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Minutes 2.8.21 SEnate secretary, abby kibler

Call to Order

  • Call to Order at 7:01 PM
  • Invocation given by Senator Goodroe
  • Pledge of Allegiance
  • Roll Call: Missing Senator Tellur, Lusk, Missouri, Brandenburg, Rogers, Wolfe
  • Nomination Period:
  • President:
  • Senator Bynum: nominated Senator Finnell
  • Senator Liles: nominated Pro Temp Williams
  • President Pro-Tempore:
  • Senator Wood: nominated Senator Franke
  • Senator Fowler: nominated Senator Mazzeo
  • Secretary:
  • Senator Fowler: nominated Senator Doerflein
  • Clerk:
  • Senator Fowler: nominated Senator Tiffin
  • Motion: Senator Tiffin: move to enter the calendar of special orders and exit the calendar of general orders for a 15-minute presentation by Mayor Halfacre followed by a 20 minute Q&A period

Presentation by Robert Halfacre, Clemson's Mayor

Presentation:

  • I really appreciate the Q&A aspect of this presentation, and what you share with me, I can share with our whole city and all of the employees at the city office. The number one item that everyone is talking about is COVID and the fiscal situation that we live in. The economic impact is not only affecting the city, but many residents, students, businesses, and employees. We are trying to be as nimble as possible to change and adapt to what we think is best for everyone and the Clemson community. For the last 15 years, Clemson has changed a lot. There have been a lot of great things and a lot of challenges. I have lived in Clemson since I was 2 and have been here for many years. I am so thankful for Clemson University, our student population, our businesses within Clemson, and everyone in the Clemson community. These times are really challenging, and it is a tough time to lead by example and to have the right behaviors in terms of being safe and healthy in the midst of COVID. There is a lot of balancing going on at the city office because we want to uphold COVID guidelines but also allow our residents to engage and socialize in a safe way.
  • We really do truly try to balance the approach from the residential side, the community side, and the business side. I am so thankful for the Pickens County School district since they are able to do a lot right now even despite COVID. Both of my kids are enrolled in high schools within the school district, and they are able to do their extracurriculars in a safe and healthy way. I think having the ability to socialize and gather is very healthy, especially in a mental capacity. From those of us at the city office, we want you all to engage and interact. Obviously, it needs to be safe and healthy in the age of COVID.
  • Another thing I campaigned on for mayor was to increase our efforts of economic growth. No growth is not realistic in today’s time, but rather we have smart growth, which is having the right balance between housing, the engagement from the business side, and throughout the whole city. Better communication and unity between our city council is important. I think our city council is a very unified group, and we are different and have diverse opinions, but we always try to do what is best for the community. It is not about winning or losing, but fostering the communication to make decisions that are the best for the Clemson community.
  • We don’t ever want to lose sight of our core services. We want to continue to help the community in any way possible. We are in unparalleled times, and some of our businesses are struggling to stay afloat. I have served in different capacities, but the key is making all of the connections and finding the balance between being safe but also managing a city in a healthy way with the ability to grow. At the city office, we are committed to maintaining public safety but also enhancing economic vitality. We are committed to promoting new and innovative ways to keep our businesses open and our community safe. We know it is a financial burden for many different people right now. We have done a lot of different things over the past 9-10 months to help our community, but we are always looking for ways to help our community more. If you want to reach out to me, please feel free to reach out to me via phone at 864-888-7127 or email at rhalfacre@cityofclemson.org.

Questions:

  • Senator Tiffin: I have the opportunity to work part-time at one of the restaurants downtown. Why and when was the curfew of 11:00 PM installed and is there any plan to lift it soon? The curfew went into place because it was an order by the South Carolina state government and specifically the governor. It went into effect to help make everything safer and not have as many people out later into the night. Any of the governor’s orders always supersede what we do on the city level.
  • Senator Moore: Are there currently any plans coming from the Mayor’s office to revitalize the economy? First and foremost, the challenge is the size of Clemson. It is less than 10 miles, meaning the land is very limited. Our efforts are to always have that economic growth, but the way that Clemson will grow is through annexation by the owners of businesses in the community. This is not a choice from Clemson’s local officials, but rather from the landowners and developers. There has been a lot of growth that is growing out towards Easley. There are different opportunities that are possible on 93 or other parts of Clemson, but the city itself has a very hard time acquiring property. Property is very expensive, and it is hard for the city to accumulate a tremendous amount of property because of the cost. We can partner with private developers in the future, which is a good thing, but we don’t have the resources to purchase the land ourselves.
  • Senator Adams: Can you give more information for the projection you see for the development of the community? We just recently partnered with Clemson University community testing. The University has done a lot of good things with their testing, and they have been very kind in partnering with us. Clemson University is huge and our partnership with them is very critical in the growth of the community. We just created and outlined through a strategic plan, and it is clemsonnext.com, and it essentially sums up ways we want to grow and expand. We have had some challenges, however, such as 123. There is no easy way to fix 123, and it is a long-term plan and goal we have to fix it.
  • Pro Temp Williams: When, if possible, could you see us do another safety walk? I am open to do another safety walk whenever. We definitely appreciated the help last year from y’all, and it was great to hear the opinions of the students. It does always talk a little bit of time to fix things, but we appreciate all of the insight we get from the students and residents of this community.
  • Senator Fowler: Could you go into a little more detail on potential solutions you might be working out with business owners or operators of fast food restaurants on Tiger Blvd? We have reached out to the SC Department of Transportation many times to discuss many options. One of the options presented was to put a concrete path on 123 that would make things run more smoothly, but there were concerns of vitality. Specifically, people were concerned it would negatively impact the businesses on Tiger Blvd, and that is definitely not our intention. There are a lot of different solutions that could help fix the issue on Tiger Blvd, but none of them is a quick fix. Almost all of the plans as well would make us have to give up something, so it has been hard figuring out what solution is the best for everyone. We have had traffic studies, and we know that traffic is only increasing. It is not just a Clemson issue now; we have seen this happen in Oconee and Greenville county. COVID has created a perfect storm because it has caused a lot of dining rooms to not be available and now all of these businesses are relying on their drive-thrus.
  • Senator Bynum: A few weeks ago, there was an incident with a big concert in the downtown area. What measures have been put into place since then to ensure nothing like that happens again? We did have an incident downtown with a large gathering, and the business was given a citation about a week later by SLED. We want people to come downtown, and that incident has caused more people to not want to come downtown. It is a tough time to maintain safety measures with small businesses, but there are ways to avoid unhealthy gathering. I think we were like third or fourth in the state to put a face mask ordinance in place. Enforcement can be tough too. We want people to use common sense, and if you get together with a group, make sure you are washing your hands, wearing your mask, and social distancing. There are already things in place that help maintain safety and healthy gathering. We have talked to the business owners multiple times about how they should proceed and run their business in the age of COVID. We want to find a balance between making sure people can be social but also do it in a safe way. Overall, I think our business owners have done a tremendous job, but it has just been a tough time.
  • Senator Kovacs: How has COVID-19 affected things like town hall, and what has been done to keep citizens of the area involved and interested? We want to get to the point where people can have choices. If you want, you can attend town hall meetings in person or watch it in person. We have our city council meetings the first and third Monday of each month. We have had a lot more engagement, and more people are calling in more than ever. A lot more people wanted transparency with the city, and on the city website, we now have a place where you can watch videos of the meetings and submit any questions, concerns, or suggestions you have for the city. We look forward to the day where we can have a mixture of both and can go back in person.
  • Senator Innocenti: What are the plans in regards to traffic concerns with the new hotel being built? There is a huge crane downtown right now because of the new hotel being built. We made sure that was safe and could be utilized in the downtown area because it does get tight down there. To answer your question, there will be ways to maintain the flow of traffic. The owner of that property not only has owned that property for a while but also the property of where the old movie theater was. They have been utilizing that land to store their equipment and materials. The hotel is obviously being built more vertically than horizontally because it is a tight space downtown. When we started talking to the owners about the process, we were very transparent and open with how this could affect the traffic on College Avenue. There will be times when the traffic could be delayed for a period of time, but those will be isolated incidents. When the hotel opens, the plan is that the hotel will offer valet services. I know, however, that we definitely look forward to the day when customers can utilize that hotel space, especially during football season.
  • Senator Innocenti: How is the city doing financially with COVID in mind? From a city perspective, we are really concerned about our businesses and residents. Our city is down over 30% financially, and that is mainly due to COVID, especially since we aren’t at full capacity for our restaurants or for Clemson football. Over 30% of our hospitality revenue has been affected. We are still following through with capital projects, like our green crescent trail. We are having to make tough decisions as a city, but we can rely a lot of times on our property tax revenue we are getting. We understand that things will change over time, but we have had to make some choices on certain projects. We are not able to do some things we would like to do right now, but we are hopeful for the future.
  • Senator Adams: Is there any further push to go beyond the simple fines if businesses break COVID guidelines? We are at a little bit of a fine line. If SLED is involved, then SLED has to get involved. We rely on what SLED determines, and in this situation, SLED gave a warning. You can have your opinion on the situation, but I will say if there is a large gathering and we need to break that up to uphold COVID guidelines, then we will do that. There is no solution or easy fix. We are adapting, and we are hoping that we are thinking outside of the box to make things safe for everyone. We also realize that the balance of having a lot of residents and maintaining business support is important. It has been a tough year because of COVID, but on a positive note, I know we will get through it.
  • Motion: Senator Tiffin: move to extend the Speaker’s time by 5 minutes.
  • Senator Winchester: At this point, it has been almost a year since COVID started. DHEC has reported that Pickens County has some of the most COVID cases in the state of South Carolina, and I wanted to know how the city is dealing with COVID? Like I said earlier, I commend Clemson University on how they have been so efficient with testing, and I appreciate them partnering with the Clemson community to also make testing efficient for the town of Clemson. We first started community testing at our fire station, which led to unintended consequences where people would come in with possible symptoms and talk with our fire department and testing employees. If we hear things, we have to adapt and do what is best for the community. Last Friday, there were over 400 people that were tested, which is a large amount of people. We noticed that when we first started testing, we had a positive rate in the double digits, but we have noticed that as people are testing more periodically, the positive rate has gone down.

Academic Affairs

Carson Wood

Committee Report

Updates:

  • Use Notice of Absence form if you are temporarily going online due to COVID.
  • Study space reservation form: https://libraries.clemson.edu/seats/
  • Professional Shadowing Program - INFO SESSIONS THIS WEEK
  • The Michelin Career Center will be offering a new program this semester, Professional Shadowing Day Pilot Program. Professional Shadowing day is a volunteer “job shadowing” opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to spend 1-day shadowing at a professional company. Students will have the opportunity to observe working professionals in order to investigate a career field by experiencing what a typical day looks like at a company. The shadowing day is an unpaid, volunteer experience.
  • Attendance at one of the information sessions is required before you can apply for the program. Applications will be due on 2/28 and shadowing experiences will take place between March-May.
  • Info Sessions:
  • 2/10, 12pm-12:45pm, https://career.sites.clemson.edu/calendar/event_rsvp.php?id=2703
  • 2/11, 4pm-4:45pm, https://career.sites.clemson.edu/calendar/event_rsvp.php?id=2710
  • 2/16, 12pm-12:45pm, https://career.sites.clemson.edu/calendar/event_rsvp.php?id=2717
  • No plans and no conversations about modifying spring break.
  • Trying to have summer programs like TTSB fully in-person
  • Fall will have at least as many in-person interactions as Spring currently does.
  • Talking about an in-person Simulcast modality (currently in effect for a couple of classes), more updates on this soon.
  • Summer Orientation for new students is set to be fully online.
  • Working on convocation dates / planning, hoping to have finalized dates in the next couple of weeks.
  • Still unsure on registration dates since there is a large gap between April and August where lots of things may change.
  • Vaccinated students are still subject to testing regiment and health and safety guidelines due to unknowns surrounding how fast the vaccine kicks in upon infection.

Legislation:

  • Career Services Fee (1st read)

Upcoming meetings: Please reach out to me with input / ideas before these meetings!

  • Weekly meeting with Dean Griffin, Mondays @ 12:30pm
  • Academic Affairs, Thursdays @ 6:45pm
  • Change of Academic Program Task Force Meeting, Wednesday 1/26 @ 9am

Quote of the Week: “The future depends on what we do in the present.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Contact Info:

  • Phone: (434)-221-4063
  • Email: cwood7@clemson.edu
  • Instagram: carson.wood.12
  • Snapchat: carson.wood

Questions: none

Campus Life

Tate Fowler

Committee Report

  • Campus Life deals with:
  • Housing
  • Dining
  • Mail Services
  • TigerOne Services
  • Town-gown relations with the Clemson community
  • We also work together with Residence Hall Association (RHA), an organization designed for the benefit of on-campus students

Updates and Meetings:

  • Firstly, huge shoutout to Clare and Shreya for presenting Capital Improvement projects!!!!! SO PROUD!
  • Meeting with Kathy Hobgood this past Friday
  • Housing appointments begin on February 9th for continuing students
  • LLCs begin on February 8th
  • Student feedback is important in regards to the timing of housing sign-ups (i.e. do they have sign-up in the fall or in the spring)
  • Q/I updates: 47 in isolation, 44 in quarantine
  • Housing is trying to send any students from Bryan Mall to Barnett
  • Thornhill is currently the only area being kept for any potential Q/I needed for next year
  • Library Starbucks confirmed closed for rest of semester
  • Still getting info on the to-go box system in the dining halls for this year from Kathy and Bill, but the short explanation was COVID craziness
  • DSAB this Wednesday
  • Will also follow up on to-go boxes in this meeting as well

Tigerflix Recommendation of the Week:

  • Ray (2004)
  • Stars Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles

Contact Information:

  • Phone #: 843-609-6377
  • Email: tatef@g.clemson.edu
  • Instagram: @tatertotfowler
  • Snapchat: @tatertotfowler
  • Tik Tok: @tatertotfowler

Questions: none

Motion: Senator Innocenti: move to open the gallery

Finance and Procedures

Matt Innocenti

Committee Report

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • NEW COMMITTEE MEETING TIME: Sundays from 4:00PM-5:00PM.
  • Want to meet with me? Here is link to set up a meeting with me: LINK
  • Food Drive is still going! Please continue to donate canned goods for a chance to receive committee points!
  • Temporary Rules
  • Link to Robert’s Rules Cheat Sheet

UPDATES

Meetings:

  • Admin Meetings
  • Meeting with Tony this week
  • Funding Board:
  • Annual funding applications are now OPEN and will close February 12th (2/12), with funding hearings sometime between then and Spring Break (Time TBD).
  • Working on more outreach to student orgs on Contingency Funding, Purchase Requests, and Annual Funding (APPLY APPLY APPLY).
  • CUSG Elections Updates:
  • Elections Committee passed another set of Temporary Rules for this years elections. I have attached below. PLEASe read through them and let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
  • 1st Set of Temp. Rules: LINK
  • 2ns Set of Temp. Rules (JUST PASSED): LINK
  • Elections are STILL HAPPENING regardless of how many declared tickets there are for SBP/SBVP.
  • Senate Elections: Outreach! Talk to people about running - and if you are still on the fence about re-running, please reach out to people on Steering, Exec, or on the body about your decision!

Legislation

  • 1st Read: Out-of-Pocket costs recommendation, Internal Senate Election rules amendment
  • Possible legislation coming soon: Other bylaws amendments, PSAB Appointment bill, other appointment bills possibly, Student Fee Committee, Internal Elections Legislation, other bylaws changes, possible resolutions coming from COB Delegation

Projects

  • Committee Projects - Governing documents overhaul, Student Fee Committee permanent non-voting student seat, Funding Board outreach
  • Matt - Working with Carson/Dean Cox on policy regarding class material cost reduction, tuition freeze recommendation/coalition
  • Ben - CUSG Formal
  • Andrew -Consulting Club formation
  • Kelsie -Food Drive, meeting with Carson about Science credits GPA showing in Degree Works, CAFLS delegation outreach with Dean of CAFLS
  • Davis -COB Delegation projects, met with Matthew Chisholm about golf tournament project
  • Callie - Food Drive, OER Data collection and legislation
  • Campbell - TBD, but if you need help with anything, let her know!!
  • Megan - Financial Literacy Week, working with Carson on curriculum flow charts, virtual Valentine’s Day cards for St. Jude

Contact Information

  • Phone: 980-318-0614
  • Email: minnoce@g.clemson.edu
  • Instagram, Snapchat, Venmo: @mattinnocenti

Questions:

Health and Human Services

Cassidy Smith

Committee Report

Updates

  • Working on sending invitations for Flipgrid virtual Health Fair
  • Meeting with OCES on Tuesday or Wednesday
  • CAPS is transitioning their directors right now so working on scheduling a meeting with the new director
  • Shoutout to Anna Scott for her idea! Student Health Services will be adding the crisis text line & NSP chat link to mental health resources
  • Clemson’s If You're Reading This chapter is live!! Check out the website www.ifyourereadingthis.org & follow them on Instagram at @ifyourereadingthisclemson
  • Interpersonal violence response coordinator, Lauren Parker, has been hired!!! More info here
  • Scheduling meeting with USC Student Gov. Health Secretary about Listeners On Call app

COVID-19 Updates

  • Clearance Status tool updated to show next required testing date and clearance guidance
  • Download SC SAFER TOGETHER app - completely anonymous & easy way to contact trace!

COVID-19 & Mental Health Resources

  • Clemson health resources: https://linktr.ee/clemsonhealth
  • Self-reporting positive tests: call Redfern at (864) 656-3571 and dial “1” at the menu
  • University Resources
  • Clemson University’s COVID-19 Page
  • Wellness Wednesdays sessions through Student Health Services
  • Available here
  • CARE Report link here
  • EMERGENCY/IN CRISIS/AFTER-HOURS CARE
  • For after-hours psychological emergencies, a CAPS on-call counselor can be reached through CUPD at 864-656-2222
  • For help that can be accessed anywhere, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Committee Projects

  • Thomas - Campus Rec. virtual workout video archive
  • Andrew - Clemson & Sober visibility, campus safety
  • Jordan - Student Health Insurance Transparency/Health Insurance Literacy
  • Dorsey - Clemson Community Coalition, suicide prevention training
  • Jerry - Virtual counseling messaging app through CAPS
  • Min - Bringing therapy dogs to campus
  • Cass - Contraceptives, all-gender bathrooms, COVID-19 resources, Listeners On Call

Committee Meetings are Sundays at 7 pm over Zoom!

  • Contact me anytime!

Good News for Your Monday: Scottish scientists have developed a system of lasers that melt away cancer cells without damaging normal healthy cells!!

Please reach out to me anytime!!!

  • cassid7@clemson.edu
  • (706) 614-8917
  • Insta: @cass_idy19
  • Snap: cass0cass
  • She/her/hers

Questions: none

Inclusion and Equity

Tyler McDougald

Committee Report

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN I&E CHAIR/VICE-CHAIR/COMMITTEE!

Meet With Me

Programming:

  • National Disability Empowerment Month presents: CU Adaptive Sports and Recreation
  • Come learn about the history of adaptive sports, the Paralympic Sports movement, the U.S. legislation that supports these efforts, and how Clemson University is emerging as the newest institute of higher education in the U.S. to provide intercollegiate adaptive sport opportunities for student-athletes with disabilities. February 24th.

New Stuff:

Continuing Stuff:

Committee Happenings:

  • Projects:
  • Will: Implementing Community Service opportunities to pay for parking tickets; Philanthropic dinner for CUSG to provide money for the student emergency fund
  • Scotty: Creating a Sexual Assault Research Commission
  • Matthew: Peer Dialogue Facilitator (PDF) Curriculum Development, Inclusive Dining Options
  • Mya: Gender Neutral Restrooms
  • Thomas: CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT!!!; Latin Honors resolution; QEP; Title IX, It’s On Us Partnership
  • True: Expanding Gender Neutral Restrooms; Reviewing Clemson Undergrad Application for equity.

As always, if you think of any idea, legislation or otherwise that pertains to Inclusion and Equity, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Contact Information:

  • Email: gmcdoug@clemson.edu
  • Phone: 864-630-2067
  • Instagram: tylermcdougald1
  • Twitter: @TylerMcDougald
  • Snapchat: tyler-ricardo
  • Call/Text/Email me to talk about I&E, politics, literature, or social isolation!

Questions: none

Innovation and Technology

Sophie Finnell

Committee Report

I&T Updates:

  • Clemson Online Student Panel Friday - thank you Senator Adams, Innocenti, and Williams for your service!
  • CUIDs not working in iPhone 12 Apple Wallets? All feedback appreciated
  • CCIT highlighting Black innovators and tech pioneers throughout Black History Month - follow @ClemsonIT on Twitter for daily updates!

Clemson Tech Resources:

Committee Project Ideas:

  • Grayson: Senate Friendsgiving
  • Casey: Revamping The Big Event (Clemson-wide Day of Service), iPad Constituency Report
  • John: funding wireless access points all around campus, resolution giving students access to market events & spread info through the virtual billboards around campus. Military resolution
  • Kaitlyn: Expanding accessibility and awareness of Creative Inquiries, personal finance day, standardize tables with chargers, add Room Reservation Form (Watt & Cooper) to my.clemson app, my.clemson interface update, educating Clemson profs on the different bells and whistles of Canvas, Zoom, etc., making Zoom classes a standard going forward.
  • Steven: I&T create user-friendly guidelines for online banking, holiday shopping - avoiding online scams & fraud (Reference Guide)
  • Travis: Increasing printing accessibility, streamlining campus COVID-19 positive test result response & course of action
  • Sophie: preferred names on Clemson web systems video, CUSG reddit presence, all-gender restrooms
  • Raleigh: Revitalizing Student Union Ad-Hoc Committee, Tunnel of Expression

Geek of the Week:

  • Granville T. Woods (known colloquially as “Black Edison”) was an inventor who held more than 60 patents in the U.S. He was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, he concentrated most of his work on trains and streetcars!
  • P.S. Granville T. Woods was ***7 feet tall***
  • https://www.biography.com/inventor/granville-t-woods

Contact Information:

  • (864) 678-0055
  • sfinnel@g.clemson.edu
  • Insta: sophlysophreshsoclean

Questions: none

Student Activites

Taylor Rogers

Committee Report

Updates

  • Committee at 6:15pm on Monday’s via Zoom
  • Met w/ Shawn Jones this week.
  • EMS platform coming soon (COVID interfered)
  • Tigerquest is temporary
  • The SCAVENGER HUNT is a GO!!
  • Met with Owen about prizes!!
  • Meeting with Spencer this week to talk about marketing & logistics

Projects for the Semester:

  • Yoga on Bowman w/ Campus Rec.
  • Led by the Campus Rec. Yoga instructors
  • At sunrise or sunset
  • Need a name for this that is catchy!
  • Simplifying the Events form
  • Working with John Tewksbury
  • Moving the PDFS to online
  • Combining all Appendices
  • Student Gov. Scavenger Hunt
  • Partnered with athletics
  • Amazing prizes
  • A week long event this semester
  • Outside & social-distanced

Shark Fact of the Week: 🦈

  • A great white shark was recorded breaching 15 feet (4.5 meters) above the surface of the water. It is said that it is the highest jump by a great white recorded in the history of Air Jaws.

Contact Information:

  • Email: trroger@clemson.edu
  • Phone #: (214)960-9332
  • Insta: @taylor.rogers

Questions: none

Transportation and Facilities

Davis Cooney

Committee Report

T&F meets on Sundays from 2-3 PM!

UPDATES

  • Tracking down Dan Hoffman
  • Still waiting to hear from Cabinet about Parking Court
  • Parking Sensor CI went well! Looking forward to the 14th; please reach out to me or Aparna with any questions
  • Meet with Dan and Joey to discuss the parking legislation

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING T&F CHAIR NEXT TERM PLEASE LET ME KNOW I’D LOVE TO CHAT!

COMMITTEE PROJECTS

  • Brittany - Tunnel of Expression legislation
  • J.T. - more mo-ped parking, brainstorming other ideas
  • Joey - Freshman parking legislation, Extending Snow Facility hours
  • Leila - Freshman parking guide, I am working with her on this
  • Matthew - School provided transportation to different events around Clemson, Douthit parking

Golf Thing of the Week:

  • The record for the number of golf holes played in 24 hours (walking) is 420! That is almost an average of 18 holes per hour!

CONTACT INFORMATION

  • Mary Frances:
  • Cell: (803) 636-7694
  • Email: mfhuggi@c.clemson.edu
  • Instagram: mary.frances__
  • Davis:
  • Cell: (864) 483-3955
  • Email: dcooney@g.clemson.edu
  • Instagram: davismc22

Questions: none

Clerk

Matthew Spencer

Officer Report

Currently reading/watching/listening.

  • GREAT JOB WITH CI WALKTHROUGHS SECRETARY KIBLER
  • Random content recommendations!
  • Ranking movies by color. Green = Good! Yellow = Middle Ground. Red = Not worth your time.
  • Beserk - Green
  • Queen's Gambit - Netflix - Green
  • Bachelorette - Hulu - Green
  • Midnight Gospel - Netflix - Yellow
  • True Blood - Green
  • The Dark Pictures - Little Hope - Yellow
  • Disney Pixar’s - Soul - Green
  • WW84 - Yellow
  • Fatale - Red
  • Bachelor - Matt James Season - Green
  • The Little Things - HBO Max - Red
  • Fantastic Mr. Fox - Green

Clerk’s Outreach Panel

  • Elections coming up
  • RTHA Stickers
  • Dr. LeMahieu Zoom Session
  • Senate talent show
  • Senate external elections
  • Senate Valentines movie night

Projects

Legislation

  • Summary
  • SR 22
  • Increase Career Services Fee - AA
  • SRE 5
  • Reduce cost for courses & support the use of open educational resources - F&P
  • SRA 2
  • Internal Elections Amendment - F&P

Deadlines

  • Legislation - 5:00PM Friday.
  • Announcements - 5:00PM Sunday
  • Driving - 12:30 PM Friday

Meme of the week

Contact Information:

  • Call me: (336) 471-0434
  • E-mail: Mspenc5@g.clemson.edu
  • Instagram: @makaiio

Questions: none

Secretary

Abby Kibler

Officer Report

Updates:

Interested in Secretary? Feel free to reach out to me! I would be happy to talk with you more about the position, the responsibilities, etc.

Capital Improvement:

  • Dates:
  • Monday, February 15th: Capital Improvement Funding allocation night
  • Monday, February 22nd: Internal Senate Elections
  • All are required, and missing the capital improvement walkthrough will count for ONE full absence if you do not have an excuse/fill out the attendance form.

Absence Form:

Committee Cup

  • 2 points for posting a CUSG graphic
  • 4 points for posting a CUSG graphic on 2+ social media platforms
  • Only get points the FIRST time for posting a graphic
  • 5 points for coming to a CUSG event
  • To get points, you MUST text me with evidence of posting the graphic on your story or a pic of you at the event
  • Updated Committee Points:
  • Academic Affairs - 106
  • Campus Life - 117
  • Finance and Procedures - 190
  • Health and Human Services - 286
  • Inclusion and Equity - 119
  • Innovation and Technology - 133
  • Student Activities - 58
  • Transportation and Facilities - 184

Senator of Week

On this day in History:

  • 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first and only Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.

Contact Information:

  • Phone #: 803-530-9423
  • E-mail: akibler@g.clemson.edu
  • Snapchat: @abbykibler4
  • Instagram: @abby_kibler
  • Tik Tok: @abby.kibler

Questions: none

President Pro-Tempore

Jainada Williams

Officer Report

Driving meets on Fridays at 12:30pm

DRIVING WEEKLY!!

  • Click link
  • Mary Frances- How Much I Feel by Ambrosia
  • Grayson- i finally understand - charli xcx
  • True- careless whisper - George Michael
  • Sidney- There’s still a light in the house by valley
  • Dorsey- Love You Like That by Dagny
  • Tsagan- South of the Border - Ed Sheeran (ft. Camila Cabello
  • Ben- only by Nicki Minaj
  • Clare- Maine by Noah Kahan
  • Jainada- Heaux Tales- Jasmine Sullivan

Movie Night on Wednesday night!

  • 50 First Dates at 7pm

Spring Talent Show

I will be hanging out in the Student Government offices this week!

Senate Playlist

Black History Fact of the Week:

  • The oldest Black female Greek-letter organization is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), which was founded at Howard University in 1908.
  • Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha) was the first Black male greek letter organization and they were founded in 1906 at Cornell University.

Contact Information:

  • Phone #: 864-451-0144
  • E-mail: jainadw@g.clemson.edu
  • Snapchat: @jainadahh
  • Instagram: @jainadahh
  • Kik: jainadahh

Questions: none

Student Body VP

Emma Canedo

Officer Report

Updates:

Met with Athletics this past Friday

Starting to work on the Senior Gift this week

If you are interested in writing a letter for “If You’re Reading This” or want to get involved in the organization in any capacity, please reach out to me and I can put you in contact with the organization!

I will be representing CUSG in the Miss Clemson Pageant

  • Please consider buying a seat for $10 to support me- goes to their philanthropy The Clemson Childhood Development Center:
  • Venmo @MissClemsonUniversity “seat for Emma Canedo- Miss Clemson University
  • I will also be collecting donations for the CCDC- these can be physical items or monetary donations
  • Person with the most donations is the Philanthropy winner, so lets make CUSG #philanthropic #FTK (only physical donations count toward the award, not monetary)
  • If it is more convenient for you, venmo me @Emma-Canedo and I will be making a big run to the store to buy items on your behalf OR drop items off in my office in the CUSG offices in the Student Union
  • Things they are collecting:
  • If you have any questions text me at 678-756-2146 or email me at ecanedo@g.clemson.edu

My Contact Info:

  • Phone: 678-756-2146
  • Email: ecanedo@g.clemson.edu

Questions: none

Senate President

Hunter Bond

Officer Report

  • Thanks to Robert Halfacre for speaking tonight
  • Happy Capital Improvement, Abby KILLED IT!
  • First Week of nominations, two more weeks after this
  • Let me know if you are interested in serving on the CHE Student Advisory Council
  • Only meets twice a year
  • Deadline is Wednesday
  • New CUPD Committee
  • Make sure to attend Senate Interest Meetings and apply to run
  • If you are interested in an executive position please reach out to me and exec
  • Meeting with Athletics on athletic fee update
  • Meeting with Dr. Miller on the 11th
  • Legislation Agenda
  • Presentation/Speakers Timeline
  • Steering Feedback Form

Contact Information

  • (864) 923 - 9087
  • hbond@clemson.edu
  • insta: @huntercbond
  • snap: @hunterb65

Questions: none

Delegations

  • None

Business

Old Business

SRE4

  • Purpose: A recommendation whose purpose is to express support for an increase in the Career Service Fee
  • Authors: Senator Wood, Senator Franke
  • Sponsors: Senator Innocenti, Neil Burton, Ph.D
  • First Rights: Senator Wood: This is the same recommendation we saw last week talking about increasing the Career Service Fee. I know people don’t like raising fees in general, but I would like people to consider the long term impacts of this fee and just how a little bit of an extra boost in recruiting recruiters can end up getting another student a full time position after they graduate. This fee will quickly pay off, and I think the benefits greatly outweigh the cost.
  • Senator Franke: To be competitive with other career centers on our same level, it seems obvious that we would need to raise the fee to help our current and future students. We know this money will be well spent, and if there was any fee that we would want to raise, it would be this one.
  • Pro/Con:
  • Con: Senator Cooney: I really respect the authors of this recommendation. I believe this recommendation has tremendous impact, but I do have 2 quick points. The Michelin Career Center is ranked consistently top in the nation, so I don’t necessarily think we are far behind as a career center. We don’t have a crippling need to increase our funding since we are already ranked so high and the gold standard. I think these positions would help, but I don’t understand how we can justify raising fees especially in the age of COVID. It is contradicting to me that we would ask students to pay more in the age of COVID just to potentially get a better job down the line. I am in the con tonight. I think it is a well written bill, but I just don’t agree with it at this time.
  • Pro: Senator Shin: While it is true that increasing fees, in general, have a negative connotation and that most people wouldn’t want to see an increase in fees, I personally believe that if a program on campus needs recognition and improvement, then we should increase fees to accomplish this. As the recommendation states, Clemson has been expanding over the past few years, and with that also increases the demand for the Career Center. 82% of undergraduate students actively use the career center, and I believe that the funding for the career center should increase to provide higher quality services to Clemson students. It is the student government’s responsibility to highlight the work of the career center by expressing support for this recommendation.
  • Con: Senator Rogers: I do agree with a former senator saying if there are any fees that could be raised, it should be the career center. However, I am really against recommending the increase of all of these fees. I don’t think the best way to go about improving something is by raising fees. Clemson is already an expensive University, especially for out of state students, which make up almost 50% of the population. I don’t think raising the fees for everything is the best way to go about things anymore. There are just too many fees and too many fees being raised. Our economy is not the best right now because of the pandemic, and there are a lot of people unemployed right now, and I don’t think it is the best idea to ask people to pay more money.
  • Pro: Senator Vazquez: I was in the meeting whenever this was proposed. I hope my perspective holds a little bit of weight because I am a first generation college student, and I am paying for my own education. If anyone is worried about students like that, I hope I can ease your mind a little bit. I think this is really essential for getting bang for your buck for your time here at Clemson. Like a previous senator pointed out, the career center at Clemson is ranked one of the best in the nation. Hearing that, I think the career department is a very good department to trust with extra funds. Hearing all of the layouts of what the career center wants to do with the money and why we need it, I think it is a no brainer. A previous senator mentioned that a lot of people are unemployed right now, but I think by implementing this fee, it will give students more opportunities to get a job right after graduation. Something like a career center can have a lasting impact even after graduation and can literally change your life. For the fee to raise just a few dollars up a semester, I don’t see it being that big of an issue.
  • Con: Senator Draughn: Let’s continue on debate!
  • Pro: Senator Innocenti: I am a sponsor on this recommendation, and I did want to speak about my perspective. Being in conversations about tuitions and fees, I have very much spent a lot of time fighting against tuition and fee increases. If there is anything, however, that we should be pouring fees into, it is the career center. I think the number 2 job of a university is to try and find you a job after college because what is the point of getting an education if you can’t get a job after graduation? I have seen first hand how the career center can help, and I know the career center needs this staffing. They work with recruiters to help companies find jobs, but they also help with jobs on campus and the career fairs. If there is anything that needs a fee increase, it is the career center. This is the only fee increase that I will support at all.
  • Con: Motion: Senator Billbrough: move to call SRE04 into question
  • Last Rights: Senator Wood: I don’t want to repeat points too much. In the past 7 years, our career center has been ranked in the top 5 every year, and in 3 of those , we were number 1. Most of those ratings are based on the quality of our services, not the quantity. If you have talked to any student that has any interaction with the career center, they will tell you marvelous things. Everyone feels very welcome and feels like they were improved through the interactions with the career center. That is why our career center is one of the best in the country. Now the issue with our career center that doesn’t get reflected in those numbers is the quantity. Part of this recommendation is to address the gap between Clemson’s career center and other career centers at other universities, but another part of this recommendation is to increase external outreach. This will allow for the career center to get more employers for the career fair and offer more and better opportunities to students. Although our career center is one of the best in the country, this fee increase will help us have a greater quantity of services provided, impact a greater number of students, and overall, create a better career center environment.
  • SRE04 does pass

New Business

SRE5

  • Purpose: A recommendation whose purpose is to reduce out-of-pocket costs for courses and promote the use of open educational resources
  • Authors: Senator Lewis, Senator Innocenti
  • Sponsors: Dr. Rachel Getman, Margo Courtney, Kenetra Johnson, Senator Wood
  • First Rights: Senator Lewis: This semester, Matt and I have been working with a CI team aiming to reduce the amount of out-of-pocket costs that students have to pay for for classes. After we got the results of the survey, Matt and I met with the CI team to discuss some tangible things that we could see happen. The goal of this recommendation is to encourage professors to use the free resources provided by the University. For example, instead of packback, maybe using the discussion tab canvas already has. Further, we also want to discourage the use of lockdown browsers that make you pay before you take an exam since there is already a lot of software that is free.
  • Margo Courtney: Dr. Getman has been running her own personal chemical engineering courses using OER, which is the open educational resources program. Basically, she tries to run her classes in a way where she doesn’t enforce any type of costs on textbooks. Our purpose is to create an awareness on this in that it is possible for institutions to implement policies to reduce the cost students have to pay per semester. A lot of students struggle with the $500 spent on textbooks per semester that aren’t always used or aren’t always necessary. We have done a lot of different research over the past years by sending out a survey and raising more awareness on what OER is. There were 61% of students that spent 200-500 dollars in course materials just this semester, which is a substantial amount of money, I would say. 56% of students find their textbooks to be the least educational resources. Things like youtube and khan academy account for 75% of the free resources that students find helpful.
  • Kenetra Johnson: In terms of our angle, so basically the process we have been going through is how can we speak on behalf of the students but also consider the feelings and thoughts of the teachers as well? Our end goal is to basically see what course materials people are using, what people find more useful, and what people are willing to pay for in terms of course materials. We have been looking at different things such as textbook costs, homework costs, discussion board posts, etc. For us, education is super important and making sure everybody has access to the same amount of information and essentially, these are costs that students can’t really predict are going to be. Students can’t predict how much textbooks will be from semester to semester, but they do realize that each semester, they will have to buy course materials to some extent. By looking more into the OER program, we can offer resources Clemson already has access to or more inexpensive resources. Less than 10% packback or paid discussion boards fits with their learning style. Even though it is really good to facilitate a lot of discussion within a virtual classroom, having to actually pay for it doesn’t seem to be beneficial for students. We are hoping teachers will start using different platforms where students can still have discussions but they don't have money for. 72% of students are not aware of the resources offered at the Clemson library, and we want to increase the knowledge of students to make sure they know that the library offers more than just textbooks and news articles. About 28% of students are aware of the free resources offered at the library, so of course, these are already costs that students are paying for.
  • Senator Innocenti: To add on, I just want to say that this CI team has been phenomenal to work with. There have been brief conversations with the Dean and Office of Undergraduate Studies, and there is support for all of our recommendation items from those offices and other faculty members.
  • Q/A:
  • Motion: Senator Fowler: move to send SRE5 back to committee

SRA2

  • Purpose: A rules amendment to amend the rules regarding senate officer elections
  • Authors: Senator Kovacs, Senator Innocenti
  • Sponsor: Samantha Hayes
  • First Rights: Senator Kovacs: This is a rules amendment to the Senate handbook talking about internal Senate elections. These changes are not new or out of the ordinary, but rather, we are trying to make the election process more effective and efficient. All of these changes were utilized last year as the Temporary Rules for the election last year, so we are just inserting them into the bylaws to make this procedure permanent.
  • Q/A:
  • Motion: Senator Moore: move to send SRA2 back to committee

Announcements

  • Secretary Kibler: I just want to emphasize that we do have a week between walkthrough and Funding Night for Capital Improvement. I would definitely start talking to other senators and start thinking about how much you want to allocate to these projects.
  • Pro Temp Williams: We have a movie night this Wednesday at 7 PM! The movie will be 50 First Dates!
  • Senator Innocenti: If you are in an organization, please apply for Funding! The deadline is this Friday! Stay tuned over the next couple of days in terms of how senate internal elections will go and the temporary rules for those.
  • Senator Franke: If you guys remember the flyer for the reading wellness discussion group, I will drop that in the GroupMe. If you want to send it to any individual that might benefit from it, definitely go ahead and do that! There has already been a lot of interest.
  • Motion: Senator Rogers: move for roll call - Missing Senator Mazzeo, Tellur, Lusk, Catoe, McDougald, Brandenburg, Wolf
  • Motion: Senator Fowler: move to adjourn
  • Adjournment at 8:59 PM
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