Mason Bennett – News Editor

mxb5302@psu.edu

Student Government Association members met for their general meeting on Thursday, Nov. 3, and approved three club proposals.

SGA members approved club applications from the Ethical Hacking Club, Music Production Club and Philosophy Club. Representatives from each club were given the opportunity to introduce their club at Thursday’s meeting.

Behrend Music Production Club President Reed Coyle said many students have expressed an interest in participating with the organization.

“We’ve been talking to a lot of people on campus and they’re really interested in music,” he said.

Coyle went on to summarize how he plans to approach music production within the club.

“Generally, we’ll be recording music onto computers with digital-audio workshop software,” Coyle said. “As far as the genre, we’re open to anyone making anything they want.”

One of the organization’s purposes, Coyle said, is to encourage students to share their musical creations.

“We want to give people the opportunity to expose and share their music,” he said.

The board approved the club with a vote of 14-0.

Next, Ethical Hacking Club President Kevin Muirhead proposed the idea for his club alongside Vice President Yuba Neupane and Secretary Luke Sloan.

“With the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, we constantly need to be able to stay on top of threats,” Muirhead said.

Muirhead emphasized the need for internet literacy.

“At the collegiate level, you don’t really get used to it unless they have a program for it. Here at Behrend, there’s only one course that touches on anything related to cybersecurity,” he said.

Club members will have the opportunity to learn about cybersecurity in a controlled environment. Information Technology Services Manager Todd Say is in support of the club, Muirhead said.

“How we have it set up right now is that people will participate in exercises on their own computers. It will all be isolated in a virtual machine,” Muirhead said.

Neupane noted that the organization welcomes students from a variety of disciplines and experience levels.

“This club isn’t just for the software and technical people. I feel like everyone needs to learn what cybersecurity is and how to protect your data,” Neupane said.

The board approved the club with a vote of 14-0.

The final organization, Philosophy Club, was introduced to board members by President Garrett Beebe.

“There is no philosophy major or minor on campus, but I’ve bumped into so many students who are interested in having conversations on deep matters,” Beebe said.

Beebe explained there are few places at Behrend for students to explore philosophical topics.

“Some of the religious organizations have events for that, but those don’t exactly work for everybody,” he said.

Beebe clarified the intended purpose of the organization.

“My main intent is to create a space for people to practice authentic dialogue … this is not a debate club; we’re trying to see where people are coming from and why,” he said.

The board approved the club with a vote of 14-0.

In council reports, interfraternity council member Chandler DeBarros reminded students that the deadline for new fraternity members is Sunday, Nov. 13.

Club Adviser Kris Motta-Torok encouraged students to attend Student Leadership and Involvement’s next speaker series featuring Martina Edwards on Thursday, Nov. 10, in McGarvey Commons, Reed Union Building.

Academic Affairs Secretary Nathan Murarik reiterated his meeting with Academic Affairs Director Dr. Pamela Silver.

“For those who are frustrated with how their instructors use Canvas, the best way we can advocate for ourselves is through the SRTEs,” he said.

The Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness, otherwise known as SRTEs, are Penn State’s locally developed instrument for gathering feedback from students at the end of each academic term.

In the meeting, Murarik said, SRTEs were pushed as a productive solution to student concerns.

“If you feel like it’s hurting your academic progress, provide feedback in the comments of the SRTEs. When I met with Dr. Silver, she put a major emphasis on them,” Murarik said.

The board member continued on this thought.

“The university can’t force instructors to change their Canvas page or implement a mandate, but if enough students reflect in SRTEs, the issues will be addressed by administration,” he said.

During the open forum, a student raised concerns to the board regarding Business and Operations Senior Director Randy Geering’s winter-season parking rules.

“Randy Geering doesn’t want people to park overnight in the Junker Lot, but some of our athletes don’t leave until 1 a.m.,” she said.

The student explained the inconvenience athletes experience due to Junker’s closure overnight.

“A lot of us don’t feel comfortable walking a long distance back to our cars because we carry many heavy things. It would make it very difficult,” she said.

The student suggested that athletes with practice into the early-morning hours be granted permission to park in sections of Junker.

SGA President Matthew Strup encouraged the student to contact Geering with her concerns.

Concerning the SGA, University Faculty Senate Representative Mitchel Ray informed board members that the organization is a longtime participant in PennDOT’s Adopt-a-Highway Program.

The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a promotional campaign sponsored by a number of U.S. states to encourage volunteers to keep a section of a highway free from litter. In exchange for regular litter removal, an organization, such as the SGA, is allowed to have its name posted on a sign in the section of the highways they maintain.

SGA’s Adopt-a-Highway is located on Iroquois Ave., Ray said.

“There’s a stretch of road across from the high school that was adopted by the Behrend Student Government Association,” Ray said.

Strup inquired about the condition of the road.

“Is it clean?” Strup said.

Ray indicated the area could use “some support.”

Motta-Torok advised board members on how to address the newfound information.

“If you don’t want it, we can contact them and ask to take it down,” she said. “Or, you can keep it. I’m just saying you have options.”

The board took no further action regarding the organization’s participation in the Adopt-a-Highway Program.

Meeting minutes from Thursday, Oct. 27, were not available to be voted on. 

The Student Government Association will vote on budget proposals at their next regular meeting on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. at the Reed Union Building, room 114.