Dramatized photo of GSSC’s sessions

Everybody knows preparation is at the heart of success. Taking this aphorism to heart, GSSC divided itself into five categories which wrote down what they wanted to accomplish next semester. Student council specialist Joe Milholland reports on their hopes for the next semester, as well as some other updates.

At the General Studies Student Council (GSSC) general body meeting on Tuesday night, Associate Directors for Student Life Sean Trulby and Jawal Cipriani showed up to direct GSSC’s “council development” – essentially a workshop where the council reflected on this semester and came up with things to do for next semester.

Specifically, during this workshop, Trulby and Cipriani had council members write down on large sheets of papers what they wanted to accomplish next semester (along with their reflections on this semester). They divided this task into five categories, the council’s four committees (Campus Life, Communications, Policy, and Finance) and the council overall.

GSSC’s aspirations for Spring 2016, quoted from the sheets on which they wrote, are as follows:

• Communications – Mission Statements on website, highlight importance of reps, more social media outreach toward students that might not feel as connected, clearer communication with council, promoting reps via various social media channels, send polls to community to gauge interest, templates to be used for different types of Comm communications.
• Campus Life – More stuff, integrate JTS first-year events, outdoor picnic when the weather becomes [followed by a picture of a sun], GS Yankees game, an outline of events and budget, more coordination with reps in other GS councils about venue selection, build real new relationships, more networking with different student groups, reps – think of events and use your budget
• Policy – Constitution review, opportunities for direct student feedback, surveys/polls/town hall, constitution by-laws review, attendance issues → they must be fixed
• Finance – More sharing of budgets (weekly updates series?), let’s spend $, outline of how to request funds, yes let’s spend rep budget, guidelines for funds → communicating it, prepping for F@CU [the yearly meeting where governing boards, which fund student groups, get their budgets from the four undergrad councils], policy budget for pol things, access to respective rep budgets, more $$$ is always good.
• GSSC Overall – Please utilize Google Drive → all the things you need are on it, Gala, test on each others names/positions, office hours, projector isn’t necessary [GSSC uses a projector at its general body meetings], we need to update the info on Google Drive, formal training & informal training

The council had a discussion after they had filled out their sheets with Turlby and Cipriani as they reflected on their council. Along with discussion about internal matters and communication, like the absence policy (see in the updates below), the council came up with a few ideas and clarified a few things they were talking about.

Alumni Affairs Rep Hannah Germond specified that the finance guideline would be a guideline for GS students to see where they can get funds. Student Services Rep Silin Huang suggested more events for sophomores and juniors in addition to first-year and senior events, a suggestion that was endorsed by other council members. Multicultural Affairs Rep Vida Biggins suggested council members create personal mission statements as well as their “cold” official ones.

Updates:

• According to GSSC President Elizabeth Heyman, GSSC uses EMF the most.
• The council allocated $370 to ArtC, a GS arts club – $325 for its activities next semester, and $45 for two events its holding this semester.
• As for the giveaway money the council discussed last week, they voted on Tuesday to allocate $1,000 to buying staplers.
• New treadmills have come to Dodge Gym, and more renovations will be implemented in coming weeks.
• VP of Policy Michael Neier announced to the council that GSSC would start enforcing its absence policy while acknowledging the council had been lax on the policy in the semester so far. According to Neier, one unexcused absence is grounds for impeachment.
• According to VP of Communications Justin Lean, GS’s website should be operational today.