Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government met for its first senate meeting of the spring 2023 semester on Jan. 31.

The meeting began with the University Student Senate election in which the delegate candidate Kayla Aaron introduced herself and shared her plans for the position, including advocating for more menstrual products on campus and working against tuition hikes.

The next candidate, Chair of Philanthropy Joseph Hernandez, introduced himself and shared different resolutions he hopes to work on, including addressing food insecurity and fossil fuel divestment. He also addressed the quality of life at Baruch, such as the lack of study spaces, elevators, packed classrooms and hallways.

Next, USS Representative Avroham Malachowski had a report. The Senate has been discussing tuition hikes and plans to hold press conferences regarding the topic. He stressed the importance of student attendances at various events to ensure that students’ voices are heard.

Malachowski shared that the Board of Trustees has claimed they will vote against tuition hikes but stressed that students must hold them accountable and make sure it is done.

After that, President Laiba Hussain had a report. She shared that members should have received an email from Treasurer Julie Margolin about future event expenses.

Paperwork for an event should be completed six weeks in advance to ensure vendors are paid on time and all the money is utilized. Lastly, she reminded members to respect each other’s boundaries and be both communicative and transparent.

Executive Secretary Abdullah Mahdi had a report in place of Treasurer Margolin. He presented three different memos for members to vote on before they are sent to the Board of Directors.

Firstly, regarding the Albany Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus, Mahdi proposed to add $3,800 to the current budget from the surplus, as the current budget wasn’t enough, and to account for transportation. The motion passed 19-0-0.

USG’s annual end-of-the-year party Bash will be taking place at the Somewhere Nowhere NYC club. He proposed to move $38,000 to the current budget to ensure they have enough by the end of the year. The motion passed 19-0-0.

He also proposed a program change to move money around in their current budget to help with future events. One of the events planned involves renting a portable machine with which students can stuff their own toy bears and will involve a giveaway. The motion passed 19-0-0.

Lastly, Vice President of Academic Affairs Jason Galak shared a few upcoming events, including a student and faculty basketball game on March 9. He also shared that it may take more than six months to get an update on his STEM Resolution to update STEM codes for international students.