Point Park’s governing body met Monday afternoon and discussed ways to get students of all years involved, both within and outside of United Student Government (USG).
With the appointment of two executive members, six official voting senators, as well as the induction of four cabinet members, student members pledged to work and abide by the USG Constitution, vowing to carry out specific tasks regarding their committees, ranging from Finance to Communication.
The “young cabinet,” as President Blaine King put it, has hopes of expanding student involvement facing a disconnected stigma.
“I’ve had the feeling, and students have had the feeling, that USG has separated from the student body and we have to tone everything back,” King explained.
King went on to detail several strategical acts USG has in store for the impending school year including Student Concern Tables held bimonthly and more engagement with students through the use of popular social media platforms.
He also introduced three new clubs into the Point Park community: The Feminist Collective, founded by April Yanko; the Pitchburgh Pioneers, a recreational singing group founded by freshman Gracey Evans; and Together Helping Everyone Causes: Learning, Understanding, and Believing, aka, THE CLUB, an engaging group whose mission includes informing the public of developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities, founded by freshman Tim Grebeck.
“The reason I started the Pitchburgh Pioneers was because Point Park is a Theater Arts school and I was definitely sure that there was going to be a club, a singing group, and that I wouldn’t have to take a class,” Evans, a photojournalism major, said during her proposal to the legislative body.
Of the three clubs, two were founded by freshmen, who both built the foundations for their respective clubs on the Point Park University Class of 2019 Facebook Page.
“I found a group of students on our Facebook page to see who would be interested in starting a club and I got twenty members interested in less than two hours,” Evans said.
She took the steps necessary in founding a club, all within her first week at Point Park.
“Freshmen have contacted me over the summer at the various Pioneer Experiences and have said, ‘I want to start a club’ and part of you says, ‘That’s wonderful,’ and I encourage them and hope they’ll follow through with what they said, and to see two freshman do that today is really encouraging to me,” Dean of Student Affairs Keith Paylo said.
As part of the agenda, senator legislative members of USG mentioned several student body issues such as internet connections, tutoring changes and ineffective ID scanners. It was stressed in the meeting to newly appointed senators as well as returning members to garner specific details on constituents’ problems to allow USG to serve the students in an notable way.
“Basically we’re going to show the student body that we’re here for them,” King said.
