On Monday, Dec. 6 Temple Student Government met for its seventh and final senate meeting of the semester. Senate President Colin Saltry began the meeting by introducing TSG’s goals for next semester and a plan to focus on short-term improvements.
“Our short-term efforts are limited to small numbers of students and small numbers of student groups,” Saltry said.
Saltry then brought up Governor-Elect Tom Corbett’s future plans to slash government spending. Saltry said that funding for Pennsylvania’s four state schools could be at risk.
If the state does not fund Temple next year, Saltry said, there will be a $170 million gap in the budget.
“Anything could be on the table,” Saltry said, “and this is something that affects all of us.”
Saltry asked his fellow TSG members to help spread the word in order to keep the university as affordable and accessible as possible.
Associate Vice President of Marketing and Branding Michele Moore also gave a summary of her future plans and strategies.
“Temple has this extraordinary brand,” Moore said, “and we just have to be able to communicate it more effectively and influence folks in Harrisburg and across the nation about the wonderful things going on here.”
Moore said she plans on completing brand research as well as getting TSG and other student leaders involved in research on people’s perception of Temple.
Student Body President Natalie Ramos-Castillo then announced there will be a “Breakfast with Vice President Dr. Powell” on Wednesday, Dec. 8 in which student organization presidents will come together to discuss their roles as leaders.
Ramos-Castillo then went over plans for the February summit in Harrisburg where Temple will meet with the three other state-related schools to advocate for higher education funding.
By bringing students, Ramos-Castillo said, Temple can bring faces to the names of those students whose budget could be potentially be cut.
“[We are] making sure they know that when they’re cutting Temple, they’re cutting the future generation,” Ramos-Castillo said.
Afterward, there were a series of resignations.
TSG Supreme Court Chief Justice Keith Davis officially resigned from TSG after three and a half years of commitment because he will be graduating at the end of the semester.
Davis announced current Justice Jillian Kochis will be his replacement.
Senator of Boyer College of Music and Dance Jeff Torchon also announced his resignation from TSG. Torchon will begin his final semester this spring and said he will not be able to fulfill his duties as a senator.
Sergeant at Arms Kevin Gerard, who will be graduating at the end of the semester, also announced his resignation from TSG.
TSG then ratified Senate Bill R10-12, an act “ratifying the Temple Student Government Election Rules,” introduced by Senator of College Education Monica Rindfleisch and sponsored by Elections Commissioner Christina Savage.
TSG will resume its regular meeting schedule in the spring semester.
Cary Carr can be reached at cary.carr@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment