Student Government held its senate meeting Feb. 4, primarily focused on announcing the finalization of a committee charged with the creation of a new handbook for student media bylaws, providing information about upcoming elections and voting on budget allocations for upcoming events on campus.
SG president Devin Schwartz announced that the student media bylaws ad hoc committee had its final meeting that led to the creation of a committee charge for the Committee on Student Media, which will be in charge of creating new bylaws for student media as a replacement of the Student Media Operating Board.
Filing for the spring semester elections opens Feb. 24. Election orientation meetings will run from Feb. 10 through March 5, which is the last day of filing. Following this, the campaigning period begins March 10. Campaigning will occur March 13 at the Chess Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The executive debate date is to be determined. Ballots open March 31 and close April 2.
Comet Cupboard elected two shelf stars for Feb., the True Crime Association and the Association of Latino Professionals for America to compete in raising donations.
SG has $21,345 in the project’s budget to start each year. Thus far, $9050.56 of that amount has been allocated, leaving $12,294.44 to allocate. 3,983.23 has been spent to date, leaving $17,361.77 left.
Student affairs committee chair Hemachander Rubeshkumar spoke on the art competition Blank Space that is held each semester with three categories: 3D art, 2D art and digital art. Allocations for the budget are to be set after the submissions are received so the funds may be properly distributed for prizes to the winners depending on what is submitted to the competition.
An allocation of $2,676.56 for the Black History Month Cookout, a diversity, equity and belonging event was voted on and passed. The event will be held Feb. 26th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the visitor’s atrium and the visitor’s center.
An allocation of $2,936.75 for the Passport to the World event in partnership with the Intercultural Program was voted on and passed. The event will occur Feb. 17. This event is focused on celebrating diversity and global awareness, celebrating with American cuisine.
SG is hosting the Public Health Fair in the Chess Plaza March 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. SG is partnering with Partners in Health Engage, University Emergency Medical Response and the university Wellness Center to provide public health screenings for things such as blood pressure and select STDs.
Maria Shaikh, managing editor for The Retrograde, spoke during the public comments section of the meeting. Shaikh spoke on behalf of The Retrograde, imploring those in SG with a dedicated interest in journalism be appointed to COSM, as they would be tasked with creating the new set of bylaws to govern all of student media. Shaikh said campus administration presently is essentially asking for the same bylaws to be reused under a different name; the same bylaws that led to the Mercury strike of Sep. 2024 and the end of The Mercury followed by the eventual creation of The Retrograde as UTD’s independent student newspaper.
“The Retrograde has our own set of bylaws that we’ve constructed in consultation with the Student Press Law Center, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Foundation for Individual Rights and expression and actual lawyers,” Shaikh said. “That is the set of bylaws that we’d like to push through, which will address all the issues that we had last semester and make sure that The Retrograde is seen as the official student newspaper of UT Dallas.”