The Student Government Association (SGA) of the University of Massachusetts Amherst met for its 1925th regular meeting on November 21st, 2024. The Senate heard motions on Amherst’s status as a “sanctuary city” and the SGA’s internal budget.
During officer reports, the advisory board representatives talked about how they “went over some fears and worries of election results students had.” Representatives said the University’s Global Affairs Office sent an email to international students saying they should come back before Trump’s inauguration, and the SGA discussed how they could provide resources for these students.
The senate later voted on a resolution supporting the town of Amherst’s stance against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). President Colin Humphries said, “it is completely inhumane for anybody to be subjected to family separations,” and that “we should defend members of our community.”
The resolution comes after the town of Amherst set forth a statement that condemned the actions of ICE officers in Northampton, with the town wanted emphasizing their status a sanctuary community for undocumented individuals. The SGA desires to align with the town the University resides in and show support for international students.
“We have to stand in solidarity with the town of Amherst, which put out a strong statement standing with their residents,” Humphries said. The Senate went into debate to discuss the motion, but the resolution was passed to applause.
Secretary of Finance Dylan Bellerive, along with the rest of the executive branch, presented an “FY26 SGA optimized Budget Request,” requesting a budget increase for SGA’s payroll and administrative funds the next school year. They emphasized that “agencies faced across-the-board cuts of 14.29% on average,” and if the SGA budget were to stay the same, they would not be able to operate sufficiently. The new budget would be $366,189.93 for FY26 as opposed to the $291,175.00 allocated for this school year, FY25, an increase of 38.8 percent.
“I want to remind everyone here of the importance to pass this motion and stick to it because we need to be funded for the next year,” Humphries said. The resolution was debated but abruptly ended as not enough senators were present to meet quorum. A recess had to be called until the next meeting.
During cabinet announcements, Attorney General Ryan Darbhanga introduced his new Undersecretary, Jack McDermott, who was promptly sworn in. Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Ania Lombo, discussed Multicultural Night planning and asked the Senate for volunteers..
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Charlie Goodchild said he is working on a food insecurity for Veterans initiative, a textbook initiative, and is working on “getting rec passes for ROTC individuals who can’t afford it”.
Secretary of Health and Wellbeing Kimberly Manyanga announced a mental health workshop in the Campus Center auditorium that will take place on Dec. 3 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Social Justice and Empowerment Committee conducted implicit bias training, defining implicit bias as, “subconsciousness attitudes or stereotypes one holds about another social group that affects our understanding, actions and interactions.” They discussed what implicit bias is, why it matters and what actions one can take to combat it.
During special orders, Vice President Leone and Secretary Goodchild presented a resolution they wrote, which called for the cancellation of academic activities on Monday, Nov. 25 if the UMass Football team beat the University of Georgia on Saturday.
Leone said he was sitting next to Reyes at an event over the weekend and they were discussing UMass Football. Leone said he asked, “If we were to win would you cancel classes” and Reyes told him “if [SGA passes] a resolution he’ll consider it.” The resolution passed, but UMass lost 59-21 on Saturday.
During committee of the whole, President Humphries counted donations for an SGA food drive. With the most donations, the Outreach and Development Committee won a pizza party.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:46 pm.
Pratika Dhungel can be reached at [email protected]. Ambika Joshi can be reached at [email protected]
