The Fordham University Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Sept. 4, for their first meeting of the semester in which they discussed USG expectations and changes to policy.
Executive President Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, began the meeting by stating that the majority of Fordham’s student government members are new this year and he is excited for the new perspectives that they will contribute. He then reviewed the meeting’s dress code, attendance and behavioral expectations.
USG said that the Office of Disability Services (ODS) will be moved to the first floor of Faculty Memorial Hall (FMH) and that the Office of International Services (OIS) is being moved to the basement of Walsh Library. The first Student Life Council meeting of the year has been moved to Sep. 17.
There were two revisions to standard USG policy made regarding proposal drafting and all executive reports. Hjertberg had explained that, rather than senators working individually on their proposals and it being a more self-driven process, he is going to create proposal teams. The current plan is to create five teams of senators. Each team would collaborate on some proposals over the semester. The goal of this, according to Hjertberg, is to have five fully planned proposals to enact by the end of the semester.
Hjertberg mentioned he believes this will not only be a more efficient way of drafting proposals, but will additionally help everyone in USG be involved more and will strengthen the USG community.
Similar to how all the class senates give weekly reports on their work, each proposal team will also give a short, weekly report on any updates regarding their proposals. Hjertberg said the purpose of this is to hold everyone accountable to their work and to show what progress is being made. USG will begin working on new proposal ideas at their retreat on Sept. 18.
Further, the second revision within the standard USG protocol will be in regards to how the USG Budget Committee as well as the USG Operations Committee present each of their weekly updates. The USG Executive Vice President Andrew McDonald, FCRH ’26, said that the USG Vice President of Budget and Finance Peter Grimes, FCRH ’26, as well as the USG Vice President of Operations, Tina Pathak, FCRH ’28, will additionally now be expected to create weekly updates that will include short and detailed presentations.
Hjertberg said he hopes these presentations will help with transparency and keep each and every USG member well-informed on spending and club details.
While he was presenting his executive report, Hertberg announced that in alignment with the university’s “One Fordham” image, he is now planning a meeting with the Lincoln Center student government and Rose Hill in order to encourage more collaboration between the two campuses.
Hjertberg did also note that some USG documents — such as the constitution and bylaws — are “archaic” and have been “unrevised for years,” so he wants to create a new Commission to work on revising these documents throughout this semester. According to the USG Internal Governing Structures, the description of a Commission is a small group of individuals who are assembled for the purpose of addressing an in-house matter within USG.
Pathak cited this year’s club fair as one of their most successful. She also announced that the new club forms have been opened.
Grimes had stated that his finance committee recently gained four new members. He then briefly explained that USG is block-funded — meaning that, if they do not use their entire budget, they will receive less funding the following year.
Vice President of Student Life Luc Angus, FCRH ’26, said that in his committee meeting, the Student Life Council discussed creating an official name and a plaque for the art exhibit on the second floor of the McShane Campus Center. Angus also announced that the annual Keating Steps performance is scheduled for the end of September and they plan to have a lengthy set list.
Vice President of FCRH Mary Hawthorn, FCRH ’26, said that there have been changes regarding the Deans this year. Hawthorn has been working to figure out the exact changes that have been made and how it will affect the Dean’s Council. Hawthorn’s first event this year will be “Donuts with the Deans” where students can ask questions, talk with some of the administrators and then be able to educate themselves about the FCRH Dean’s Council.
The Vice President of the Gabelli School of Business (GSB) Hunter Gholson, GSB ’26, said that he is currently planning the GSB Club Fair.
Vice President of Dining and Facilities Maddie Ando, FCRH ’27, mentioned that the Starship Grubhub robots that launched last week and currently service five on-campus dining locations.
USG will meet again this Thursday, Sept. 11.
