The Fordham University United Student Government (USG) met on March 5 to discuss budget requests, the upcoming USG elections and the town hall event scheduled for March 20.
Executive Vice President Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, began the meeting by noting Executive Vice President Andrew McDonald’s, FCRH ’26, absence due to a pre-planned spring break trip.
Hjertberg then gave new business updates. He said there will be a special election for the class of 2028’s Gabelli senate seat as a result of Khoi Dinh’s, GSB ’28, resignation. He announced Senator Audrey Shooner, FCRH ’28, as the February senator of the month and Fordham’s Black Student Alliance (ASILI) as the February club of the month. He said that they would wait to present ASILI’s award until the next meeting, since several USG members were absent.
Charm, a Fordham club aimed at publishing students’ psychology research, gave a new club presentation. Lindsay Laubacher, FCRH ’26, Evelyn Leadholm, FCRH ’27 and Isis Ordaz, FCRH ’29, explained that the club would also connect undergraduate students with graduate students and faculty members for research projects. They requested $500 per semester to fund a website platform for publishing student research, Mail Chimpand events that would include guest speakers.
USG voted on the following budget requests: the request from Charm, a request from Senator Domenick Fidele, FCRH ’29, for a tabling event for the contraception policy commission, a request from Vice President of International Integration Jenny Hong, FCRH ’28, for a microgreens plant tabling event for the sustainability committee, another request from Hong for pizza for an upcoming sustainability committee event and a funding request for Steeped Stories Cafe, a new club. All budget requests, with the exception of Steeped Stories Cafe’s, were approved.
Hjertberg then announced that the upcoming USG elections will begin with an informational meeting on April 1. Candidates will submit signatures by April 10, after which they can begin campaigning. There will be a Meet the Candidates Night in Keating third on April 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. The voting form will open at 12 p.m. on April 20 and close at 5 p.m. on April 21. Inauguration day is set for April 23.
Hjertberg also announced that Fordham is hosting a TEDx event on March 26 at Lincoln Center. The event will feature speakers including Northwell Health CEO Emeritus Michael Dowling, MSW ’74, “Survivor” winner Natalie Anderson, GSB ’08 and Brevitē co-founder Brandon Kim, FCRH ’15.
During the E-Board report, Vice President of Budgets and Finance Peter Grimes, FCRH ’26, said that the Office of Student Involvement ran out of club funding this week, but confirmed he had a meeting with Assistant Dean for Student Involvement Catharine McGlade, and they will be getting more money soon.
Vice President of Student Life Luc Angus, FCRH ’26, said that his committee is working on creating a new award in honor of Olson Saez, a member of the Campus Operations staff at Rose Hill who recently passed away, to recognize faculty members who are “unseen heroes.” Voting for this years’ recipients will be restricted to USG members and will take place at their March 26 meeting. They plan to open voting to all students in the future.
Vice President of Fordham College at Rose Hill Mary Hawthorn, FCRH ’26, said that she talked with Dean of Arts and Sciences Jessica Lang earlier that week about the ongoing core revision process. She also said that Student Wellness is working on planning this year’s, “The Walk,” which will take place on April 20. She announced that there will be an upcoming event for students who are studying abroad in the spring of 2027.
Vice President of the Gabelli School of Business Hunter Gholson, GSB ’26, said that they sent about 500 postcards to admitted students, with the 15 committees writing eight to 10 of them each.
Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Laila Sayegh, FCRH ’27, announced that they received a $150 donation from the history department for Bronx Appreciation Week. She also said that they are working to plan an event to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Fidele presented updates on behalf of Vice President of Dining and Facilities Madeleine Ando, FCRH ’27, who was absent. He said that in a meeting with Fordham dining, they discussed student complaints about the long lines at the egg station in the Marketplace. She was told that they are looking at solutions to reduce wait times but that the culprit to the issue is the plethora of large egg orders, with some containing up to seven eggs. They also discussed student concerns about food poisoning, and Ando was told that students who experience food poisoning should reach out to Fordham Hospitality and give as detailed of a report as possible so that they can look into it.
Hong gave updates for the International Integration committee, stating that they are planning alumni events, excursions and are working on a proposal for a Global Transition Program. She also said they have been working on expanding the available languages listed on Fordham’s admissions website to make it more accessible for international students.
Fidele presented updates for the Governing Documents Commission and said that they are working on amending the election code to allow anyone to update it. They are also working on a proposal that would allow USG members to endorse candidates during future USG elections. He said the latter change would be implemented for the upcoming election.
Senator Henry Carstens, GSB ’29, gave updates for the Contraceptive Policy Commission. He said they are conducting a survey of student opinions regarding the current contraception distribution policy, which was sent out on March 4. Regarding the upcoming USG Town Hall, he said there will be several Instagram posts providing information on the event, which is on March 20 at 6 p.m. in the Great Hall. Carstens asked Hjertberg for updates on food for the event, who deferred to Assistant Director for Student Leadership and Engagement Joshua Somrah, FCLC ’20. He said they are still trying to confirm whether they can get Chick-fil-A catered and told Carstens to anticipate having to choose an alternative dining option. Regarding the contraceptive proposal process, Carstens said the next step will be talking to higher officials at Fordham.
During the senate reports, class of 2027 senator Megan Ruzicka, FCRH ’27, announced that there will be a BINGO fundraising event on March 19 in Keating First.
