By KAYLA DEMICCO
Opinions Editor
The Student Association held their general meeting virtually over Zoom on April 8. Amanda Bastiani, director of prevention education and Title IX coordinator, was one of two special orders for this week’s meeting. As most offices have to do their work remotely, she is open to suggestions and ideas to make using her services comfortable for those who wish to utilize them. Bastiani informed students of a sexual assault climate survey which has been sent to students’ Saint Rose emails on April 9. As a New York State requirement, the data from the survey will be a way to let the college know how they need to improve in certain aspects. All responses are guaranteed to be anonymous and should take about 15 minutes to complete.
As April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Bastiani announced that even though Take Back the Night is canceled, Albany County will be hosting virtual events each week. Bastiani also informed attendees of a $299,727 grant that the college has received from The United States Office on Violence Against Women for three years in a row. The grant will be used for “Project Voices,” which address the struggles of dating/domestic violence and sexual assault. Assisting her with this will be Shae Vourhees who will help expand what Bastiani has done for the college.
“We are currently in the planning year 2019-2020, and the next two years will be action years,” said Bastiani.
Any questions or comments for Bastiani can go to bastiana@strose.edu .
Myles Clendenin, assistant director of housing operation, was the second special order for the week. Clendenin shared that there are 40 students who remain living on campus who were unable to go home. As everyone in the Residence Life office is working remotely, he assured everyone that they are still answering questions students may have in terms of housing. To replace the open house that Residence Life usually holds every year, he suggests to look at the floor plans for building students may want to pick for next year. Clendenin says that the office is looking into different options for a virtual tour of all residence buildings that are not already available on the college’s YouTube channel.
Any questions or comments for Clendenin can be sent to clendenm@strose.edu.
Elections for the 2020-2021 Student Association board will be coming up soon and the Student Association will be sending out emails with official announcements.
The Student Association will be holding a giveaway in collaboration with The International Student Organization on April 19 at 6 p.m. via Instagram (@saintrose_sa and @iso_saint_rose). They will be sharing recipes for dishes from around the world and encourage others to participate. The winner will be given a prize of a $25 e-gift card.
