By Lauren Beeman

Quincy University’s Student Government Association is experiencing a rocky beginning under the term of President Gino Grivetti with challenges regarding an established meeting time topping the list of issues the new administration is facing.

Grivetti was elected by students last spring along with Vice-President Mary Argana and senators for each class.

At the end of the spring semester, the new officers distributed a campus-wide survey to students asking for their level of satisfaction with different departments around campus. A new constitution was said to be in the works, but since one has yet to be ratified, the previous constitution still stands.

Without a published schedule of meetings for Fall 2017, students and senators alike were scrambling to figure out exactly when SGA meetings were going to be held and how their voices could be heard.

SGA held a meeting Tuesday night after a last-minute date change from a previously scheduled Wednesday night meeting time.

Lack of a standard meeting time impacted senator attendance at the past few weekly-meetings. The constitution states that senators who miss more than four meetings lose their voting power.

According to the standing constitution, “Every full-time student attending Quincy University shall be a non-voting member of the Senate.” Without a publicly posted meeting time, student attendance at meetings also fallen behind this semester.

The constitution states that regular meeting times are to be posted around campus and on SGA’s various social media pages.

Since the start of the semester four weeks ago, several elected senators have resigned from their positions including Grivetti’s election-opponents Matt Anderson and Bridget Hunkins.

Campus Activities Board representative, Quincy Fuehne has also left her position as senator.

Last year, SGA absorbed CAB under its control in order to create a more cohesive hub for planning student events.

Fuehne, who serves as CAB’s president, explained that is no longer the case.

“I am no longer in SGA…I have suggested that we both promote each other’s events, but really they (CAB and SGA) are two completely different things,” Fuehne said.

Fuehne’s goal is to bring life back into campus, which she believes can be accomplished by creating enticing campus events while remaining a separate entity from SGA.

“We decided it would be best for us (SGA) to go to them (CAB) and inform them of what the students want because we are the voice,” Argana said.

CAB meetings are being held Tuesday nights at 9:15 in the Student Center under the cafeteria.

According to the SGA constitution, open senator seats are subject to presidential appointment, meaning Grivetti has the authority to select individuals to fill the empty positions. If a position is not filled, officers and remaining senators must take up the duties of the vacant position.

“The students that have contacted me that have decided to resign have resigned because they didn’t have time for SGA or because they wanted to give their time to the university in another form,” Dean of Students and SGA Advisor Christine Tracy said.

Grivetti said in an email to QUMedia today that SGA plans to meet at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Board of Trustees Conference Room.

During his campaign, Grivetti cited providing better events for students as his primary motivation.

“My motivation for running then is to provide better events for students, CAB falls under SGA, and there is a lot of other stuff, so that is my primary reason for running,” Grivetti said during the campaign.