Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government held its fifth meeting of the semester at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
USG Treasurer Nancy Sea presented several clubs that were deemed inactive and will no longer have access to their budgets.
Some of these clubs include the Financial Engineers, Muslim Business Association, Muslim Student Association and Women in Islam.
The Black and Latinx Academic Committee then presented about the history, progress, goals and next steps of their movement at Baruch. The students who spoke were Taji Sanders, Osvaldo Garcia, Teona Pagan, Mariam John-Sandy, Zariana Gonzalez and Laiba Hussain.
They discussed the history of diversity, representation and how Baruch should address racial issues in light of recent protests.
One of their aims is to promote the Black and Latino Studies major, which they believe is an area of study often overlooked at Baruch. They hope to increase awareness of and participation in BLS courses through outreach to students.
The committee discussed several ways to do so, including using the First-Year Seminar to start the conversation of race and encourage BLS enrollment. They also suggested an event similar to the Major and Minor Fair, where the various BLS courses can be advertised.
All BLS courses are currently being rebranded to fit the present-day narrative of the Black and Latinx communities. They also requested classes that discuss current race relations.
The committee updated USG on their recent progress, including touching base with faculty and staff about the BLS curriculum.
They also have organized groups to address the research, contact and curriculum within the committee. The expected delivery date of their project is August 2023.
Vice President of Campus Affairs Steven Le updated the student government on Homecoming. He reported that the project is almost complete.
There are currently four planned events, but this may be modified with the advent of new updates.
Le also talked about progress with the Big Sibs, a mentorship program that helps first year students and transfer students learn about opportunities at Baruch.
Lastly, Executive Vice President Briana Staten discussed her meeting with Director of Baruch’s Center for Teaching & Learning Allison Lehr Samuels about ProctorTrack, the proctoring system that CUNY wanted to implement.
USG members also suggested that professors should not use this on high-stake exams because it is a new system.
Rep. Sen. Raphael Berdugo brought up concerns about the lack of information students have about the system. He pointed out that students do not know which tier of ProctorTrack, each of varying levels of surveillance, that CUNY plans to use.
There are abilities granted to the system that are hidden from students, thus collecting information without the students’ awareness.
The student government discussed how professors can ensure academic honesty, while also ensuring each student’s privacy and comfort without using proctoring.
