Last Thursday, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Press Secretary Isaiah Jakab filled the Clarion staff in on the club’s most recent agenda and bills passed.
USG was established to help clubs who are in need of funding and to initiate change relevant to the student body through interaction with faculty and administration. The USG President, Bryce Armijo, has weekly meetings with Chancellor Chopp to keep up with campus news and policy and the group meets as a whole weekly. Although much of USG has remained the same as in years past, the judicial branch is new to USG this quarter to act as a lawyer for both DU and students and the Press Secretary position will allow greater accountability between the club and the DU community in general. USG decided to add this position because although the club is responsible for quite a bit of change on campus, students typically do not realize what their purpose is and what types of change they enact. Additionally, USG has made significant effort to make it easier for transition to happen between new leadership positions. When the new president and senators are elected, they will be mentored by old senators.
In USG’s most recent meeting on Tuesday, Chancellor Rebecca Chopp spoke about the recent construction efforts on campus and her desire to integrate those efforts into shaping a genuine culture at the university. Chopp said that “[DU is] off on a voyage” to create a new foundation at DU—both literally and figuratively.
DU students are known for their independent spirit, which is a good thing in itself, but Chopp and USG discussed the need for the university to further engage with the DU community. Although DU is marketed as a school that fosters inclusive excellence and diversity, groups of students with similar backgrounds and interests can be seen around campus and many of these groups do not interact with each other. Minority students who feel that they are not valued or included will not feel a desire to invest in the university after they graduate and will not have as meaningful a college experience.
In addition to student participation in shaping this culture, USG and Chancellor Chopp mentioned that professors should be accountable for making sure to use inclusive language and fostering an environment of valuing different perspectives.
Chopp hopes that the new construction on campus, such as the Community Commons, will allow students to be in one central location for students to collaborate and spend time with one another. She hopes that the entire DU community can continue a discussion about what DU’s culture should look like and how to go about shaping it.
Some of the bills passed during Thursday’s meeting included a bill for USG’s finance department to provide $3,500 for First Edition’s (DU’s all a capella group) nationals competition in Utah, a bill regarding Title IX (condemning changes and encouraging DU to ensure safety for all students), and two bills regarding attendance for the executive branch.
USG passed two bills regarding attendance, because the secretaries appointed by the executive branch for organizations such as Greek Life hadn’t been attending enough senate meetings. They’re required to attend four out of the remaining eight of the quarter in addition to separate branch meetings just with the executive branch every two weeks (unless they have a valid excuse).
The USG meeting minutes can be found online.
