Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government met for the first Senate meeting of the spring 2022 semester on Feb. 1.

Executive Vice President Richard Reyes announced that current Chair of Marketing Thailia Aviles is stepping down due to personal reasons. She will maintain her representative senator position.

After consulting with the Office of Student Life, USG was able to promote from within since Aviles didn’t resign from her position, avoiding elections for a new representative senator.

Chair of Appeals Julie Margolin motioned to nominate Rep. Sen. Damani Heywood for the vacant position. Vice President of Student Affairs Laiba Hussain seconded. The vote passed 18- 0-0.

Chair of Philanthropy Jason Galak motioned to vote Heywood for the vacant position. Rep. Sen. Andrew Lu seconded. Heywood was elected as Chair of Marketing 18-0-0.

“I hope that I just could be able to continue the great work that Thailia did,” Heywood said following his election. “And huge thank you to her for giving me this special opportunity to be able to continue carrying on her vision and more.”

Reyes thanked Aviles for her work during the previous semester. Heywood proceeded to present an updated marketing plan for the spring 2022 semester.

He outlined when content would be posted to social media. Content to promote USG events will be uploaded to TikTok on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Event promotion will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays via Facebook and Instagram stories. Other event promotions take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The calendar is subject to change depending on the event.

There is a streamlined marketing form, phasing out the separate marketing and graphics forms. USG must fill out the form to promote events at least three weeks in advance, entering information about the event including prizes and giveaways.

Graphics for announcements can be sent two weeks before their intended date of distribution.

Late submissions won’t be prioritized, leading to shorter promotion. This won’t apply to important announcements or Office of Student Life flyers posted on USG’s Facebook or Instagram.

Senator Sundays will resume on Feb. 27 on a weekly basis. Representative senators will be asked three weeks in advance to complete a form by answering personal questions to share on social media.

Rep. Sen. Shokhrukh Dustmurodov will be the first senator featured in the spring semester.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Osvaldo Garcia asked if representative senators can also post on TikTok. Heywood said he will discuss it with Chair of Graphics Vicki Xiao.

Chair of Clubs and Organizations Snigdha Sarker asked if Instagram takeovers will continue. Heywood confirmed that it will, only if the selected representative senator consents.

The marketing committee will allow vice chairs to have editors. Four positions are confirmed: a copy editor, a newsletter and resource editor and two photo and video editors.

The applications to these positions will be open at a later date and there are ongoing discussions on the application and selection process.

Sarker clarified that the club fair, originally scheduled for this week, will take place later in February and that club leaders were notified in an email. Student Life will share details at a later time.

Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Brian Allen introduced himself to USG. He works at the Office of Student Life, supporting social justice advocacy and community building and advising cultural and identity-based student groups.

“I hear that you are all really doing wonderful work and that you’re impacting the fact that you all are creating positive change on campus is affecting different areas within Baruch,” Allen said. “I’m excited to see that and collaborate as well.”

President Alison Lee announced a community-wide Discord that will answer questions and grow the community, thanking Rep. Sen. Abdullah Mahdi for his work. The chat will be monitored and rules still being created.

Garcia said that after the computer science major resolution passed in a previous meeting, professors will use the resolution to make a proposal.

Chair of Finance Tyler Yang asked if the computer science major would overlap with computer information systems. Garcia responded that there will be two separate departments, after speaking with professors.

Garcia announced that he will attend the monthly faculty meeting on Feb. 3 and asked those in attendance for questions.

Reyes will speak to Student Activities Graduate Assistant Stephen Palencia on how USG can assist in planning for Women’s History Month, encouraging USG to attend committee and planning meetings.

“I do believe this is a great way to reinvigorate the community within our months of celebration,” he said.

Reyes announced new procedures for USG members to provide reports, now having to fill a Google form by Friday or Saturday to allow time to create an agenda that Student Life can approve and distribute.

Lu provided an update on a previous initiative to get people outdoors, stating that it will be pushed back until the weather improves.

Rep. Sens. Larry Gomez and Xiao were selected as senators of the month for December and January, respectively.

Vice President of Campus Affairs Erike Cumbe was not in attendance.

The minutes of the previous Senate meeting passed 17-0-0, with Cumbe and Garcia not voting.