By Kara McGrath, Staff Writer
The Student Government Association held a brief meeting on Tuesday night. The meeting began with a special guest speaker, Julie Yindra, the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities. Yindra expressed how excited she is to be working at Hofstra University, since it has “a long standing legacy of being open to students with disabilities”.
According to Yindra, Hofstra started to become wheelchair accessible in 1962, although the Americans with Disabilities Act was not passed until 1990. She encouraged the SGA senators to inform the office for Students with Disabilities of anything they noticed that would make life on campus harder for a student with disabilities. She also encouraged the senators to promote the idea that being registered as s student with a disability is not something to be ashamed of.
After Yindra spoke, the meeting continued per usual. There was one new senator elected, Ahmed Elbordiny. Elbordiny, 18, is a Health Science Major, and was an SGA Senator at the University of Buffalo for one and a half years. There was also one new club passed, the Pre-Dental Society, which will be a community for Pre-Dental students to communicate and help each other to do well on the Dental Admission Test (DAT).
The one resolution brought to Senate, which was regarding a program called Zimride, was not seen because it failed to meet the 2/3 vote needed to pass at Monday night’s cabinet meeting.
Comptroller Brian Marquis decided to extend the due date for budget proposals for budget weekend. The absolute last day for clubs to submit proposals will be April 9th. Budget weekend will still take place April 16th and 17th. The Senate also voted to try and keep a $16 increase in the Student Activities fee for next year.
Marquis had been told by administrators to eliminate this increase, but he and the Senate decided that since last year was the first time in fifteen years the Student Activities fee increased, they would keep the $16 increase. Marquis also stated that Hofstra University’s Student Activities fee continues to be one of the lowest in the country, even with the increase.
Since there are no classes on Monday, April 5th, the next Senate meeting will be held on April 13th.