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Student Government logo The Carthage College Student Government meets every Tuesday to discuss important information about the College.

To attend a future meeting, please send an email to sg@carthage.edu. See the latest meeting minutes below:

Call to Order

  • 9:15 p.m. Feb. 15, 2022

Attendance

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

  • Motion to approve meeting minutes from Feb. 7, 2022
    • Passed

Special Guests

Sodexo Management and Carthage Food Response Team leaders

5 Minutes Each For General Updates
  • Adam Koenig: Carthage is working on the campus food problem. Recent action items include adding a fridge to Luther’s Lunchbox, sending a Grubhub gift cards to students, and organizing various meal opportunities during the week.
  • Kevin Gilligan, Sodexo regional manager: Sodexo is working with Meggan Mazanet, Abby Hanna, and Adam Koenig to develop solutions to get through this hard time. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented some difficult problems for the hospitality industry as a whole. Also, there is a staffing shortage nationwide, including on campus. The CEO of Sodexo and President Swallow have a meeting soon to discuss possible solutions. Every day, Sodexo is meeting to strategize. We are happy to listen to suggestions and implement those changes.
Questions from Student Government senators
  • What measures are being put in place to ensure food quality across dining locations? When students receive food below acceptable quality, what should students do?
    • Kevin Gilligan: All of the food providers are vetted. The chefs are constantly retrained. If there is an issue, students should give their immediate feedback to the worker present. If students are uncomfortable with speaking with staff, there are other avenues to voice their concerns. For example, students can send an email to dining@carthage.edu or voice concerns on the Sodexo website.
  • Students are upset by the lack of food choices and poor food quality. Is there any possibility of some sort of refund of students meal plans due to the unacceptable food service this semester?
    • Sarah Mays, Sodexo general manager: Meal plans are a part of the College’s room and board tuition. Sodexo does not manage the plan or have the capacity to issue a refund. The College is the only entity that can issue a refund.
    • Abby Hanna: There is an ongoing conversation to understand how the school and Sodexo can work together to make the situation better for students.
  • How frequently is the Red Zone being stocked? Could this increase?
    • Sarah Mays: There are two people scheduled per shift at the Red Zone — one worker for the register and one worker to stock the shelves. Sodexo is limited in storage space and by staffing. Simply-To-Go items are in the Red Zone at all times, and we are working on bringing more grocery items to the space. We spend roughly $30,000-$40,000 weekly to stock the Red Zone.
  • How can we arrange for students to be able to spend their meal points on the alternative dining options being made available?
    • Kevin Gilligan: There is ongoing conversion to solve this issue. Sodexo plans on bringing food trucks back when the weather permits. Specifically, the food trucks will be back after spring break.
    • Abby Hanna: For the Carthage-sponsored food events, there is no additional charge for students.
  • What changes are being made to hire more workers (pay raises, job postings, etc.)?
    • Kevin Gilligan: This year alone, student wages were increased by 20% percent, and Sodexo is looking to increase wages again. The wages for full-time positions have increased by 20-40 percent. There is a recruiter, and Sodexo is working with temp agencies to staff dining locations on campus.
    • Adam Koenig: The Aspire Center is willing to use Handshake to hire more workers for the dining locations.
Questions from Student Government (10 minutes total, extendable if needed)
  • Callie: First-year students and sophomores are required to eat at The Caf, which is unfair this semester. Could this requirement be waived for this semester?
    • Sarah Mays: The meal plan structure was implemented in 2019 by the College. Sodexo is trying to come up with solutions so that students are not limited to just The Caf. The College set up the meal plan, so Sodexo is trying to work with it as best they can.
  • Lucy: In reference to the immediate feedback suggestion, this suggestion has not been effective in the past from personal experience. There have also been issues with labeling food in The Caf. What is the solution for labeling food?
    • Sarah Mays: Staff members are expected to make sure food is labeled. We will follow up with staff to make sure they are labeling food by Feb. 16.
    • Kevin Gilligan: If providing immediate feedback does not work, students should ask for Sarah. Students can also download the Bite App to see the menu for the next two weeks.
  • Chris: Is the app going to be advertised to students soon? What is the dollar amount of wage increase for staff?
    • Kevin Gilligan: Sodexo will make sure that the app is advertised to students. Sodexo did a wage analysis and increased the wages by $1-3. Student wages increased to 9$.
  • Henry: Most athletes have trouble attending the additional food events. What are the solutions for athletes to get food?
    • Kevin Gilligan: Our job [Kevin and Sarah’s] is to make sure there is variety in the dining locations. We are working to make sure that there are plenty of options in The Caf, and we are working to add a “made to order” station.
  • Miles: What are the ways that we can stretch the 40k spent on the Red Zone? How will Sodexo make The Caf more appealing?
    • Sarah Mays: The problem is the quantity of food being sold at the Red Zone. Students were told to think of others and not just think of themselves when trying to eat. All of The Caf workers eat at The Caf to set an example for students.
    • Kevin Gilligan: Sodexo is working on solving the PR problem.
  • Connor: Is there a plan to increase the number of workers?
    • Kevin Gilligan: Currently, the main plan is just to recruit every day. Sodexo wants to make the students happy however we can. In the last week, Sarah has hired 12 workers. Currently, there are roughly 90 staff members when the minimum staff base is around 150.
  • Austin: what measures of quality are being taken into account as food is being prepared?
    • Kevin Gilligan: The chefs taste test the food to make sure that the food is okay.
  • Ally: Why are the workers stopping cooking before The Caf is closed?
    • Sarah Mays: The chefs should be cooking until the end. We addressed the issue tonight. Every location should be offering its entire menu the entire time. Students should email me if this policy is not being followed.
  • Kaeleen: Simply-To-Go is closed at both locations. Is there any plan to reopen these?
    • Kevin Gilligan: These locations were added during COVID and were never long-term solutions. They are not a part of any contract with the school.
  • Diego: There is a lack of vegan and vegetarian options on campus. Is there anything else to make sure more of these options are available?
    • Sarah Mays: The Roots Area in The Caf is an option for vegans and vegetarians. Veggie burgers are always available to order. The pasta station should have a vegan option. The pizza area always has a vegetarian option. We work hard to make sure that these options are available for students.
  • Alex: Deliveries for the Red Zone come MT. Students should not be held accountable for the lack of food in the Red Zone.
  • Chris: How much money is being lost from food being thrown out?
    • Kevin Gilligan: Sarah’s goal is to break even. They are not concerned about the bottom line. They want to be able to leave with their heads held high.

Elections/Appointments

  • Out-of-State Senator
    • Mary-Helen Prince ’23
    • Passed
  • Sophomore Senator
    • Ally Lengers ’24
  • Academic Senator
    • Mariah Bader ’23
  • COVID Committee Rep
    • Tyler Kelly ’23
    • Tabled until Feb. 22
  • SLE Chair
    • Connor Scott ’22 (Cab Rep)

Executive Board Reports

President Report: Jordyn Kaplan ’22 (jkaplan1@carthage.edu)
  • Two senator resignations
    • Motion to closed meeting
    • Passed with consent
Vice President Report: Taylor Mortensen ’22 (tmortensen1@carthage.edu)
  • Committee meeting time
  • Stoles
Speaker of the Senate Report: Tyler Kelly ’23 (tkelly1@carthage.edu)
  • Podium (speaker’s list changes)
  • Using ethics
  • Meeting timeframe
  • Procedure lessons
Secretary Report: Evan Blievernicht ’22 (eblievernicht@carthage.edu)
  • Guvvie Buddies

Committee Reports

Finance Committee Report  — Andrew
  • Business Book Club special allocation
    • Motion to approve the special allocation
    • Passed
  • Phi Alpha Delta/Pre-Law Fraternity special allocation
    • Motion to approve the special allocation
    • Passed
SLE — Connor
  • Minutes of meeting

Cabinet Secretary Reports

Public Relations Secretary Report — Callie
  • Stu Gov shoutouts!
    • Shoutouts from last week (Taylor; Jo x3; Lucy/appropriations; Connor x2)
  • Body Member of the Week form
  • Come collect door decorations after the meeting if you do not have yours on your door already
  • If you ever do something cool or your org is doing something cool, please let me know so I can share it!
  • Org reps, please fill out this form
  • Follow and share the Instagram posts/page 
Organization Secretary Report — Kayla
  • New COVID guidelines impact on in-person org meetings and events?
    • None that Lance Thompson knows of at the moment. He’ll keep me updated
    • Email sent out today saying we can resume in-person meetings
  • I am going to plan some workshops with Lance Thompson
    • E-board training
    • The Harbor training
    • How to start an org
    • Feedback and ideas are appreciated!
    • Might send out a Google form for some feedback
  • Please let me know if you need/ would like to see any specific supplies/material in the resource room
  • If any organizations have any questions/concerns regarding elections, how to use The Harbor or anything at all please, let me know at kraye@carthage.edu

Organization Reports

Carthage Left Alliance (CLA) — Kayla Raye ’23
  • CLA was sent 500 more condoms! Please let me know if you want any for yourself/your orgs
    • Shoutout to RA Mariah for making an awesome bulletin board for Valentine’s Day with them!
  • CLA is planning a Zine Fair. If your org is interested in partnering with us, please email me at kraye@carthage.edu and/or fill out this form

New Business

  • Jon and Tylar
    • Business Book Club special allocation motion — rescind and amend
    • Motion to approve the special allocation
    • Passed

Reminders/Announcements

Carthage Activities Board
  • Upcoming Events
    • Shrek I — 9:15 p.m., Feb. 16, CSU Auditorium
    • Gianmarco Soresi — 8 p.m. Feb. 18, CSU Auditorium
  • Collaborations
    • This semester, CAB is heavily interested in working with all other orgs
    • If you have an event idea but your club does not have the funds, reach out to Lance Thompson or the CAB email for a potential collaboration
    • We hope to work with many of your clubs to host events on campus

Adjournment

  • 11:45 p.m Feb. 15, 2022

Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:

Student Government

For more information, contact:

sg@carthage.edu