Student Government Association President Lincoln Anniballi gave a presentation regarding a new campus-wide policy to ‘beautify’ the campus.

For its first meeting this semester, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate deliberated on a myriad of topics relevant to Hofstra University’s student body. One major focus of this meeting was Hofstra’s recent decision to remove animals, notably cats, from sheltering in various places on campus. SGA president and senior history and political science major Lincoln Anniballi gave a presentation where he stressed that this decision was made to keep the cats safe. 

“Hofstra is trying to ensure that the cats are cared for properly … not spreading disease or causing any issues for the cats or their health,” Anniballi said.

He also quelled student worries regarding whether the cats could survive without the shelters.

“These cats live in the wild, and they always have. They’re not like home domesticated cats … they know how to live in the wild with or without a man-made shelter.” 

Following this, senators deliberated their plans for an updated Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center. 

According to Anniballi, “The new ‘Stu’ plans are more open and more accessible … it’ll just be more efficient for everyone involved: less lines, less waiting and just a more aesthetically pleasing student center that is student centered.” 

Some senators, such as junior television and film major DaeJa Young, who is the Equity and Inclusion Chair, spoke on the updated student center.

“I’ve been at the school for three years so far, and the student center has not changed besides the Halal Shack, so seeing it change and seeing how these new changes make the environment more welcoming and easy to navigate is exciting,” Young said.

The SGA then discussed a new initiative: Keep Hofstra Beautiful. This initiative would encourage students to clean up shared spaces, be kind to one another and pick up garbage – even if it’s not theirs. 

According to Anniballi, “Keep Hofstra Beautiful is a campus movement to enhance our campus culture and strengthen our community and ensure that students are caring about each other and the spaces that we all exist in.”

Senator and freshman mechanical engineering major Logan Finkelstein expressed how the initiative is affecting him, saying that he’s “[going to] be keeping an eye out for trash everywhere [he goes] … [He’s] gonna try and encourage others to do so too.”

To review SGA Senate minutes with more detailed information about these developments and more, visit the Documents Page for SGA on Hofstra’s website or email [email protected] to request them if they have yet to be published.