The Student Government Association (SGA) discussed upcoming resolutions about an emergency housing scholarship, “Traditions Without Borders” and more. 

Nicholas Sides, a junior business administration and history major from Newport, helped lead the Food Recovery Program. The program is partnering with Sodexo and the Food Recovery Network to redistribute food from the cafeteria to the Arkansas State University Food Pantry, as well as the Salvation Army if possible. 

“Today, Tuesday the 24th, we had our very first official recovery. We recovered 105 individual meals that A-State students or faculty can come to the food pantry and pick up. From today and yesterday, we did 125 total pounds of food during those two days,” Sides said.

Individuals interested in learning more or getting involved with the Food Recovery Program and sustainability on campus can email Sides at nicholas.sides@smail.astate.edu. 

The recovery program will be recovering food every Tuesday and Thursday. 

Garrett Partain, a senior political science major with a minor in Spanish from Lepanto, Arkansas, helped create a new housing scholarship for students on campus last year. Partain went over a resolution to amend SR 22/23-01 and to discuss his plans for how the funding will be distributed.

He announced that a committee will be created this year to help create trial runs for the scholarship. 

These trial runs will help cover the cost of staying on campus during the fall, winter and spring breaks.

Partain said that they are trying to figure out how to distribute the funds to the students who need the emergency funding. 

“We could do it like the Student Emergency Fund does in which they use the private scholarship portal or we could somehow figure out a deal with university housing where they could automatically (put) it in there,” Partain said. 

At the next SGA meeting the committee to oversee the creation and execution of these trials will be created and voted on.

ER 23/24 – 02, sponsored by president Caleb Thomas, chief of staff Rachel Mooneyham and secretary Elizabeth England, is a resolution start a “Traditions Without Borders” program on campus. 

Mooneyham, a junior strategic communications from Jonesboro, presented the resolution.

“It is pretty much going to be pairing international students with domestic students, faculty and staff to share our holiday meals together,” Mooneyham said. 

The resolution aims to foster a sense of belonging, immersion, sharing American tradition and strengthening international relationships. 

Requirements of individuals hosting will include:

• Living within a 50-mile radius of campus
• Willing to host the student on the chosen day
• Must keep an open mind, engage and share one’s own culture and tradition with the student
• Complete a form containing contact information, information regarding the household and information regarding the event itself: such as time, location, etc.

Students wishing to attend will be required to give their: 

• Contact information
• When they are available
• Transposition plans
• Dietary information
• Declare if they would like to provide a gift or not
• Any additional information 

These requirements are subject to change. 

Officer Sadie McGee became a liaison between SGA and the University Police Department. McGee will be in charge of giving reports to the senate at their meetings as well as providing information for both parties when needed. 

Micayla McGowen, a junior marketing major from East End, Arkansas is the vice president of SGA. 

“If we have any questions that is our point of contact with UPD, if there is anything that we were concerned about, we could go to her instead,” McGowen said. 

Their upcoming meetings are planned to cover nursing stations for mothers in the Centennial Bank stadium, the creation of a committee for SR 22/23 – 01 and more discussion regarding ER 11/12 – 04. 

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