TSG approves leaders

Swearing to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the Temple Student Government,” two new TSG committee chairs were approved yesterday.

TSG’s general assembly unanimously accepted Yosef Kalish and Daniella Mendoza as the new heads of the Environmental Awareness and Diversity Affairs committees, respectively.

The assembly, lead by speaker Marissa Procope and new Secretary Kadja Tramontana, also agreed to the addition of 27 new representatives from campus groups ranging from Chosen Generation Ministries to the Haitian Student Association.

In his first report as head of Environmental Awareness, Kalish highlighted the committee’s accomplishments over the last year and looked ahead to many of the activities his team has planned for the next.

“Last year we planted 80 trees,” Kalish said. “This year we plan to plant trees around two elementary schools. Hopefully we can make their lives a little better.”

Mendoza, not unlike Kalish, used her message to look ahead. Reporting on the committee’s recent watch over undergraduate admission standards, Mendoza spoke optimistically.

“We’ve made a lot of progress with new admissions standards. … We’ve written a letter to President [David] Adamany about meeting deadlines concerning the creation of an office of Multi-cultural Affairs,” Mendoza said.

Along with Student Body President Naeem Johnson, Mendoza praised Temple’s administration for its work in creating a new office dedicated purely to cultural affairs.

Both committee chairpersons represented clubs not officially noted in the TSG’s constitution, a detail that is expected to change next week. That’s when TSG plans to vote upon several extensive additions and omissions to their by-laws. The TSG by-laws haven’t changed since February of last year.

In addition to adding the clubs, TSG Parliamentarian Chanel Dennis also warned government members that a section addressing meeting attendance had been added. Representatives may now miss only three meetings per semester.

“You don’t show up, you don’t get paid,” Dennis said.

Christopher Reber can be reached at tua04453@temple.edu.