Fordham University’s United Student Government met on April 9 to vote on the April Club of the Month and pass budget requests.
Executive Vice President Andrew McDonald, FCRH ’26, was absent from the meeting, so Senator Ava Cascella, FCRH ’26, stepped in to perform his role.
The meeting began with an update from the Residence Hall Association (RHA) delegate Hannorah Ragusa, FCRH ’26. She announced that RHA is holding two upcoming events. There will be a pizza truck in front of the McShane Campus Center on April 29 and they will be hosting a petting zoo, although they are still waiting on approval for the latter. Ragusa said the petting zoo would likely consist of a duck and a llama, among other animals.
USG then voted on the April Club of the Month. The nominees included Fordham Mock Trial, Fordham University Model United Nations (FUMUN) and Fordham University Symphony Orchestra. FUMUN won after receiving 12 votes — Mock Trial received eight votes and Orchestra received zero votes.
They then moved on to budget requests. Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Laila Sayegh, FCRH ’27, requested $350 in discretionary funding for the Diversity Action Coalition. She explained that they had $100 left in their budget, but needed $450 for the remainder of the semester in order to bring in two guest speakers during Bronx Appreciation Week.
Vice President of Gabelli School of Business (GSB) Hunter Gholson, GSB ’26, had a request for funding for an upcoming Spring Fling event, drinks for the Gabelli Year in Review dinner, as well as table cloths and cutlery.
Senator Whitney Egbe, FCRH ’28, asked for funding for popsicles, tubs for ice, sunscreen and Post-Its for their upcoming Summer Day with the 2028 Senate event on April 14.
There was a request from Vice President of the Committee on Sexual Misconduct Aidan Costella, FCRH ’27, for funding for materials for their upcoming Week of Action.
Executive President Lucas Hjertberg, FCRH ’26, requested funding for the upcoming Big Four food truck event during Spring Weekend, which will consist of a Tacos El Poblanito truck and a Rome’n Focaccia I truck.
Vice President of Sustainability Ayden Johnson, FCRH ’27, requested funding for flowers for a Spring Bouquet Making event, prizes for an Earth Week trivia event and stickers to pass out during Earth Week events.
Vice President of Fordham College Rose Hill Mary Hawthorn, FCRH ’26, requested funding for Chipotle for their upcoming Undergraduate Mock Research Symposium.
Vice President of Budget and Finance Peter Grimes, FCRH ’25, requested funding for Chipotle for budget day.
All budget requests passed unanimously.
The Contraceptive Policy Commission then presented its proposal to amend the university’s policy on contraceptives on campus. Costella and Senator Domenick Fedele, FCRH ’29, presented and showed some additional information they had included in the proposal, including data from Johns Hopkins University regarding stigma on contraception, testimonies from clubs, students and professors and the final survey results from their student survey.
They explained that they are waiting to receive data from the Fordham University Health Center on sexually transmitted diseases and infections at Fordham and said they would wait to vote on the proposal until they have received that information.
Cascella and Senator Megan Ruzicka, FCRH ’27, then presented on USG’s proposal to create a Fordham College Rose Hill mentorship program, similar to Gabelli’s FAM Program, which is a mentorship program in GSB. Ruzicka said that they would use a form to match students.
Hjertberg then presented the Executive Report. Regarding the upcoming USG election, he said that all of the info sessions have taken place and that there would be a mandatory candidate meeting on April 10 in Bepler Commons for election-specific information. Then, on April 13, candidates would find out if they had been approved, after which they would be allowed to start their campaigns. Hjertberg said that voting will occur on April 21. He also announced that the upcoming Big Four food truck event will take place on April 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Edwards Parade.
