he already has strong relationships with the Facilities and Dining staff. McGowan said he wants to help students’ voices be heard and build a better relationship between students, administrators and the Dining and Facilities staff. McGowan won the position.
Vice President of Finance and Budgets Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, discussed the new Student Activity Fees Referendum. Hjertberg said that the timeline for this referendum will be between March 4-18. After last year’s attempt at passing the activity fees referendum, Hjertberg said that he is serious about getting it passed this year, and he plans to make sure that it is advertised well and that students are aware of the benefits. The purpose of the Student Activity Fees Referendum is to increase the amount of money that can be allocated to clubs and organizations. They are planning on having a handwritten ballot where students sign their signatures on a form if they are in support of the referendum. According to Hjertberg, the issue with last year’s referendum was that they did not receive enough student votes for it to pass. Hjertberg explained that the referendum is necessary as there has been a substantial increase in clubs, but there has not been an increase in funding, which has left the Budget committee short on how much money they can allocate to clubs.
Executive President Briana Al-Omoush, FCRH ’24, and Executive Vice President Ava Coogan, FCRH ’25, opened up a discussion about core curriculum concerns or suggestions that they can bring up to the core curriculum revision committee. Vice President of Sustainability Sean Powers, FCRH ’24, said that he has completed all of the Eloquentia Perfecta (EP) core requirements, but feels that nothing sets those classes apart from others he has taken. Additionally, he asked what differentiates an EP class from the other classes. Senator Deborah Adebanjo, FCRH ’26, said that she believes that there are some benefits to Fordham’s core curriculum. However, she feels that it is unnecessarily long, as many students are still completing core class requirements in their junior year. Hjertberg stated that he doesn’t understand why non-science majors are required to complete both a life science and a physical science when the money for those classes could be used for other classes. Senator Evan McManus, FCRH ’25, requested that the changes being made to the core be very clearly explained to students.
McManus also stated that he attended a meeting regarding Fordham’s excused absence policy and he is planning a proposal.
