February began with midterm elections, and we are happy to share that eight new senators were elected: Kaden Mason, Moses Thibault, Joseph Ketter, Eva Phillippi, Holly Speake, Elia DelRazo, Niamh Baker and Anthony Viola.
We are excited to welcome them to the team as we continue to work on our three senate-wide goals.
Goal #1: Expand support amid the current political climate
The Student Action and Wellbeing and Public Relations committees held the Week of Kindness from Feb. 9 to 13.
We introduced several new events, such as a Week of Kindness Photo Booth and “Sips of Appreciation,” a time for students to make appreciation cards for faculty and staff. This was the second time this school year that we hosted a week-long event to further support our student body.
On Feb. 25, we hosted the Civic Engagement Fair in partnership with the Office of Civic Engagement. We thank the advocacy-based clubs, campus departments and community organizations that attended and taught our student body more about getting involved in the community.
The Committee on Legislative and Community Affairs has been busy building connections with Burlington’s Neighborhood Planning Assemblies. This month, the Committee attended the Ward 8 City Council Forum to ask candidates questions on issues that matter to students, including how the candidates plan on addressing food insecurity.
Our Common Ground Values Committee is preparing for the inaugural “Our Common Ground Week,” which will feature events addressing how UVM students find community. This will be held from March 16 to 20.
Our Common Ground Values Committee has also been busy planning “March! A Celebration of Leadership” on March 31. The event is in partnership with the Women and Gender Equity Center and highlights intercultural excellence work being done around UVM.
Goal #2: Leading sexual violence prevention efforts
For Sexual Violence Awareness Month in April, our Our Common Ground Values Committee has selected the theme “Building Community Through Resilience.” The ad hoc committee is working hard to finalize the month’s events and will soon release more information.
Goal #3: Enhancing SGA operations and increasing our visibility
We had an SGA Leadership Retreat on Feb. 22, where our senators learned more about how we can best serve our constituents.
We held our second SGA pop-up event of the semester on Feb. 12 in Kalkin Hall, where we served donuts and accepted donations for the Rally Cat Cupboard.
We attended the Graduate Student Senate on Feb. 10 to further our relationship with governance groups across campus.
ClubSigner Updates
SGA is currently in the process of finalizing our Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Clubs have requested over $3.7 million. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding with this process and look forward to seeing what our clubs do this upcoming year.
Our Club Affairs and Finance Committee is proud to announce that “The Clubbies: Club Awards Show” is coming up April 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The nomination form is live on UVM Clubs, and if you are a club signer, you can RSVP on UVM Clubs to spend two hours celebrating the clubs that make our campus special.
How to reach us
Please stop by our office, located on the third floor of the Davis Center in the SGA Galaxy Space, with any questions or concerns you may have. We hold office hours every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Friday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Our weekly meetings take place on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the Livak Ballroom and are open to all students.
We look forward to another great month ahead.
