Following discussions about club sustainability and uniqueness on campus, four new student clubs were approved by the Student Government Association at its March 21 meeting and are now affiliated with Emerson.
The purpose and mission for one student organization, 172 Below, is to offer students concert and cabaret experience. Cabaret is a combination of music and dance that is different from typical plays and musicals, according to the submission statement. Other student organizations that were also approved were American Sign Language Club, Emerson Foreign Policy Collective, and Planned Parenthood Generation Action.
“We have … student organizations entirely dissolving this year or not requesting and few others merging,” Executive Vice Treasurer Angus Abercrombie said. “We have some space to play with.”
The budget to fund the student organizations was among one of the concerns in SGA’s discussions.
“Depending on what they are asking,” Executive Treasure Oliver Katz said. “In [years] past, [there] have [been] organizations that have not been super sustainable.”
Katz regards the sustainability of a student organization in terms of the recruitment process for people to take over leaders once founding members have graduated.
“You all know, space is very limited,” said Director of Student Engagement and Leadership Jennifer Nival. When SGA considers approving new organizations, Nival said they “see if these organization[s] bring a uniqueness to Emerson College … that don’t meet a mission that’s already here.”
Student Accessibility Senator Karli Wallace noted there is already interest in other ASL programs on campus, saying a new interest group would already have “good turnout.”
“The diversification of spaces is really important,” Wallace said.
Communication Studies Senator Elizabeth Pereira, one of the founding members of Emerson Foreign Policy Collective, explained that the current education system is very U.S.-centered, and does not recognize the instrumental role that foreign relations play in our own system.
“There’s only a handful of classes that relate to foreign policy outside the U.S.” Pereira said.
Chief Justice Georgia Winn said that the student organization serves an important purpose. “Especially [for] people interested,” Winn said. “[We] also have a huge international student population.”
Abercrombie brought up how there are also a lot of opportunities in Boston to have international conversations, given the city’s large immigrant population. Boston is also a sanctuary city for immigrants.
“All these really excellent international and foreign policy relationships we could be building as a school,” Abercrombie said of this being an opportunity “investing in those seriously.”
Pereira added that Emerson Foreign Policy Collective is focusing on international students and what is going on in their countries, cross interests, and a combination of the two aspects.
Safety was another concern SGA discussed.
First Generation Low-Income Senator Jazzy Compton is a part of Planned Parenthood Generation Action. Compton has already organized a menstrual drive packaging resources and tabling on campus.
“[We] are affiliated with Planned Parenthood itself,” Compton said, explaining that the organization is “walking with you, walking right next to Suffolk [University] and Clark [University] students.”
General assembly members already active in the student organizations abstained from voting due to conflict of interest.
SGA also heard from Market Communications Specialist Juan Vegas Rios who discussed Emerson’s alumni networking platform Handshake at the meeting as an introduction to the Career Development Center.
[It’s] very similar to any social media, as Handshake has tried to move into the LinkedIn space,” Rios said. “Profile completion really increases chances of being noticed by recruiters and employers overall.”
When asked how long Emerson students have access to Handshake, Rios said accounts can be changed to alumni accounts depending on if people keep their Emerson IDs. Emersonians can update their profile from school email to personal email to keep access post-graduation.
“Outcomes really do support the use of Handshake,” Rios said of students who received internship opportunities through Handshake. “It kind of tells me Handshake is becoming their outcome when it comes to getting students internships.”
Executive Vice President Kayla Armbruster asked if there is public information about reports from Handshake.
“Annual reports [are] mandatory to do,” Rios said. “[We’ve been] shifting things on our website.”
The reports Rios talked about include more about where other students are working, what they plan to do, and other groundwork about where everyone is starting off right now, according to Rios.
Katz suggested how it might be helpful to break down reports by department. “[There is a] significant amount of overlap,” Katz said. “If [you] look by department or similar programs … better average … similar things to what people are doing.”
The campaign period is open for election candidates running for SGA. All candidates and a timeline are on SGA’s website. Voting closes on April 3 at 9 p.m. and the results will be announced at SGA’s general assembly meeting April 4.
“[There] are people running for multiple positions,” Nair said. “If they win multiple positions, [they] will be asked to pick one.”
The position someone does not choose will go to the person with the next most votes, according to Nair.
Additionally, as the end of the year approaches, Nair brought up the SGA academic initiative. The initiative is a compiled document of reflection made up of different sections for senators to reflect on their experience, interest projects, and work that still needs to be done. Nair said that the initiative has not been done in five years.
