The Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Feb. 8, to discuss updated budget bylaws and the upcoming referendum.
The Residence Hall Association Chief Communications Officer Isaac Forson, FCRH ’26, announced the committee now has applications, which can be found on the group’s Instagram account.
The Student-Athlete Advisory reported that they had their first meeting on the previous Tuesday night, where they discussed events for the semester. Additionally, they discussed their upcoming Women and Girls in Sports Day event and clinic.
Vice President of Finance and Budget Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, shared some updates to the budget bylaws. The updates included a few word changes but mostly surrounded the election of a budget secretary who would take detailed notes during debates about whether clubs should get funding or not. This would give clubs more detailed information about why their budget requests were denied. Vice President of Sustainability Sean Power, FCRH ’24, asked why this was a different role than vice chair. Hjertberg said the vice chair is busy tracking voting and wouldn’t have enough time to take detailed notes. The updates were passed.
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Nyla Patel, FCRH ’25, requested funds to pay for Black History Month catering and a guest speaker. The request was approved.
Executive President Briana Al-Omoush, FCRH ’24, discussed the Fordham Dance Marathon donation for the auction. Since most clubs have a $200 prize cap, USG is also sticking to that cap. Senators voted and decided on a San Gennaro gift card with an inflatable ice bath as the second option.
Executive Vice President Ava Coogan, FCRH ’25, brought up the USG strategic plan, and Al-Omoush had people sign up for initiatives. Class senators added in events and initiatives they were planning; Al-Omoush requested people stay on top of updating the document.
Al-Omoush informed the group that several USG documents, including the constitution and election code bylaws, were in their final review and would come to the Senate floor for approval before spring break. The Core Revision Committee met with faculty and felt they were receptive to the Senate’s requested changes. Al-Omoush also informed the Senate that Fresh Check Day would be happening April 19 on Edwards Parade and that the mid-year report and student body survey would go out in the following weeks. Additionally, she reminded the Senate that committee attendance sheets must be shared with Dean McGlade. She also suggested a mandatory information session about campaign knowledge before the referendum begins so that senators show benchmarks before they begin campaigning. Coogan shared that she was sending out a new sign-up form for Senate one-on-one, and due to the class of 2027’s successful tabling event, tabling was being set up for other class years. They are planning to send faculty a finalized list of revisions to their requests for the updated core curriculum later this week.
Vice President of Operations Calum Stevenson, GSB ’26, said they had received two new club applications, but no voting had occurred yet. Several clubs have requested changes, including the Fordham Dance Marathon and the JesNet, and new club applications have been assigned a liaison. The check-in for the club training has been opened to ensure accurate attendance. Senator Carter Soderberg, GSB ’27, asked what new club leaders should do if they can’t make the meeting to pitch their club. Stevenson said they could send in a video presentation.
Hjertberg said that USG has approved an ad hoc appeal for USG spending and additional funding to the GSB council. They were also sent a large sum of money from the Office of Student Involvement, but they are still short on funds for the rest of the semester.
Coogan reminded everyone that photos would be taken next week, and senior leadership awards were open for nominations.
Senator Nicky D’Abundo, FCRH ’26, asked if there was a cap on the number of senators a committee could have. Al-Omoush said that it depends on the circumstance.
