In a lighting fast meeting, GSSC discussed allocation of funds, while also giving updates about the housing survey and Student Health Ambassadors. Big Boi Bwogger Andrew Chee presents the recap from GSSC.

President Raisa Flor started off student council with two main updates, recounting Dean Rosen-Metsch’s presence at a dinner hosted by President Bollinger for the Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors, and a new vacancy on the council. Dean Rosen-Metsch highlighted the importance of the existence of the School of General Studies, noting that it has brought together many talented and driven individuals from all backgrounds, especially those who are in need of greater financial support so that they can be present in this community. To that end, she emphasized to the Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors the need to expand and increase scholarship funds for the GS community.

With regards to the vacancy, VP of Campus Life, Sondra Woodruff, stepped down from her position this semester due to personal reasons. Thus. applications for the election of a replacement will go live shortly, and everybody is encouraged to apply, including student council members.

As the results of the housing survey are collected and analyzed, the prominence of housing and food insecurity in the GS community is more evident than ever before. To that end, the survey will be expanded upon and a new survey will go out in order to further identify pain points for students. In conjunction with First Generation Low-Income Partnership (FLIP), $150 from the senator budget and $150 from the policy budget was allocated toward survey rewards in order to entice additional students to respond to the upcoming survey. While this survey is intended to expand to the greater university community in the future, these particular survey rewards will be reserved specifically for GS students, as it is coming out of GSSC funds. Ultimately, the data collected from the survey will benefit the entire community, especially FLIP students.

GSSC returned to its regularly scheduled programming with the allocation of funds. GSSC allocated $1000 for the first year senior lunch, with funds being split 40/60 from the respective fund accounts. $500 was allocated for Lerner Pub on Saturday, March 9 at 9 pm; Lerner Pub was stated multiple times as occurring in the Diana Center, but the name and Facebook event suggest that it is in Lerner, so be sure to verify the location before arriving. Lastly, $3700 was allocated for Midterm Snack Attacks on March 11 to 14. As always, Snack Attacks will take place in the GS Lounge, with breakfast at 9 am and lunch at 12:30 pm.

The Student Health Ambassadors Initiative has closed applications after an overwhelming number of applicants; further information on future steps will be disclosed in the near future, with training to occur in April and August. Notably, while CU Well Peers are designated as NSOP-only resources, RHLO (CC/SEAS) will serve as Health Services resources throughout the school year, with GS having a similar but separate program for the same time frame. CU Well Peers will have the option of also serving as resources during the school year; they are not mutually exclusive positions.

And in a mere twenty minutes, GSSC is done! Time to go back to studying for midterms — thanks for tuning in this week and godspeed to everyone! Spring break is only a week away now, so hang in there!