The Utah Valley University Student Association (UVUSA) conducted their weekly council meeting Nov. 4, which saw the swearing in of several members, honoring “Wolverine of the week,” a vote on the new elections packet and hearings on possible changes to the academic calendar.
Swearing in Members
The student council started the meeting by swearing in several members who were not able to attend the swearing in ceremony back in April, according to Student Body President Karen Magaña-Aguado.
These members included head parliamentarian Daniel Clothier, inclusion ambassador Daniel Cho, senator for the school of the arts Danielle Corbett, assistant to vice president of academics Mickelle Newkirk, senator for the school of education Hope Nelson, inclusion ambassador cas Nango and senator for the college of science Clayton Rawson.
“I am amazed by the work these students do,” said Todd Olsen, coordinator for the Student Senate. Olsen administered the oath of office (found in section 16 of the UVUSA constitution) on behalf of the university president.
Elections Packet
As mentioned in a previous article, UVUSA has been hard at work revising next year’s election packet. During this week’s council meeting final revisions were announced to the packet and it was held to a vote.
Changes included waving of the $50 deposit and a refined method of addressing grievances against campaigns. An announcement came as well that appeals to complaints shall be capped at three. However, in cases where foul play is suspected against a campaign, the council can intervene to assess these complaints.
Additionally, the processing time after an election will be extended by a few hours to process the outcome of the election. Dates for the 2022-2023 elections are to be determined.
The council voted unanimously to finalize the packet.
Wolverine of the Week
This week’s Wolverine of the Week was Karina Wimmer, a senior studying deaf studies focused in interpreting and minoring in business management.
“Karina is amazing! She’s always trying to help others. She has excelled in UVU American Sign Language courses and works full-time for CaptionCall,” her bio read. “… helping people in the deaf community communicate with those who are hearing and vice versa.”
UVU Academic Calendar Hearing
The Student Council heard from two members of the Academic Calendar Committee (ACC) on proposed changes to the academic calendar to better accommodate student learning.
As mentioned in a past article, the proposed change would shorten Thanksgiving break by two days, and separate spring break into a three day break in March and a two day break in April.
“UVU has the longest semesters because of how long our breaks are,” said Meaghan McKasy, professor of public relations and a member of the ACC.
The Student Council was quick to offer feedback to the ACC reps, and offer their thoughts on the proposed plans. Danielle Corbett, senator of the school of arts, offered the strongest voice of opposition, saying, “[longer breaks] help students be able to see their families.”
Some on the council pointed out possible benefits, such as Ella Quelly, social events chair, noting that shorter breaks mean longer summers and Christmas breaks.
All plans are still tentative and won’t take effect until 2025.
Student Council meetings occur every Thursday at 1 p.m., and all students are welcome to attend.
