SGA affirms Senate goals, passes new rules and procedures 

MOORHEAD — Student Government Association (SGA) held their bi-weekly Senate meeting on Oct. 5, which included a presentation on Title IX and Student Conduct, the passing of new rules and procedures and the affirmation of SGA’s goals for the school year. 

The meeting, which was led by SGA Chief of Staff Ashley Chepkorir, opened with a moment of mindfulness, followed by introductions and icebreakers between everyone in attendance. 

Anne Teitelman, the Director of Student Conduct and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, then spoke to SGA members about Title IX policies and procedures as well as expectations of student conduct. 

Teitelman emphasized they wanted students to feel comfortable speaking during what can be difficult conversations.  

In the event a student experiences a Title IX violation, Teitelman spoke about mandated reporters on campus, which include faculty, advisors, public safety and student leaders, as well as confidential resources, such as Campus Ministry and Holistic Health. Additionally, there are off-campus resources available to students in the Fargo-Moorhead area, such as the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center. 

Teitelman also provided an overview of Student Conduct, which includes Concordia’s policy on alcohol and tobacco use, its good Samaritan policy and what happens when a student violates Student Conduct. 

Teitelman’s presentation was followed by a vote on a resolution proposed at the previous Senate meeting, to implement several new rules and procedures for the 2023-2024 Student Government Association. The new rules include the implementation of a three-strike policy for SGA members, as well as guidelines on SGA’s social media policy.  

The resolution was passed under an anonymous vote with twenty-two members voting yes, zero members voting no and three choosing to abstain. 

SGA President Jesus Gonzalez then spoke to members about affirming the associations strategic goals, which are building a united community, enhancing access to campus, meeting the health and needs of students and ensuring student safety on campus. 

Gonzalez said members are free to focus on whichever of the four goals they care about the most or are most interested in but explained that each goal is based on issues and important topics expressed by previous members and students. 

Each of the four strategic goals corresponds with a subcommittee created to address challenges faced by students. SGA members will be able to hold positions in these four committees and work together to create innovative solutions and meet the needs of the student body. 

SGA member Jacob Schoenborn followed this presentation with a brief report from the Elections and Credentials Committee (ECC) and explained how SGA members can voice concerns or express their ideas to add to a proposal. 

Gonzalez then returned to speak about two approaching tasks he and Vice President Anna Kronbeck have been working on. First, he stated they are editing and amending the proposal for SGA subcommittees to establish a stronger focus about what is happening on campus. 

“There’s a lot of it that we don’t know,” Gonzalez said. 

With the restructuring, subcommittees would spend time on research and partnership, documenting experiences on campus and bringing information back to Senate meetings so members can engage with events and be aware of what is happening at Concordia. 

The second task is a long-term goal to establish relationships with other student governments in the area. The plan would be to get together with other SGA’s and learn from one another about how they approach issues or solve problems. 

“The first step is to set up an initial meeting, get to know each other and learn more about one another and their student governments. Potentially, there would eventually be meetings where we would share ideas and give feedback. They might have a question for us, or we might have a question for them and NDSU student government might have the answer or MSUM student government might have the answer,” Gonzalez said.