This week, Campus Insider sat down with the members of the Student Executive Council (SEC) during their last meeting of the year.

The SEC is made up of the umbrella organizations on campus, including the president and finance chairs of Undergraduate Student Government (USG), the University Program Board (UPB), the University Media Board (UMB), the Class Officer Collective (COC), the Interfraternity Congress (IFC) and Panhellenic Congress (PHC) and the Residence Hall Association (RHA), as well as representatives from off-the-tops Springfest, Senior Week and Thwing Study Over (TSO). They manage the allocation of the Student Activities Fee (SAF), the approximately $171 per semester that each student pays on top of tuition.

Board progress

Each board discussed their accomplishments over the past semester. IFC and PHC highlighted their sexual misconduct prevention actions, as well as newly chartered groups. UPB discussed their sold-out Nick Offerman show, the first time that the Spring Comedian event has filled Severance Hall.

RHA talked about their new focus on advocacy, including the gender-inclusive housing initiative, work on room rates and creating a housing task force with USG. USG also brought up the joint housing task force, as well as their progress with Feedback Fridays this semester.

UMB discussed better internal and external accountability, as well as the two new organizations who will be joining next year: Humans of Case Western Reserve University and SPARC (Society, Politics, Art, Research, Community) Conversations. COC brought up the strong leadership in their freshman and sophomore cohorts, as well as their work in better budgeting and refining their mission statement.

Visibility

One of SEC’s goals for the semester was to increase their visibility on campus. Some board members felt this happened indirectly through increased student interest in SEC due to the proposed addition of the Undergraduate Diversity Collaborative (UDC) and questions about reforms. They added, though, that there was still work that could be done through SEC’s own PR channels, like their social media and OrgSync.

Reform

Many ideas have been brought up to possibly reform SEC over this semester. Most of the board agrees that they want to find a way to balance campus issues and finances, something that was discussed throughout this semester.

Going into next semester, Vice President of Student Affairs Lou Stark is going to help form a task force with a chair and 10 student members, which will officially start work in the fall. The students on the task force will be in charge of doing research and leading sub-committees. All meetings will be open for others to come in and voice their concerns.