Hofstra’s SGA worked on a number of new policies in their recent senate meeting.
In their fourth senate meeting of the semester, groups of Student Government Association (SGA) Senators presented ideas for new initiatives. Next week, SGA’s cabinet will discuss these ideas internally to decide which to pursue.
One senator who pitched their idea was Lyne Malele, a junior international business major. Malele pitched the introduction of nap pods to spaces around Hofstra University’s campus.
“I’m a sleepy girl. I like to take naps,” Malele said. “A lot of my friends like to take naps, and I just thought the broader Hofstra community could benefit from it … [These pods] would be really beneficial to student morale to be awake in class, and it would be beneficial for professors to have alert students.”
These pods – ranging in cost from $3,000 to $12,000 – would be recliner-like seats with a light and noise-reducing hood that create a peaceful sleeping environment. These pods would be meant for commuting students, students whose dorms are far from their classrooms or students who just need a nap.
According to Malele, Hofstra would not be the first college to install these pods, as institutions like the University of Miami, the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University already have nap pods on their campus.
Jack Carella, a junior accounting major unaffiliated with SGA, was receptive to the nap pod idea. “I don’t think it would benefit me because I’m fortunate [to live close] enough to just go home and nap, but Hofstra does have 40-ish percent [sic] commuters, and I do think it could be very useful to them … Commuters should be able to nap too, especially with the large workload that comes with a college education.”
As of Fall 2023, the number of commuters at Hofstra has risen to roughly 60%.
Another group of senators presented methods for the Hofstra community to increase its sustainability. Some of these avenues include expanding Hofstra’s biodegradable packaging options – beyond the biodegradable corn husk packaging used at most campus eateries – starting composting bins to minimize food waste and educating students on how and what to recycle.
One senator who presented on this initiative, freshman engineering science major, Abigail Rades said, “[Increasing Hofstra’s sustainability] not only impacts Hofstra, but its surrounding community … Hofstra is a pillar within not just the Hempstead area, but Long Island itself, so making sure that we are a driving force behind something that’s so influential is something I would love to see us do.”
Some students agree with Rades’ concern for Hofstra’s sustainability.
“I feel [sustainability is] something that definitely could be worked on,” said junior computer science major Anoop Krishnadas, who is unaffiliated with SGA. “I take most of my classes in the new building – the Science and Innovation Center – and I don’t see any recycling bins anywhere.”
Finally, another group of senators laid out the foundation for increasing the availability of life-saving medical devices such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and EpiPens throughout campus buildings. As it stands, there are less than five AEDs available across South Campus and no EpiPens available on campus at all.
These senators argued that, although Public Safety has access to both life-saving devices, every second waiting for Public Safety to arrive with them could lead to unnecessary injury or death.
These senators also argued that painkillers such as Advil should be available in vending machines across campus for student convenience.
To finish the meeting, senators were supposed to deliberate on three senatorial actions but chose to table those actions to be discussed at the following senate meeting on Thursday, March 6.
To get SGA Senate minutes with more detailed information about these developments and more, visit https://www.hofstra.edu/student-government-association/documents.html or email [email protected] to request them if they have not yet been posted.
