Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government met for its second Senate meeting of the fall 2022 semester on Sept. 6.

Executive Secretary Abdullah Mahdi said that the USG suite is open to the public as long as it is kept clean and no illegal substances are brought in.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Jason Galak summarized the faculty senate meeting.

Professor Carla Bellamy requested the collegewide curriculum committee create a document specifying a collegewide standard for syllabi.

Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Art King stated that there is a form on the Baruch student affairs website which students can use to address professors’ wrongdoings during class.

The USG wanted to take initiative to spread this form so students can have easier access to it.

President David Wu says he was very happy about the use of the plaza and wants to hold more events, including a potential fall festival on Oct. 13.

Wu also shared that they’re addressing space limitations and working on expanding the physical place, including massive renovations and new dormitories.

Wu addressed concerns over expansions being counterproductive and said there are policies in place to prevent overcrowding.

The faculty senate expressed wanting to work on beautifying the plaza by planting flowers, which was turned down by Wu, and using the newspaper kiosk to store the Ticker newspapers.

The faculty senate also shared enrollment statistics, with the incoming fall 2022 freshman class being the largest enrolled at 2,549 students.

Baruch also saw its largest enrollment of SEEK students, a 13% percent increase from last year.

One hundred and eighty-five freshmen had to disenroll due to issues with vaccine compliance. However, most were offered a spot in the spring semester.

The USG Senate raised multiple concerns regarding this report.

The Lawrence and Eris Field Building’s bathrooms still need to be renovated and the building needs to include more accessibility features for physically disabled students.

There were issues raised about the plaza: who has access, people doing drugs, homeless people and other safety issues.

Deputy Director of Student Life Dinetta Curtis stated that these can be brought over to Public Safety.

Chair of Clubs and Organization Jessica Yauri said the Office of Student Life and USG will be hosting a club tour to help students experience Baruch life and join clubs of interest.

Yauri also expressed concerns over a lack of support system for SEEK students who want to join clubs due to scheduling issues.

Representative Senator Spirit Smith-Matos shared after a meeting with Weissman School of Arts and Sciences Dean Jessica Lang that American Sign Language classes will be pushed forward and offered in the fall 2023 semester.

These classes can be taken to fulfill a language requirement and Lang is currently looking for an adjunct professor to teach the course.