Meeting Minutes September 19, 2019

Northern Essex Community College Student Government Association Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order by President, Samantha Cook
Date | Time: 09/19/2019, 4:01 PM. Total Voting Members : 5. Quorum : Yes.

Roll Call

Secretary, Chloe Upham conducted the roll call. The following individuals were present:

Executive Board Attendance

• President: Samantha Cook
• Vice President of the Haverhill Campus: Courtney Morin
• Treasurer: Mehali Patel
• Secretary: Chloe Upham
• General Members:
  • Joe Paquin

Non-Voting Board Attendance

5

Guests In Attendance

• Advisor: Stephanie Haskell
• Chair of the Executive Committee: Sheila Muller
• Assistant VP of Student Affairs: Dr. Jennifer Mezquita

The Following Members Were Absent

• Hannah Benning
• Peter Rodriguez
• Sofia Fedele

Guests

Professor Sheila Muller

1. Professor Muller wants to be more present at Student Government meetings as a way of helping the communication between
   committees on campus. During this semester, she will be working with the Executive Committee to figure out a system that would
   effectively share information between all committees on campus and act as a better warehouse of data and forms online.
2. Professor Muller wants to bring awareness to both the All College Assembly and the Student Affairs Committee. Both organizations
   have seen a drop in membership due to overwhelming schedules and time commitments.
   1. The All College Assembly is the internal governance of Northern Essex. It is composed of any member of Northern Essex,
      except President Lane Glenn. The All College Assembly oversees everything that is being done on campus.
   2. The Student Affairs Committee considers and makes recommendations concerning all areas of student life including:
      1. Recruitment
      2. Admissions
      3. Orientation
      4. Advising
      5. Student activities
3. The All College Assembly will be meeting on September 30,2019 in TC-103A and LC-301 from 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm.

Dr. Jennifer Mezquita

1. Dr. Mezquita’s role on campus is to supervise the process that students undergo before they reach their classrooms. She oversees
   financial aid, academic advising, etc.
2. Dr. Mezquita is looking forward to working with Student Government as well as all students on both the Lawrence and Haverhill
   campuses.
3. Dr. Mezquita’s office can be found on the Haverhill Campus in SC103A.

Student Forum

No comment was made during the student forum. Students are encouraged to email Student Government with any issues or
concerns that they would like to present at a Student Government meeting. Additionally, all students and faculty are welcome
to sit in on a Student Government meeting.

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes from the 09/12/2019 meeting.

Moved by : Chloe Upham Seconded by : Joe Paquin

Voting results : Unanimous Motion Passes

Minutes for all meetings are posted on the web at https://www.necc.mass.edu/experience/student-government-association/
within 72 hours of the meeting.

Executive Committee Reports: (Briefly State in 1 minute or less)

President: Samantha Cook

1. The president helped out at the Popcorn and Positions event on the Haverhill campus on September 16th.
   Additionally, she helped out at the Constitution Day event on September 17th. The president is planning to meet with
   NECC President Lane Glenn and Daniel Keating.

Vice President of the Haverhill Campus: Courtney Morin

1. The vice president of Haverhill emailed all SGA Executive Board members in order to figure out times where
   everyone was available.

Vice President of the Lawrence Campus: Hannah Benning

1. Absent

Treasurer: Mehali Patel

1. The treasurer is planning to create a spreadsheet for all Student Government events, which will consist of an itemized
   list, in order to prevent overspending.

Secretary: Chloe Upham

1. The secretary worked the Popcorn and Positions event on the Haverhill campus on September 16th. She reminded all
   present SGA members to continue to work on showing the student body that SGA is a welcoming club.

Programming Chair

VACANT

Marketing Chair

VACANT

Parliamentarian: Sofia Fedele

1. Absent

Tabled Business

1. Hispanic Heritage Month
   1. Student Government will be creating and posting informational fliers around campus that bring
      awareness to the HIspanic community during Hispanic Heritage Month.
2. Constitution Committee
   1. The committee worked with Janel at her tabling event on Constitution Day (Sept. 17th) and passed
      out parts of the SGA Constitution that is in the process of being revised and updated.
3. Special Elections
   1. A broadcast email will be sent out during the week of September 23rd.
   2. Special elections serve as Student Government’s “emergency elections” as a way to fill vacant,
      important positions early in the semester.
   3. Voting for special elections will be held during Student Government’s October 3rd meeting.
4. Transportation
   1. Samantha has been communicating with William Heineman, Mary Murphy, and Mike McCarthy
      regarding the current transportation issues. Isabelle Gagne requested that the NECC community
      gives them a week to sort out some of the transportation issues.
   2. MVRTA has changed the shuttle bus night schedule, which can be found on Northern Essex’s
      website (necc.mass.edu)
   3. It is believed that since enrollment at NECC was higher than it was projected to be, that the shuttles
      are not accommodating for the extra amount of students.
5. Executive Board Meetings
   1. Samantha reminded Executive Board members, who have not already, to respond to the email
      thread with their available hours.
6. Student Lounge
   1. It was proposed that instead of creating a DVD station, Student Government should turn the space
      into a relaxing lounge area with items such as board games, foosball table, playing cards, etc.
7. Gaming with Government
   a. Samantha tables this topic to next week, because she would like to discuss it when Peter Rodriguez
   is present.

New Business

1. Popcorn & Positions Evaluation (Haverhill)

   1. Samantha reported that the event went well. Student Government brochures were handed out with
      most bags of popcorn. Chloe suggested in the future that the event should be set up before classes
      get out, in order to reach a greater number of students.
   2. Samantha suggested that we create stickers with Student Government’s email and social media
      information on them, and use the stickers to seal the popcorn bags.

2. Lawrence Parking

   1. Hannah met with Mike McCarthy and Deborah Crafts regarding the overflow parking problem.
   2. Lawrence parking was tabled for next week (9/26/19).

3. October Fundraising

   1. Samantha suggested that Student Government holds a Halloween-themed event where students can
      get their tarot cards read, purchase goodie bags of candy and baked goods, as well as wear
      costumes.

Advisors Report

1. Club paperwork for Fall 2019 must be passed into Allison Gouveia by October 4th.
2. The advisor reminded members to sign up for the U-Knighted Fair events.
   1. October 2nd, Haverhill campus on the Quad, 11:00am to 1:30pm
   2. October 9th, Lawrence campus in Dimitry Lobby, 11:00am to 1:30pm
3. During Hispanic Heritage Month, if you post on social media about any Hispanic Heritage events, use the
   hashtag (#necccelebra).

Trustee Report

1. The trustee will be attending the Student Advisory Council on Friday, October 4th.
   1. The Student Advisory Council is a statewide program that is a way for college students to bring a
      voice, collectively, to the Board of Higher Education to address statewide issues.

Next Meeting / Adjournment

The next SGA meeting will be on Thursday, September 26th at 4:00 P.M. in Haverhill, SC 106 & in Lawrence in
Dimitry 143.

Motion to adjourn was made at 5:04 P.M. and was passed unanimously.