Amid the friendly hugs, book-buying, parties, and other customary hallmarks of Case Western Reserve University in the first weeks of its spring semester, the General Assembly of the CWRU Undergraduate Student Government (USG) met once again in Adelbert Hall on Jan. 17, 2012. Most representatives said that they had enjoyed a relaxing break, but were ready to get back to their activities on campus again.

USG president Divya Aggarwal started the assembly meeting by inviting Pat Kennedy, associate athletic director and intramural and club sports director, to speak about extending the benefits of the supplies and services of the athletic department’s trainers and training rooms to club sport athletes.

The assembly mostly questioned Kennedy about the possible drawbacks of the proposition. He affirmed that the department is not at all opposed to the idea; in fact, they’d be delighted to do so. However, the problem is that it would detract from the varsity athletes, not giving them the proper amount of attention. There are currently not enough staff and resources. But Kennedy said it is still a goal worth pursuing.

The Executive Committee announced that it will focus mostly on their goals from last semester, particularly increasing their outreach to commuter students.

Vice president of finance Jesal Shah reported that her committee will be having a “Meet-and-Greet” for students to learn more about USG’s funding processes. The idea for this event came from a number of people reporting last semester that they were rather oblivious when it came to dealing with the financial procedures of USG.

Tom Dooner, vice president of the Information Technology (IT) Committee, asked the assembly about its thoughts on using YouTube vs. TV for the stream of USG meetings. There is a live stream to TV, but recordings of each session are provided on YouTube. Dooner said it was important to figure out whether the current method is worth its cost. Response was mixed, and the discussion will continue in the IT Committee.

With elections coming up on the horizon, the Public Relations Committee, headed by vice president Laura Kruse, is readying to get CWRU fired up about USG. They will also be re-starting the representative spotlights, which gives students and USG representatives a better look at the people who constitute USG.

Two new students joined USG as representatives. Alex Razavi joined the College of Arts and Sciences caucus, and Brian Hayt entered the Case School of Engineering caucus. Collin Williams was also inaugurated as the new treasurer of USG.

The assembly also approved Resolution R. 21-06: A Resolution to Revise Failure to Comply Policy. The resolution is in response to issues that were raised with a Housing department’s policy about what would qualify as grounds to punish a student who fails to “follow the directions of University officials…acting in performance of their duties,” “respond to a request to see identification,” and/or “complete judicial sanctions.”

The main concern is that the vague wording of the policy gives the University’s officials too much power over students. Through this resolution, USG hopes that students will be allowed to be more involved in the future revisions of the policy.