Senate Meeting

Senate Meeting called to order

1. Regular meeting of the senate, Monday September 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Alumni Center. President Arguijo presided. Secretary Morgan recorded.

2. Invocation

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Roll Call

   1. Present: President Arguijo, Vice President Keeling, Secretary Morgan, PR Chair Nunez, Senator Do, Senator Ju, Senator (Phena) Kayode, Senator Masem, Senator Ortiz, Senator Sherman.

   2. Absent: Treasurer Hertel, Chief Justice Edwards, Senator Gonzalez, Senator Johnston, Senator (Phosa) Kayode, Senator Landry, Senator Nguyen.

   3. Josh, of Student Life, and Jacob attended as guests.

Approval of the Minutes

1. The minutes were put to a vote by a show of hands, without a motion or a second.

2. The minutes of the September 21 meeting have passed.

Financial Report

1. President Arguijo presented in the absence of Treasurer Hertel.

2. The operating budget has $13,000.00 available. The leadership fund remains at $5,000.00. SGA is waiting on its allocations.

3. The Genesis charges are not showing correctly: at times a charge appears as income. Genesis is also billing late, and the spring charge has only now arrived. SGA is working out when it is billed so that it is not overcharged or charged on the wrong date.

4. The finance office has not given Treasurer Hertel the records she needs, so she will work on this with Dean Chambers. The figures will change as it is resolved.

Business

1. There were no bills or resolutions before the senate. President Arguijo said no bills have been written, and asked every senator to write bills that improve campus, whichever committee they are on, with the aim of each senator having a bill within the next month. Members were given several minutes to discuss ideas, and then each gave the bill they expect to write.

2. Bills expected

   1. Senator Masem: Veo scooters. The scooters' service boundary splits campus in half, so they can be used on one side and not the other. Moving scooters onto campus would likely cost SGA nothing, so this would be a resolution rather than a bill. It would let students without cars ride up West Street to the grocery store or gas station and back. Senator Masem has reached out to the company by email, has not yet had a reply, and will keep trying.

   2. Senator Ortiz: grass growing between the tiles in front of DeMattias Hall/Founders plaza. This would likely be a resolution. The first step is to ask Circle K whether it is willing to help. If that does not work out and a spray is needed, Sister Therese, whom SGA has spoken with about this before, is the next contact.

   3. PR Chair Nunez: a bill for HALO's Day of the Dead event next month, expected within the next two weeks.

   4. Senator Ju will write a bill for the Jet Resource Hub.

   5. Senator Do: 7Brew bills.

   6. Senator (Phena) Kayode presented ideas that she had passed to Senator (Phosa) Kayode for the security and grounds committee:

      1. accessible door openers;

      2. toilet seat cover dispensers;

      3. a second fridge in the Bishop Gerber Science Center, where one small fridge is shared by students in the building and in Eck Hall and fills quickly. A vending machine was also proposed; SGA will pursue one or the other;

      4. filters for the water fountains;

      5. lighting. A student has separately raised a bill for motion sensor lights at the sand volleyball court, and the parking lot by the Bishop Gerber Science Center and the plaza is also dark.

   7. Senator Sherman wants to research further first, and is considering a late-night breakfast every other Friday at around 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. President Arguijo said this fits the executive team's discussion of events at which SGA gets students to come and talk to it.

   8. Secretary Morgan

      1. A Thanksgiving Day dinner for international students and anyone else on campus over the break. A member asked whether Great Western serves anything on Thanksgiving; it does not, as everything is closed. President Arguijo suggested asking Kelli Griffin whether SGA could borrow the dining room and cater food from a restaurant.

      2. The bike rack bill Jonah raised on August 31. Secretary Morgan has started writing it so that Jonah has a draft to work from, and several affordable options have been identified.

   9. Vice President Keeling said Chief Justice Edwards has a bill written for the Jet Refuel Station and asked members to send her ideas for it, such as a new coffee, hot chocolate as the weather gets colder, amounts or brands.

   10. President Arguijo will write her ASC capstone bill, likely next week.

3. Shark Tank proposal

   1. President Arguijo will post a vote in the GroupMe on September 28 on whether SGA takes part in the Shark Tank event or hands it to Student Life. That vote will be final.

   2. Josh presented the proposal. A student would pitch an event to CAB, Res Life, SAAC and SGA, and each group would offer a deal of money, help or both. Josh said whether and how to do it is SGA's decision. Secretary Morgan asked how it differs from the bills students already write and present to the senate. Josh said few students come to the senate with a bill, and that the event takes bill writing away from them and makes it an event, while they still do the work of running it. Secretary Morgan asked whether the student would still write a bill. President Arguijo said that under the constitution a bill is needed for SGA to fund the event. Josh said the groups would each make the student a deal, and a senator who backs the idea would write the bill for SGA's part. Secretary Morgan asked how often it would be held. Josh said it needs to happen once for now.

   3. Views on the proposal

      1. President Arguijo said it could be a good idea as long as SGA is in charge of it.

      2. Senator Ju said that if students are already doing the planning, they might as well write a bill, which follows the constitution.

      3. PR Chair Nunez said a bill shows the senate the breakdown of what an event costs, which a pitch could lose.

      4. Senator Masem said the format has SGA competing with the other groups when it should be collaborating with them.

   4. Vice President Keeling proposed, from the September 27 executive meeting, a Shark Tank theme rather than the format: a Shark Tank themed video from PR Chair Nunez promoting senate meetings, inviting clubs to collaborate at a meeting, and bringing in an audience when a large bill is presented. Senator Ju asked how that differs when meetings are already open and students do not come. Vice President Keeling said SGA would invite students face to face, including at the homecoming tailgate, rather than only saying the meetings are open.

4. Homecoming tailgate

   1. SGA had planned only to help during the homecoming day. Kenyon told the executive team that few groups have signed up for the tailgate, so SGA is proposing to take a spot. The spot costs $50.00, which would come from the leadership fund rather than the operating budget.

   2. Vice President Keeling proposed a government theme, such as judges or the founding fathers. The homecoming game is a whiteout. Ideas include white hair spray in place of wigs, gavels, tinsel wands, light-up foam whackers, white face paint, white bead necklaces and small megaphones to hand out so students can cheer; a printed copy of the SGA constitution for students to sign; signs such as "I plead the fifth" and "guilty of not wearing white" for photographs to post afterward; and asking students what they want from SGA, such as 7Brew or Chick-fil-A. The aim is to talk to students face to face and invite them to senate meetings.

   3. Senator (Phena) Kayode asked what time the tailgate is. It starts at 10:00 a.m.; Josh said the earliest set-up is 8:00 a.m. SGA may ask for a spot next to Res Life, since CAB is sitting with Res Life.

   4. Senator Do asked whether SGA needs to hand anything out. Vice President Keeling said it would be good to give students something to cheer with during the game. Senator Sherman asked what is already being handed out. Josh said Student Life is handing out blue rally towels and 200 red light sticks at the game. Senator Sherman said that if SGA hands things out as well, it may be too much for students who already have items from Student Life. Vice President Keeling said SGA could hand out something small, such as necklaces.

   5. The main person at the SGA spot will be Treasurer Hertel.

   6. President Arguijo will write the bill this week, including the $50.00 spot. Ideas go to the GroupMe by Wednesday night, so that purchasing can start Thursday. Senators will vote on the bill on the website before the next meeting.

Call to audience

1. Jacob took members' headshots for the SGA website during the meeting. President Arguijo will email the members who were absent to arrange a time.

2. Jacob was invited to speak and had nothing to add.

Committee Information and Updates

1. Ethics

   1. President Arguijo said the ethics committee may meet soon. Senators must attend meetings, vote, and tell the executive team of an absence 24 hours in advance, or the absence is unexcused unless the circumstances warrant otherwise. A member who no longer wants to serve, or is too busy, should tell the executive team.

2. Constitution

   1. The constitution will be updated soon. President Arguijo will email the senators about it by Wednesday, aiming to finish by the end of September.

3. Clubs

   1. Vice President Keeling is waiting on one member's schedule. She will set the meeting time from the availability already submitted, likely for next week. A member who marks a time as available and then misses the meeting will receive an unexcused absence unless there is a reason.

4. Security and grounds

   1. Secretary Morgan said the committee has met once, and its next meeting is Monday, October 5, to discuss the bill ideas raised today. He met with Jonah last week about the bike rack bill.

5. Jet Resource Hub

   1. President Arguijo gave the update in the absence of Treasurer Hertel. Sister Therese is collaborating with SGA on a food drive for the Jet Resource Hub and asked for a list of the items the hub accepts, which is being sent to her. The last day of the food drive is October 15, the day before fall break.

   2. A bill to restock the hub is expected from Treasurer Hertel after the food drive.

6. There was no update from Chief Justice Edwards.

Advisor Updates

1. Dean Chambers is sick and was not present. There were no advisor updates.

Executive Updates

1. President Arguijo had no updates.

2. Vice President Keeling said President Arguijo will write the tailgate bill and post a reminder in the GroupMe to review it, and the senate will vote on it on the website. Ideas should be sent before the bill is written.

3. Secretary Morgan said that two weeks ago he changed how the minutes are written. The minutes now try to record what was decided rather than who said what, so that the outcome of each item is easy to find. He still keeps the recording and can provide it to anyone who needs the source. Minutes are posted on the website once the senate approves them.

4. PR Chair Nunez said the Jet Resource Hub post will go up on September 29 or the morning of September 30, and asked senators to share it.

5. Vice President Keeling gave the update for Chief Justice Edwards. Senators should start thinking about Cultural Extravaganza. This year it will be planned by SGA as a whole, with the senators leading, rather than by one committee; the executive team will help. Chief Justice Edwards will reach out to the senators soon.

New Business

1. President Arguijo asked for items of new business and none were raised.

Adjournment

1. Senator (Phena) Kayode motioned to adjourn and Senator Masem seconded. The vote was by a show of hands.

2. Meeting adjourned.

3. After adjournment, the week's events were announced: men's soccer on Monday at 6:00 p.m., volleyball on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., a fundraiser with ASA and HALO and trivia on Wednesday, women's soccer on Thursday and Friday, and men's soccer on Saturday. Homecoming king and queen voting is open.