Madeline Jewel

Editor-In-Chief

President Abby Napierski called her first student government meeting to order Thursday, Sept. 3. The meeting began with roll call; all officers were in attendance. As it was the first meeting of the semester, the organization had no old business to attend to. New business consisted of President Napierski’s goals for the semester; this included filling remaining senator positions, encouraging greater collaboration with the Erie community, and organizing speaker attendance for future SGA meetings. 

Additionally, the Fall 2026 Election Packet was introduced; a motion was made to table its approval until the meeting on Sept. 10, which passed 10-0-1. Interested students will run to fill the five upper-class and three first-year senator positions later this month.

The executive board’s reports focused on introducing each member and their subsequent duties. As for staff reports, Senator Bridget Culley was appointed as the new chair for the constitutional review committee. Public relations chair Dorcas Amunazo, recording secretary Mirabel Valsechi, and programming affairs chair Kalliyah Wright were all in attendance and expressed some of their goals and responsibilities for the year. 

Council reports were short as the roles for both the multicultural and Panhellenic council representatives are still open. The Inter-fraternity Council (IFC) will be hosting a LinkedIn workshop later this month to help prepare students for the career fair, so be on the lookout for more information. University faculty Senate representative River Smith submitted a report to update the organization on educational equity, student-athlete monitoring and support, and commonwealth campus outreach. Freshmen Abiha Talpur and Aidha Jaudat will serve as the heads of academic affairs and student community affairs, respectively. Senior Tina Yu is new to SGA this year and will serve as the diversity, equity, and inclusion head. The meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m..

The student government this year is rather young in terms of age and experience. In fact, for a majority of members, this is their first year in the organization. While some Behrend students may be concerned about this year’s representation, President Napierski is confident and committed.  

“That could be seen as a weakness, but for me I think SGA was in a transition phase anyway,” said Napierski after Thursday’s meeting. 

She continued, 

“There’s a lot of opportunity for growth”. 

Student government meetings are on Thursdays at 4:30 and are open to all Behrend students.