Welcome back! I hope you had a restful winter break filled with joy. As we start the new year, I’m excited to see us all back at school. As we enter this semester, SGA is driven to work on all tasks needed and to continue to represent all voices on campus.
There are very few old-school titans of broadcast television who are still with us. The Alex Trebeks. The Walter Cronkites. The Edward R. Murrows. This week, we lost one of those titans. Charles Osgood, the host of CBS Sunday Morning from 1994 to 2016 and a legendary figure at CBS News, died on Jan. 23. For me, he was so much more than just a TV host.
As Americans, it is valuable to stay up to date with conflicts happening outside of our border in which our country is involved. Just because the fighting is not in our town does not mean that we are separated from the events.
As the 2024 presidential election closer, the Republican Iowa Caucus took place on Monday, Jan. 15, and was followed by the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Due to freezing Midwest temperatures, voter turnout was much lower this January than in previous years’ contests. Despite the circumstances, support for Donald Trump remained strong among Republicans, paving a clear path to victory for the former president.
Over 70 students representing colleges and universities across Pennsylvania visited the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg on Monday, Jan. 22, for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s inaugural College Day of Action. The event brought together student government presidents, student journalists, advocates and college influencers for a day of networking and learning. “You were invited because you get s**t done on your campuses,” Gavin Lichtenstein, director of Digital Partnerships in the Office of the Governor and organizer of the event, said, using the bold mantra of Gov. Shapiro. “You get it done in student governments and in groups. You get so much s**t done the governor saw it.”
The Student Government Association’s Budget & Finance Committee issued a hard deadline for student groups that are eligible to request an operating budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The budget requests are required to be handed in physically to the SUSSI office no later than the deadline of Jan. 29, at 4 p.m.
The final Shippensburg Student Government Association meeting of the semester was held Thursday, Dec. 12. The fall 2023 semester was a time of rebuilding for SGA, as it strived to fill its senator positions and return to being a functional body. SGA President Harun Pacavar addressed the coming end of the semester. “A lot of people have addressed how this semester particularly has been very hard for whatever reason. So please, take the time to find time for yourself. Enjoy the time you have for yourself,” Pacavar said.
Minnesota’s State Emblems Redesign Commission finalized a new flag design last month after months of work with over 2,600 design submissions online. This new design trades Minnesota’s state seal on a blue field for a simplistic design that resembles the state itself along with an eight-point North Star and a light blue block to the right.
The PAGE Center recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance by holding a memorial ceremony in McFeely’s Cafe on Monday, Nov. 20. The Trans Affinity Group also painted a mural in CUB Lounge 5 in commemoration of annual observance.
A yellow bike sits outside Shearer Hall. Day by day, Claire Jantz commutes to Shippensburg University where she has worked in the Department of Geography and Earth Science since 2005. Her canary cruiser is how students and faculty alike know she is around campus. However, after 19 years at SU, this bicycle may not be around as often as Jantz starts the next chapter of her life as the newest Deputy Secretary for Conservation and Technical Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
I am coming to terms with the fact I am no longer a child. This seems like a late revelation to be having as a 21-year-old, but I more so mean I have been defining my lines between being a girl and being a woman. Girlhood for me is simplicity, trial and error, learning and growth. Girlhood is about self-discovery, finding who you are and telling others about you. My girlhood can be perfectly summarized in one photo — roughly 6-years-old, curly blonde bob cut by my mother, pink dress and blue Crocs, gripping the life out of a massive frog.
As our fall semester comes to an end, SGA wants to thank the student body for an amazing first half of the year. More than in recent years, we have seen an exciting surge in membership. All of us in SGA want to congratulate our newest addition to the Executive Leadership Committee, Katie Huston.
The Journal of Global Health has reported that 500 million people worldwide lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities, 14% of which being college students. Inspired by period poverty across the country and economic inflation, a group of Shippensburg University students created a menstrual product drive that would run from Oct. 23 to Nov. 23 for their senior seminar course.
The Shippensburg University Forum held its November meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Forum is a governing body through which recommendations concerning curriculum, academic policies, co-curricular and student life matters are routed to the university president.
Shippensburg University’s Sociology and Anthropology Department hosted an information session on zoo sociology with University of Pennsylvania Sociology Professor David Grazian. The event was held from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Stewart Hall. Grazian is a professor of sociology and communication and the faculty director of the urban studies program. Grazian primarily focuses on culture, mass media, arts, cities and urban sociology, but he has spent four years as a volunteer zookeeper and dedicated 600 hours of fieldwork researching on zoos and animal life in metropolitan areas.
Katie Huston was sworn in as the Student Government Association’s next Vice President of Finance at SGA’s Nov. 30 public meeting. Huston is a junior English major with a mathematics minor who has served as The Slate’s business manager since May 2022.
Five students presented their work in various business and entrepreneurial organizations before the Shippensburg University Council of Trustees at its second meeting of the semester on Nov. 17. Don Nori, who serves as the director for the Diller Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation, introduced the speakers.
