Agenda of the Senate Hofstra University Student Government Association (24th, September, 2026) Hofstra University Call to order Meeting Called to order at 6:47 pm EST A. Quorum Call a. Quorum set to 29 B. New Business a. Chair Dzaveluri moves to open the gallery i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed b. Senator Smook moves to instate Roberts Rules for the 91st Senate i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed c. Welcome New Justices i. Administered by the Vice President d. Welcome New Senators i. Administered by the Chief Justice e. Quorum Call i. Quorum set to 41 f. S.A.2026.91.06 i. Presented by Comptroller Peri and Senator Hoffman 1. Comptroller Peri: We are amending the first section of the constitution, the executive branch. Substantial changes need to be made. The last time was in 2020. We want the constitution to adequately reflect what we do today. In section 101.1 we are striking appointments because the President does not do this. It is the role of the Vice President. We are giving signage control to the President if the Comptroller is unable to do so. We are striking
101.5 because it is not needed and is up to the discretion of the President. For the president select committee, we are striking the ¾ vote of the senate. We are adding a role to the vice president to appoint all officers of the SGA not otherwise elected. We are adding that the senate agenda needs to be sent 48 hours before the senate. We are removing the comptroller as someone chairing the senate. We are also adding a section for social chairs, as this is already done in SGA. For the office of the comptroller, we are moving it up. I am the treasurer so I am also an e-board member, so we wanted to make sure all the e-board is in the same section. In section 103.2, we are changing records to responsibility and adding part A. We do this in practice already. We are also adding that the comptroller must maintain records. Next, for the office of the secretary. We are standardizing the ethics and conduct chair to match that of the social chairs, since it is the same process. We are adding part A and B. We are doing the same thing for the archivist. We are changing archive to minutes. For the office of the committee chairs, we are adding a requirement to the attendance of non-members. We are then striking the office of the comptroller since we moved it up. 2. Chair Chauhan: Why is the appointment of members moved from President to Vice President? Officers are not just associates. Giving that power to the vice president is not right because this is an internal position and the president handles the external matters. 3. Comptroller Peri: That’s a good point. I see the appointment of officers as associates, but I am open to unstrike that. 4. Chair Chauhan moves to strike section 102.1A and unstrike 101.1A a. Motion seconded b. Motion passed 5. Senator Hassouni: What did I just vote for? 6. Vice President Iacobovici: We are in the phase of a senatorial action but we are not passing it yet. We just moved to change it to what Chair Chauhan just said. 7. Senator Pierre: What does it mean to appoint all officers? 8. Senator Hoffman: It is all positions except associates. In practice, VP handles the associate form. 9. Vice President Iacobovici: The president can also elect a presidential election committee.
10.Chair Chauhan: I have a question about dissolving committees. I don't answer why we are removing the part that committees will expire at turnover and why we are taking away the senate's role in disbanding the committee. It’s just removing a part that leaves it the discretion of the senate. 11.Comptroller Peri: Any committee created will expire at turnover and are reestablished. The reason why is this is the president’s committee and should decide. They should have the power to do it. 12.Chair Chauhan: What is so special about this thing? 13.Comptroller Peri: They are giving the senate notice and the president being the chief executive, would keep the senate informed. The power to disband should stick with the senate. 14.Chair Chauhan: Why are we moving things from the financial section? People look for specific things and it's important to keep things in the same section. 15.Comptroller Peri: Jacob and I talked about this. The comptroller is part of the e-board so there is no reason why they shouldn't be there. Yes, they are part of the financial system. It makes sense to have it in the same section as the e-board. The financial section only deals with the finances and how it works. 16.Senator Hoffman: This is mostly the duties of the comptroller. 17.Senator Eherbardt: Are the committees the communications and club resources committees? 18.Vice President Iacobovici: They are talking about special circumstances. 19.Chair Dzaveluri: How would you control the checks and balances of the president just creating external branches and then dissolving them? 20.Comptroller Peri: These are just general and measures can be taken 21.Chair Dzaveluri: Don't you think since it is a specific issue, that we should have checks and balances? 22.Comptroller Peri: These committees would not have any power. If you'd like to propose a motion for language. 23.Senator Hoffman: This is only for disbanding not creating 24.Chair Chauhan moves for a moderated caucus to discuss 101.6C a. Motion seconded b. Motion passed i. Chair Chauhan: I want to give an example of BLAC. They did have problems with SGA and at the time if this was with the President. Giving the
power to the president is power because the president had issues. Creating an external branch can create issues. I don't understand what the decision of disbandment should be. The senate should have a say. Why are we okay taking that power away from the senate? We should be able to take care of this critically. All of us should have a say in whether it should be disbanded or not. ii. Senator Verdone: We are constricting our debate to this subsection. The president is also replaced at turnover so if you have an issue with the president they will change. iii. Senator Pierre: We are overthinking this. The president still has to report to the president and if we feel that they are overstepping their power they are subject to impeachment. They are not going to keep making committees out of nowhere. iv. Chair Chauhan: The president is going to expire at turnover, i agree but that doesn’t erase the issue of checks and balance. They are there for a reason. You do not need to be impeached for that reason. That is completely stupid. v. Comptroller Peri: A previous speaker mentioned the external advocacy branch. That is a separate issue and what is being discussed doesn't have anything to do with BLAC. I don't see any need for a moderated caucus. We can make a motion for language and if people want to debate on that they can. vi. Senator Verdone: I believe the motion for language would change what was presented to us. I did not say this debate was invalid. I was saying 106C was restrictive and we should do 106 as a whole. vii. Senator Chacon: I think checks and balances already exist. Senators can join this chance if they want to, and even if they don’t join, outside members have no power of SGA 25.Chair Dzaveluri moves for a language change for section 101.6 subsection C to read “The committee shall expire with ¾ vote of the senate”
i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed 26.Senator Lindsay: Why change without reinstating the struck section? 27.Chair Dzaveluri: We would need to specify which of the two and I would rather the power be in the hands of the senate rather than the President. Would you guys have any idea how we can give a choice between those two? 28.Comptroller Peri: I think the option is just something the President should do. 29.Comptroller Peri moves for strawpoll to change language to add a subsection 101.6Ca that states, “This decision is subject to a three-fourths (¾) vote of the Senate.” a. Motion seconded b. Motion passed 30.Chair Chauhan moves to propose language to add a subsection 101.6Ca that states, “This decision is subject to a three-fourths (¾) vote of the Senate.” a. Motion seconded b. Motion objected i. Chair Chauhan: I don't understand why this is being objected to. This is a compromise. It preserves checks and balances and doesn’t take power from everyone. We should all be having a say in what is going on. This is giving power to the senate and making sure the decisions of the president are subject to the Senate. We together are the representative of the student body not the senate. ii. Senator Smook: I don’t have a problem with any specific President. My problem iii. Vice President Iacobovici: This is for speaking for, not against. iv. Senator Blain: I agree with the previous speaker. If we are keeping the president in check, we need to ensure we are voting for what is right. I would like to hear others’ points. v. Senator Valenzuela: I agree. It just holds everyone accountable and we all want the same goal and it makes everyone happy.
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Senator Verdone: We should not take away Senat’s power. We should hold the President accountable. Senator Lindsay: I agree. I don't understand how having it in the constitution would harm anything. Both the president and senate would have this power. Senator Pierre: The way I understand is a bit different. If Maisa created a sub-committee and wanted to expire the committee, it should be up to her. The creation of the committee is already only hers, so why is the disbandment the Senate’s choice? We are not giving power back to us, we are just letting her do what she does. What it seems like is that we are just trying to change stuff that is already being changed. This also puts into question the competency of the President, who was voted in by the student body. Senator Smook: I am opposing this because of the possibility of someone coming into power who doesn’t have the best interests at heart. Senator Pawar: I don’t understand the other side’s point. I think the change we are making is just allowing the Senate to hold and have accountability towards the President. If we feel the committee shouldn’t be disbanded, it shouldn’t. Chair Chauhan: Let's say the president established a committee just to advocate for changes in the parking system. The committee has tried to do a lot and hasn't reached anywhere and the president thinks it should be disbanded. But everyone else thinks we should stay advocating, we would not have a say in anything else. The problem won't be fixed. We are the people doing the advocating and were elected. We would not say the president is incompetent and that would be the same for any president after. The President can’t make mistakes and we should be able to hold that person in power accountable. I think the president would want that too. Chair Dzaveluri: I want to address one point.
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Senator Eberhardt: I want to explain more on this side. The issue with this language is it’s not consistent. The language says the committee shall expire at the discretion of the Senate. We are allowed to deliberate, but we can not actually make that decision. xiv. Senator Hamilton: My thought was that if the senate is not involved in the creation, why are they involved in disbanding. The president is selected by the student body and is acting in the best interest. Senator Pierre: To previous speakers' points, if a committee is a “waste of time” that’s not to say that it’s not another initiative a different chair can assume. It just offers more for the 8 different committees. This isn’t a Senate decision, it’s a President decision. 31.Chair Chauhan moves to pass S.A.2026.91.06 a. Motion seconded i. Comptroller Peri - YAY ii. Secretary Thani - YAY iii. Chair Bokhari - YAY iv. Chair Chauhan - YAY v. Chair Mansour - YAY vi. Chair Noel - YAY vii. Chair Ehrlich - YAY viii. Chair Ruffo - YAY ix. Chair Dzaveluri - YAY x. Senator Abdullah - YAY xi. Senator Arscott - YAY xii. Senator Blain - YAY xiii. Senator Cameron - YAY xiv. Senator Culen - YAY xv. Senator Danek - YAY xvi. Senator Dayton - YAY xvii. Senator Desroches - YAY xviii. Senator Dezume - ABSTAIN xix. Senator Eberhardt - NAY xx. Senator Gillani - YAY
xxi. Senator Hassounia - YAY xxii. Senator Hamilton - YAY xxiii. Senator Hinojosa - YAY xxiv. Senator Hoffman - YAY xxv. Senator Israel Jr. - ABSTAIN xxvi. Senator Lindsay - YAY xxvii. Senator Mamatqadirova - YAY xxviii. Senator Painuli - YAY xxix. Senator Patel - ABSTAIN xxx. Senator Pawar - YAY xxxi. Senator Pierre - NAY xxxii. Senator Ramirez - YAY xxxiii. Senator Ravenell - YAY xxxiv. Senator Rhodes - YAY xxxv. Senator Chacon - YAY xxxvi. Senator Saint Fleur - YAY xxxvii. Senator Singh - ABSTAIN xxxviii. Senator Stewart - ABSTAIN xxxix. Senator Smook - NAY xl. Senator Soares - NAY xli. Senator Tayyab - YAY xlii. Senator Tenebruso - ABSTAIN xliii. Senator Valenzeula - YAY xliv. Senator Verdone - YAY b. Motion passed g. Chair Chauhan moves to table S.A.2026.91.04 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed S.A.2026.91.04 h. i. Presented by Chair Vira C. Approval of the Minutes a. Chair Noel moves to pass the Senate minutes from 9/17 i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed b. Senator Blain moves to pass the Cabinet minutes from 9/23 i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed
D. E-board Reports a. President i. Welcome new Senators and Justice! ii. Met with Suzanne Shane iii. Met with the Provost 1. Committee interest: a. Aari b. Jean c. Jack d. Fabrice e. Maya f. Lily Hoffman g. Davonna h. Adiba i. Wania j. C.J k. Amos l. Samahat m. Aneisha n. Chris o. Wasih p. Jasmine q. Nene r. Dayanna iv. Meeting with Jesse Webster next Thursday v. Still waiting on everyone to send me goals… Also, set up a meeting with me and Sev (: b. Vice President i. WELCOME NEW SENATORS!!! ii. 91st QR Codes!!!! iii. Senate retreat Reminders!!! iv. Senate Expectations!!! c. Comptroller i. Welcome new Senators! ii. No Formal Report! d. Secretary i. SGA Fall ‘26 Calendar ii. Reminder to do your office hours! - 1 for senators, 2 for cabinet members iii. 91st Roster Information - New senators fill ASAP! iv. Cub/Lion Pair - Fill it out NOW! v. Let me know if I pronounce your name wrong. vi. Read the minutes. vii. If you leave the room, let me know so I can keep quorum. viii. Let me know if your placards are spelt wrong.
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Email Jacob and I if you will be missing senate and also your committee chairs if you’re missing committee.
E. Committee Chair Reports a. Appropriations i. Minutes ii. Treasurer Training makeups completed! b. Club Resources i. Minutes ii. Very successful elections cycle 1. WELCOME NEW SENATORS iii. Working with Kenrick and the JPanel to get ALL the club constitution updated iv. Launching Senator Liaison programme next week c. Communications d. Programming Programming Minutes 9/22/26 e. Academic Affairs AA minutes 09/24/2026 i. f. Equity & Inclusion i. Minutes ii. IEIxSGA: La Bienvienda @ Hofstra Sept 28th MPR - Sign up sheet to set up & clean up iii. Circle Symposium - Oct 15th 1pm - Sign Up Flyer iv. Student Belonging Focus Groups Oct 19th & 28th - Sign Up - Flyer g. Facilities & Operations i. Minutes 09/24/2026 ii.The bees in Barnard are gone (exterminator was sent in) iii.Collabing w Simone for EAW now during common hour (waiting for confirmation) iv. Campus access committee tomorrow w Maisa (let me know if you have any concerns) h. Wellness & Campus Safety Wellness Minutes 09/24 i. 1. Met with Grace and Brittany a. Discussed Plan Van sign-up format b. Started discussing next semester events for April 2. Met with Steve Richman a. Wellness Week b. Outdoor decompression spaces c. Updating marketing materials 3. Plan Van Dates a. September 30 b. October 7, 14, 21, 28
F. Approval of Committee Minutes a. Chair Dzaveluri moves to suspend the rules for 91st senate snap cup i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed b. Comptroller Peri moves to pass the committee minutes from 9/24 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed Club/Organization
Amount Requested
Amount Allocated
%
Moot Court
$2,117.09
$1,705.00
80.54%
The HofBeats
$478.19
$478.19
100.00%
Hofstra Democrats
$523.54
$489.91
93.58%
New York State Band Directors Association
$100.00
$100.00
100.00%
G. Approval of Allocations a. Senator Chacon moves to pass the allocations from 9/22 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed H. For the Good of the Order a. Anything SGA related! i. Birthday form ii. The communications chair needs to approve interviews given in an SGA capacity iii. Events management contact - Send Aari email I. Announcements a. Anything non-SGA related! i. Student unity network meeting - Wednesday, MPR West ii. Join PAD, WRHU and Moot Court! iii. RA programs! - Tuesday, Delft Lounge iv. Black Honors committee - October 14th v. State of the University Address - 1-2pm, Wednesday J. Snap Cup a. Decorum suspended
K. Adjournment a. Senator Ravenell moves to close the gallery i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed b. Senator Lindsay moves to adjourn this meeting i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed 1. Meeting adjourned at 9:19 pm EST Senator Oath: iii.
“I, (name), hereby pledge to uphold the Constitution, Bylaws, and Policy Series of the Student Government Association, fulfill all obligations as outlined, and act in the best interests of the Student Government Association and all of its members.”
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“I, (name), hereby solemnly swear to faithfully execute the duties of the office of (Justice) for the Student Government Association of Hofstra University; to obey and enforce the Student Government Association Constitution and Bylaws and such policies, rules, and procedures made pursuant thereof and to fairly and faithfully discharge the duties of the office.”
Justice Oath:
Cabinet Agenda PPAW Conference Room September 23, 2026 6:00pm Quorum: Present: President M. Ahmad, Vice President J. Iacobovici, Comptroller P. Peri, Secretary K. Thani, Chair J. Vira, Chair F. Bokhari, Chair A. Mansour, Chair A. Chauhan, Chair J. Ehrlich, Chair R. Noel, Chair N. Dzaveluri, Chair S. Ruffo Absent: Agenda: I. Meeting called to order: II. Icebreaker: III. Collaborative Business: A.
IV.
Updates to the Legislative Branch (Prahlad) - CHAIRS please look
through your committee's section in this Senatorial Action and make any changes you deem necessary to bring the legislative section up to what we do in practice today. If you do not think any changes are necessary, please comment at the top of your respective section. Please do so by this Saturday at 10am. B. End of Year Cab Gift - write your suggestions here before the next Cab! 1. Pullover/Frackett 2. Sweatshirt 3. Hoodies pullover or Zip Up 4. Rings 5. Hoodies/Jersey/fracket Updates A. President 1. Meeting with Suzanne Shane earlier today! 2. Meeting with CIO Jesse Webster moved to next week 3. Meeting with Provost on Thursday a) Share any and all questions or concerns!
4. If you’re available, please go to other club events! I want SGA’s presence to be more visible around campus so people know they can come to us with anything! 5. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE communicate if you need any help with anything. Reach out to me, Jacob, and then Sev so we can get you answers quicker! a) Lots of you are forgetting to cc Jacob and I on communication and we’re getting blindsided by administration, so please just start cc’ing us on everything at this point so that we’re in the loop. B. Vice President 1. Senate retreat! Be there or be square 2. New associates C. Comptroller 1. We have more money than you think internally, don’t be afraid to come to me with requests! D. Secretary 1. Room Reservation / GIHU Form - require graphic to upload 2. Catering Request Form 3. Fall '26 Calendar 4. Reminder to update your committee attendance on the roster sheet. 5. Fill out the cub/lion form! E. Academic Affairs 1.
AA minutes 09/24/2026 a) Student outreach: Working on a Fall 2026 midterms newsletter and discussing surveys, social media, and QR codes to hear from students. b) Student resources: Discussing how to share Hofstra’s reporting options with students. c) Events: Exploring a Veterans Day event with American Vet Dogs and Steve Richman. d) Administrator meetings: Meeting with CIO Jesse Webster and Provost Riordan on September 25; prioritizing meetings with the CUA and Honors College deans by the end of October. e) Committee goals: Updating the goal tracker and asking members to add initiatives they want to work on.
F. Appropriations 1. Minutes from 9/22 2. Finished treasurer training makeups this Monday! G. Club Resources 1. Minutes from September 22 2. Working with JPanel on Club Constitution Updates 3. Soo many new club applications 4. Three more SGA Check Ins!! 5. NEW SENATORSSSS H. Communications 1. No formal report I. Equity and Inclusion 1. National Inclusion Week Results a) NIW Kickoff Event: Identity Mirror - 31 people b) NIW The Missing Piece - 25 people c) Rep Your Flag Day - 161 people (1) Last Year RYFD attendance was 170! 2. 9/21 Meeting w/ Sev 3. Eats Around the World menus & dates are being finalized a) EAW is EVERY Thursday 5-8pm. As I am still waiting on the finalized menus and dates for every club, menus will be posted the day before on the @eatingathofstra Instagram 4. National Coming Out Day - Tabling a) Activities (1) Pride Stickers (2)Pride tattoos (3)Flags (4)Lifesaver candy (5)Hofstra identity bubble board (a) On a white poster board will be “HOFSTRA” in bubble format. Students will be able to take different colored markers to put dots in the Hofstra bubble to represent their different identities. This activity will visualize the diversity Hofstra has within.
5. Planning World Gala a) Currently changing date from Oct 21 to…Nov. 4th b) Sending emails out to identity clubs next week. If you know any identity club that would like to participate please let me know by Monday. c) Activities (1) World Map Pin: on a large map students can take a push pin to pin where they are from on the map. (2)Passport: Students can add stamps to their passports of the countries/identity tables they visited as they walk around. (3)Cultural Fashion Show? Have clubs walk through a runway showing off their traditional clothing (4)World Map Photo Booth (5)Dance Performances d) Souvenirs (1) World squishes (2)Lollipops (3)World keychains (4)International keychains (5)Flags (6)stickers 6. IEIxSGA: La Bienvienda @ Hofstra Sept 28th MPR - Sign up sheet to set up & clean up 7. Student Belonging Focus Groups Oct 19th & 28th - Sign Up - Flyer 8. Circle Symposium - Oct 15th 1pm - Sign Up Flyer 9. Student Unity Network (SUN) - Tie Dye Info Meeting Sept 30th 1pm in Stu Center Plaza Middle 127 J. Facilities and Operations 1. Minutes 09/22/2026 a. Bees in Barnard i. The bee infestation in Barnard rm.102 has been addressed and both Tim Murray and Paul Fritz are aware of the issue. An exterminator has been sent into the room to clear out the bees to prevent future infestation
b. Brainstorming ideas to take better care of the bird sanctuary, provide an opportunity for students to get community service hours to help clean it as a whole while also getting the school involved, this will be discussed in committee. c. Parking signage and directories better advertisements i. I am still waiting for a response from John Ambrosini and Dave Trustey from the office of Facilities, this will be addressed on Friday during Campus Access Committee E. Campus access committee meeting this friday with Maisa: i. I plan to address the possibility of adding an ADA button to the PPAW (this is a high traffic area and should be accessible to everyone) ii. I also will be addressing the issue with the blockage the picnic tables in the parking lot of Weed and Adams Hall, the tables are blocking parking spaces iii. Finally, I will be suggesting that a wheelchair accessible ramp should be added between the resident towers as it is currently not wheelchair accessible and is difficult to navigate. V. Still in the process of collaboration with Simone campus nutritionist, prefers to do events during common hour rather than during EAW since it is busy during that time -will continue to update as we meet and finalize plans for this K. Programming 1.
Programming Minutes 9/22/26
a) Build A Friend Planning In Final Stages b) Supplies for Fall Fest Tabling Have Arrived 2. Don’t forget important dates October 17th Fall Fest / November 9th B-A-F
L. Wellness and Campus Safety 1.
Wellness Minutes 09/24 a) Met with Grace and Brittany (1) Discussed Plan Van sign-up format (a) Based on the conversation, it will not work out for personal information reasons
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(2)Started discussing next semester events for April (a) Take Back the Night b) Meeting with Steve Richman on Thursday at 10 am (1) Let me know if you want me to bring up anything c) Plan Van Dates (1) September 30 (2)October 7, 14, 21, 28 For the Good of the Order A. Announcements A. Meeting adjourned:
Respectfully submitted, President Maisa Ahmad