Agenda of the Senate Hofstra University Student Government Association (October, 15th, 2026) Hofstra University Call to order Meeting Called to order at 6:44 pm EST A. Quorum Call a. Quorum set to 34 B. New Business a. Senator Valenzuela moves to open the gallery i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed b. Swearing in of new Justice and Senator c. Welcome Provost Riordan! i. Provost: I serve as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. This is my 5th year at Hofstra and I love it here. I was born in the Bronx and I am the oldest of four kids. I grew up in Connecticut. 51 years later I came back to New York and took this job in Long Island. I am a METS fan and Giants fan. I spent my whole life in academic education. I was a chemistry major and my senior year I didn’t know what I was going to do when I graduated. A faculty member invited me to come to his laboratory to do some research and he opened up the world for me. Throughout my career I tried to focus on paying that forward. I work with deans and department chairs to create an environment to ensure your educational environment is the best it can be. We want to create an environment where you can be your best version and grow. The way that we grow are products of our environments. That extends to Hofstra. The way that you grow here intellectually, culturally and in terms of your outreach and efforts in clubs and sports, are done uniquely because of your environment and the opportunities. I try to create opportunities for
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students by representing the academic administrators and focusing on providing you with a curriculum that will make you suited for the environment after you leave Hofstra. How we think about preparing you for freshman year will play in your lives, such as AI and so on. That is what a provost is focused on. I wanted to go through some high-level topics that may interest you. Good luck and be safe at fall fest. We are deep into the semester already and I hope folks had a good rest over fall break. Within the provost office, we have a number of administrators that support different academic aspects. Vice-Provost for Undergraduate and Student Success, Elfreda Blue, is someone you may have come across. She had an opportunity to move over to Washington D.C. and contribute to an office there. Kristin Weingartner has moved to the provost office and now serves this role. It is worth mentioning that every five years the university works on a bargaining agreement and the university works with the faculty and administration. The way these efforts go is that they go down to the last minute and it was no different this year. We have a great agreement for the next 5 years and I think there has been a wonderful job. Having faculty in the classrooms everyday is critically important. Universities and colleges are accredited by bodies to ensure they are delivering a high quality education that focuses on student learning and outcomes. Hofstra university is accredited by the middle states association. Every couple years the university undergoes this process. There is a page on the website if you want to talk more about it. There are seven different standards that we have to look at. These committees are collecting evidence. We are writing a 100-page paper that presents evidence that Hofstra is meeting all the standards. We are hoping to hear from students that are leading the accreditation process. This is being led by Comila Shahani-Denning and other members of my office. It would be good to reach out to students and feed that information. November 3rd is election day. Go out and vote. It is a particularly exciting time. Those of you in political science and computer science are probably talking about this. I know the herbert school does a good job during those nights. I encourage you to go over there because the energy over there is palpable and exciting. Chair Dzaveluri: Can you walk us through the process of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and explain why it took so long? Provost: I will tell you about my role. We got together pretty early as an administration and faculty negotiating team around March for a couple weeks and during the summer we started meeting more frequently. These negotiations are characterized by the idea of entropy which you feel all the
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time allotted to you and negotiations often work that way. We agreed on some elements early on and it took us a few topics to agree on. We need to position the institution to respond and reply to change much more quickly. The timing was probably impacted by the five year timing. Five years ago we were in COVID. There wasn’t much bargaining at that time. We are working with the current contract in some senses. The bottom line is that it is a positive agreement for both sides. Chair Ehrlich: Classes generally start at 2:40pm. A journalism class starts at 2:25pm, and I’m wondering if that is allowed. Just this class. It is hard because the class is synchronous. Each week she travels between here and Miami. Zoom provides a challenge because if at common hours I was at an event, I would have to find a room and that was difficult because there was no available quiet place. When it is in person it’s not as much as a dilemma, but online creates a problem. The professor says it just gives them extra time. On the course schedule the class start time is 2:25. Provost: Do you have a sense of how common that start is on a Monday and Wednesday? What are the challenges that creates? Have you raised this question with the faculty and stated some challenges it creates. What time does it start on the course schedule?I was not aware of that. You have done the right thing by raising that with the facility member. Senator Pierre: Going back to the CBA, I’d like to discuss the budget cuts that resulted from it. I am the only student working at the Center for Student Engagement and Race because of budget cuts, so why were those two cuts chosen to be gutted almost entirely? Provost: You made reference to the budget cuts and the negotiations. I just want to clarify that the budget cuts were a consequence of lower revenue of admissions, including a smaller first year class. The intersection between the budget cuts and the negotiations was just a matter of coincidental time. One wasn’t necessarily coupled with the other but when both issues are on the mind at the same time, it creates challenges. Just to give you some visibility about the budget situation. President Poser came to all administrators and let them know the scale of the budget shortfall that we were projecting for the fiscal year. What the President asked every unit, non academic and academic, to do was look at their budgets and do an exercise where if you had to cut either 5%, 10% or 15% in each of your units, what would that look like? 5% doesn't seem like a huge budget cut. Your perspective matters, but in each of those cases, even a 5% budget cut is significant because the way universities are covered, is that much of the budget is for paying people. A 5%-10% budget cut is significant. Each unit proposed to their supervisors to come up with budget cuts. The
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President’s team had to decide how we were going to get there. Part of the process was to focus on the Hofstra strategic plan which included scholarship and teaching, educational agility etc. and make the case where their budget cuts would do the least amount of harm. The practical reality was the budget shorthall was significant enough that we had to make significant cuts across campus. There are very different cuts. Each of the senators asked to make cuts that had the littlest impact on students. Those cuts are real and are felt in the centers and academic programs. Senator Eberhardt: My concern is with AI. We have created a collaboration with Open AI and I am wondering what the budget for that looks like? Especially as a liberal art school, how do you think that affects our ability to learn and think critically? Provost: I don’t know the exact budget, but I would characterize it as an investment in education. It is a huge concern I think is worth reading on. My thoughts on the topic change over time. My first academic year here was 2022-2023. As I learn more about it, I think my enthusiasm and the potential to do good changes sometimes and my concerns go beyond the impact on education and include the community and environment. The third perspective is here. It is not going to go away. One of the questions is what agency/voice do we have to influence how it moves forward. One of the analogies it draws is between social media and now AI. There are clear differences as well as parallels. We are learning that society, whether through government and regulation, doesn't think and act earlier in terms of what is in our control. Where we have agency, we need to pay attention to this. There are a number of states acting on a policy level because the federal government isn’t. There needs to be guardrails in place. A couple weeks ago we had the presidential symposium and a few of you were at the panels. They were terrific panels. For me, it was eye opening. You read the noise, go to the press and the media, and a lot of the challenges are that entry level jobs are gone and not coming back. That narrative is incomplete. It is not a particularly accurate narrative. The jobs continue to exist. Some of the activities humans do are being replaced by AI but those are replaced by AI but those are root functions. I agree with the conversation we need to have about creativity, human inventiveness, and the paradoxes of this unbelievable technology that can do math problems, cure cancer, etc. It is putting the highest premium on what humans can do. We want the faculty to understand how those tools can be used in education to support it, not to plan it. It is to help with critical thinking and about using the tools.
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Senator Moreno: Is there a way to remove classes that are no longer being taught from degreeworks? For example, I am a Political Science major and there are many Political Science classes that just aren’t taught anymore. Provost: We can certainly take care of that. The caveat there is that in some cases, special classes may not be taught in years but professors may keep it because they may teach it in a few years down the line. I can speak to the registrar about doing that. Senator Cameron: I have a question about departments. The 153 Union reached out to me stating that some departments are combining. Can you elaborate on that? Provost: We are having very early conversations. I had a town hall with the faculty on Friday to begin conversations around an academic reorganization so we can reorganize our departments and schools to create an academic structure to meet the climate we are in. It is intended to put things in a way that allows for collaborative and interdisciplinary work. It also makes prospective students and those here, interested in exploring different and changing majors, see that it can happen more fluidly without extending graduation time. Hofstra statistics are similar to other schools in that a lot of students change their major at least once. This would facilitate that and help collaboration. Speak to employers, government employees, etc. to see that we are organizing and aligning ourselves to meet the moment and show we are a distinctive community that’s providing an educational experience that you are looking for. Chief Justice Warner: On the subject of a smaller incoming class and the Hofstra experience. Last semester, I met with club leaders and professors and they spoke about Hofstra doing the First Year Experience. Do you have any updates? Provost: I agree completely with the first year experience and our general education curriculum. Starting last academic year, there is a group of faculty who have been working called the general education taskforce. They have been coming up with updates to change the requirements. Part of that proposal that goes for approval will be the first year experience and one credit first year course. It would be a framework of the first year, a three course that would provide a transition into college and provide an opportunity to get to know faculty well. Once those requirements get proposed and voted on by the faculty, they would be in the next year’s bulletin. They would not affect your courses. It would help with belonging and retention. Chair Dzaveluri: I’d like to elaborate on AI. What changes have you seen at Hofstra since we purchased AI. Do you see increased AI usage in
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classes, do you think Hofstra students are utilizing it well, overall are student’s independent abilities declining? Provost: I have a complex relationship with AI. Sometimes I am optimistic and sometimes I am far from optimistic. I have been very inspired by the thoughtfulness by which many faculty have approached AI and have used it as an opportunity to support student education. We know how it can also be used unhelpfully to make shortcuts. We have seen increased instances where professors have started handwritten assignments in blue books and presentations. It is still holding on today. I think that is great. Our overall approach is one of faculty choice and agency. I am always encouraging faculty if, when and how to utilize AI in their research and student learning. We are just beginning to get data into assessment, the last couple of years have just accelerated how we teach and how students learn. Another thing I would like to hear is how effective faculty is in communicating their expectations. It can be frustrating and hard to manage. Senator Hoffman: I’m wondering about the cancellation of introductory language classes. If some first-level classes aren’t offered, I become concerned about the future of those languages. How are we supporting them? Provost: I think we are all doing, both administration and faculty. One of the great values of Hofstra is it is a liberal arts school. I have optimism that there will be a renaissance of the liberal arts because of the learning that could take place. The language requirement is a topic of very active engagement between the faculty, particularly as it relates to the general education requirements. All of HCLAS is really wrestling and trying to figure out what Hofstra's language classes would be like going forward, in addition to the schools we have at Hofstra., The Arts and Humanities, including foreign languages, are really challenged all across higher education but it is something we are trying to look into. Chair Ehrlich: I understand that it’s been discussed that Faculty members have academic freedom. However, since the last few years students have noticed that it’s not being utilized correctly. For example, in many schools, such as HCLAS, students are being penalized for having different opinions or are being called out. Then when a report is filed by a student, there are no updates and the student is left in limbo. Provost: Are you referring to the limits of academic freedom and the follow up? Academic freedom is a hallmark of higher education, particularly higher education in the US. One of the overlaps with the first amendment, is the general public is aware of the limitations. Academic
freedom extends to faculty when they are engaged in their disciplinary expertise. It creates an environment in its best structure and creates an incredible learning opportunity. A lot of conditions need to be met. I am a chemistry professor. There are things I feel comfortable discussing as a chemistry professor. I would discuss federal funding and its importance to the economic community. Whenever I am engaging with a student or a colleague in this kind of conversation, my hope is often that at the end of the conversation, we have learnt from one another and oftentimes, people come away from that conversation not necessarily knowing what my position is. We have had panel discussions and one thing we talk about is civil discourse. There are limits in terms of the process. The advice I always give is when you have concerns in your class, the first place to go is the faculty member. In this situation, that may not be available to you. If going to the faculty member is not productive or uncomfortable, go to the department chair, go online and report either anonymously or with information. The problem with anonymous is it’s hard to follow up which makes it hard with specifics. The hard part is if actions are taken they are personal confidential actions. The other agency is that in some respects, if it is ongoing, and you feel you have the same concerns, then report again. xxii. Senator Tayyib: Many STEM majors have difficulty with their majors because many pre-requisite courses are required that makes scheduling their classes with appropriate graduation time difficult. xxiii. Provost: Since you mentioned STEM, a couple things come to mind. First and foremost, the biggest predictor of success in graduate school is undergraduate research. It is important that you get connected with a faculty member and get a genuine deep research experience. What one does is research and undergraduate school. It gives you a sense of what you will be doing. It also allows you to talk in your application about your research experience, including how you succeeded and failed, and how you built a relationship with the faculty member. Get engaged in research as soon as possible. Raise concerns to faculty members. They have flexibility in waivers and concerns. d. S.A.2026.91.04 i. Presented by Chair Vira ii. Chair Vira: This is a Senatorial Action from a while ago. It’s from the Constitutional Convention. This Action adds a part to the first article of the Constitution. It talks about the difference between the Policy Series and Constitution. iii. Senator Saint-Fleur moves to pass S.A.2026.91.04 1. Motion seconded
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2. Motion passed SA E&I - Inclusion Ambassador i. Presented by Chair Noel ii. Chair Noel: This Senatorial Action updates the Inclusion Ambassador. I took off Sensitivity Training because we don’t do that. I also said this role is someone who is proactive and hosts specific Equity-focused campus-wide events. iii. Chair Chauhan: Why is Ambassador plural in the first line? iv. Senator Blain moves to make a friendly motion changing language to “An inclusion Ambassador is expected to be a student leader who implements and leads equity-focused initiatives, fosters inclusive spaces within student organizations, and expands campus-wide engagement through outreach and collaboration. a) They are expected to be a proactive leader who not only supports equity initiatives, but actively shapes and drives them across campus.” 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passed v. Senator Gillani moves to pass S.A.2026.91.08 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passed S.A.2026.91.09 i. Presented by Comptroller Peri ii. Comptroller Peri: We are increasing the social chair budget from 2% to 2.5% to give them more funding for their initiatives. iii. Senator Tayyab: What do social chairs do? iv. Vice-President Iacobovici: They plan social events for members of SGA. v. Senator Rhodes moves to pass S.A.2026.91.09 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passed SA.2026.91.10 i. Presented by Comptroller Peri ii. Comptroller Peri: It has been our policy that ticket sales would not be allowed and we want to enforce that process this year. The main reason is our budget comes from the student activity fee. It seems unfair for students to pay for an event. One way that an organization can do this is sell tickets to non-Hofstra students. Clubs would have to show a need to sell tickets if they want to be allowed to do so. iii. Senator Pierre: That includes you and the Appropriations Chair and committee or just you?
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Comptroller Peri: I wanted to include the Comptroller in this on paper so that they can voice their opinion, even though they don’t have voting power. Comptroller Peri moves to change language: from “ Chair Chauhan: The appropriation committee already has advice from the comptroller so why is it necessary to add that? Comptroller Peri: It is just to put it in the policy series because the comptroller is presenting it. Senator Tenebruso: Does the comptroller still have veto power over this? Senator Eberdhart moves for a language change: “Organizations who would like to sell tickets at an event may request permission from the Appropriations Committee by a majority vote without the Veto of the Comptroller.” 1. Motion objected 2. Senator Eberdhart: I understand why everyone thinks Veto power may be bad. At the end of the day, the Appropriations Committee and its chair has its own power. There are consequences that come from decisions like this, if the Comptroller has Veto power- there may be bias against any club and the lack of getting tickets is limiting for the organization attempting to get more money. This has nothing to do with spending money, which is why we should have no Veto. 3. Senator Pierre: The language proposal doesn’t make sense and doesn’t target what we’re trying to say. The veto of the comptroller can be overwritten by the appropriations chair and the senate. We as a senate can then debate why that veto happened. Fundraising events for tickets doesn’t go back into SGA so even then we are not getting the money back. It still doesn’t address what we are addressing is how the Comptroller is going about this. 4. Comptroller Peri: There is no problem with the veto thing. The main issue is the wording. 5. Senator Tayyab: It is redundant because if the comptroller does veto the committee, those people will come back to senate anyway and then we would go back into another debate. It makes sense to leave it as it is. We are just going to debate it again. 6. Chair Chauhan: I don’t agree with taking away the veto. The Comptroller doesn’t have veto power in this instance in the first place. The Comptroller, in my opinion, should always be able to share their opinion and then we should trust the Committee to address the situation as needed. Taking away the veto is not
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necessary because it doesn’t exist in that instance anyways. It becomes a grammar issue at this point. 7. Senator Tenebruso: Without the veto of the comptroller, it is just bad grammar. What you need to clarify is that under this language it just looks sloppy. 8. Motion failed Chair Chauhan moves for a 5-minute unmoderated caucus 1. Motion seconded 2. Motion passed a. Chair Chauhan: I think we need to make sure the integrity of the constitution remains legal and formal. I think it should say that organizations who would require funding may request it through the appropriations committee. The comptroller already gives feedback and will continue to happen. b. Comptroller Peri: the comptroller doesn't bring things to the committee, only the appropriations chair can. That’s why I think this structure needs to be in place. c. Senator Blain: you can just add under the advisory under the Comptroller. d. Senator Arscott: I think that we can add it e. Chair Chauhan: I think what is written right now is perfect, either appropriations chair or comptroller. It could be put on the agenda as needed and the committee approves the decision as needed. f. Senator Eberhardt: I agree on that, but I think we need to include the Comptroller’s veto powers. The Comptroller shouldn’t have that power. g. Comptroller Peri: As it’s written now, yes. I’d like to include that the last time this happened was in 2020. This was done because the Comptroller was MIA and came in without an educated decision. h. Senator Eberhardt: Last time you also said we haven’t had a budget freeze in years and it happened and this can create problems. i. Chair Chauhan: It doesn’t say that the Veto power j. Chair Dzaveluri: The thing is that there is no problem with a veto. We can override the veto regardless. k. Senator Tenebruso: We need to specify.
l. Chair Chauhan: The thing is the problem is you can override the veto. m. Comptroller Peri:The comptroller could veto and it would be a ¾ of the senate. n. Chair Chauhan: If they have the veto, they have the veto. o. Senator Tenebruso: This is a special scenario. It needs to be said that the veto is present. There should be a mention of a subsection p. Senator Pierre: I don’t think it’s necessary to mention because this is a very special case. It works regardless of including the Veto. Then again, this veto has nothing to do with the problem in question, we’re being nit-picky. q. Senator Tenebruso: What do we do if the comptroller says I can veto and the appropriation says you can veto and it’s in the constitution. r. Senator Eberhardt: Regardless of our decision, we need to have a veto vote. Can we hold a strawpoll. s. Senator Pawar moves to strawpoll to decide if there should be a subsection stating that the Comptroller should have veto power. i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed t. Senator Tayyab: Does the comptroller have veto power this aside? So if we already have veto power so why are we confused that they have a subsection about veto power? u. Comptroller Peri moves to table S.A.2026.91.09 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed C. Approval of the Minutes a. Senator Pawar moves to pass the Senate minutes from 10/1 i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed b. Senator Pierre moves to pass the Cabinet minutes from 10/14 i. Motion Seconded ii. Motion Passed D. E-board Reports a. President i. Met with Speaker of the Faculty, Paul Fritz ii. University Senate iii. Meeting with Britt Rhoden, Nene and Jacob iv. Renovation Update v. Meeting with Jose Rodriguez
vi. BOT on 10/20 vii. President’s Town Hall 10/21 viii. Goals… b. Vice President i. Positions Reveal 1. Equity & Inclusion Ambassador - YAY SPENCER 2. Archivist - YAY JAZMINE 3. Ethics Chair - YAY YASMINA 4. Social Chairs - YAY MADDIE & DAVONNA ii. Senator Projects!! 1. PLEASE EMAIL ME ANY QUESTIONS 2. Will get approvals or denials by Monday!!! iii. Enjoy Fall Fest!!!!! c. Comptroller i. Met with new Assistant Dean of Students/Club Advisor Lauren d. Secretary SGA Fall ‘26 Calendar i. ii. Reminder to do your office hours! - 1 for senators, 2 for cabinet members 1. STU 216B iii. Remember to tell the Ethics Chair when you leave the room! And text the Ethics Chair if you forget to do office hours iv. Cub-Lion Point System E. Committee Chair Reports a. Appropriations i. Minutes ii. Semesterly budgets now open! Close on October 30th at 11:59pm b. Club Resources i. Minutes October 12, 2026 ii. Constitutional Benchmark 1. Come prepared both the Constitution and Policy Series iii. Club Constitution Reviews iv. New Club Application closes on Sunday, October 18th 1. Direct questions to me, please c. Communications 10-12-2026 comms minutes i. ii. No report d. Programming Programming Minutes 10/13/26 i. ii. PLS Sign up for tabling —> Fall Fest Tabling 2026 e. Academic Affairs AA minutes 10/15/2026 i. ii. Student out reach 1. Fall 2026 Newsletter Vol. 1 being finalized for Monday. 2. Working on a course registration tips reel.
3. Developing student surveys and QR codes for academic buildings. iii. Academic Initiatives 1. Developing SAW Week survey questions 2. Met with CIO's Office and Registrar to discuss DegreeWorks improvements. 3. Academic Senator Liaisons iv. Upcoming 1. Working to schedule meetings with the Gen Ed Task Force, CUA, HCLAS, Honors College, and Steve Richman. 2. Exploring AI programming with Library leadership. f. Equity & Inclusion i. Minutes ii. 10 /12 Meeting w/ Hugo iii. Student Belonging Focus Groups Oct 19th & 28th - Sign Up - Flyer iv. 10/8 Meeting w. Lexis 1. For THIS semester we're making the Fall Menus more descriptive so students know what their eating 2. Working on a cookbook with Lexis for the Spring 2027 EAW menus - It would digital on the compass page v. Queer @ Hofstra Oct 28th MPR West 1pm -2:25pm vi. Dia De Los Muertos Nov 2nd Plaza Middle 1pm -2:25pm vii. Planning World Gala - Sign Up form Here 1. Sign up if you want to table, sing, dance, or walk in the fashion show - open to everyone g. Facilities & Operations i. Minutes 10/15/2026 ii. Meeting w Rabbi Dave/Maisa/Jacob/Nene 1. Discussed revival of bird sanctuary 2. Currently reaching out to the proper people to collaborate with 3. Involving hofstra hillel iii. Upcoming meeting w Sev on the 20th iv. Look out for more facility walkthroughs (if anyone has any ideas let me know) v. Remember to always send me an email or a message if you hear a concern, always send to my facilities email not my pride email h. Wellness & Campus Safety Wellness Minutes 10/15 i. ii. Met with Brittany and Steve Richman 1. Discussed everything Title IX-related iii. Met with counseling services iv. Met with Jovanni 1. Ticket Appeal Board v. Mind in Motion- YAY
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Dating for Dummies 1. October 22nd, 2-5 PM, Plaza West 127
F. Approval of Committee Minutes a. Chair Noel moves to pass the committee minutes from 10/15 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed G. Approval of Allocations a. Senator Saint Fleur moves to pass the allocations from 10/13 i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed H. For the Good of the Order a. Anything SGA related! I. Announcements a. Anything non-SGA related! b. Moot Court x PAD Debate Night - Monday 7pm, Breslin 103 c. HSA Garba Night - Friday 6pm, HofUSA J. Snap Cup a. Decorum suspended K. Adjournment a. Secretary Thani moves to close the gallery i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed b. Senator Patel moves to adjourn this meeting i. Motion seconded ii. Motion passed 1. Meeting adjourned at 9:14 pm EST Senator Oath: “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.”
Justice Oath: “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.”
Cabinet Agenda PPAW Conference Room October 14, 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: 6:00 II. Icebreaker: Finish that sentence III. Collaborative Business: A. Internal Chair Elections 1. Comptroller Peri moves for a closed session: a) Motion Seconded b) Motion Passed 2. Comptroller Peri moves to end the closed session a) Motion seconded b) Motion passed B. Canvas Resolution 1. President Ahmad: We shifted from a statement to a resolution because it was more appropriate. We added SAW data. I added an action item. 2. Chair Dzaveluri: I think hosting open forums for students is a good idea but there is the other side where students don’t like attending those events so how would we have effective discussions 3. President Ahmad: Open forums doesn’t dictate if it would be a panel or something. It would be anything that would allow for dialogue with administration and students. What will help us with that action item is having the conversation with faculty.
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4. Vice-President Iacobovici: That concern has been brought up a lot. Even if it starts off small, it will matter. We need to have a start with an action item and I think this is what it is and will grow into something larger. 5. Chair Ehrlich: The line should be changed to fragmented communication between the faculty member and the student. 6. President Ahmad: Would you prefer that the SAW data be labeled as from past years or specify 2024? 7. Chair Noel: Past years. 8. Comptroller Peri: You have spent 4 months on this. There is so much that 12 people can see. It is in a great spot to take into senate and we should let people see with new eyes. C. SAW 1. President Ahmad: SAW senate is November 5th. You guys should speak to your committees. Logistics you are not expected to put in a SAW question unless it will make or break the student experience at Hofstra. Advocacy committees, please be specific with your questions. We need strategic and simple questions. Speak with your committees and we will have productive dialogue. 2. Chair Ehrlich: How many questions should we have? 3. President Ahmad: Most likely only 2 questions will be included per committee, but you can prepare 3-5. 4. Chair Dzaveluri: I will need help formatting and constructing the Title IX question. 5. President Ahmad: Yes-I will help, and we can share it with Brittany as well. Updates A. President 1. Met with Speaker of the Faculty, Paul Fritz 2. University Senate 3. Meeting with Britt Rhoden with Nene and Jacob 4. Meeting with Jose Rodriguez 5. BOT on 10/20 6. President’s Town Hall 10/21 a) Silver name tags b) Business Professional
c) Whose registering? (1) Maisa (2) Prahlad (3) Jacob (4) Jack (5) Adiba (maybe) (6) Kripa 7. Email Etiquette 8. “Call/Zoom” attendance B. Vice President 1. Senate Agenda! 2. Senator Projects underway!! a) What I will be asking from you all 3. Guest this week: Provost!!!!!! a) Make questions pls C. Comptroller 1. Finances Update 2. Met with new Assistant Dean of Students/Club Advisor Lauren 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. Use things from our closet before buying new ones and get rid of old items! 6. Cub-Lion Point System E. Academic Affairs 1.
AA minutes 10/15/2026
2. Student out reach a) Fall 2026 Newsletter Vol. 1 being finalized for Monday. b) Working on a course registration tips reel. c) Developing student surveys and QR codes for academic buildings. 3. Academic Initiatives a) Developing SAW Week survey questions
b) Met with CIO's Office and Registrar to discuss DegreeWorks improvements. c) Establishing Academic Senator Liaisons for outreach to Hofstra's 11 undergraduate schools. 4. Upcoming a) Working to schedule meetings with the Gen Ed Task Force, CUA, HCLAS, Honors College, and Steve Richman. b) Exploring AI programming with Library leadership. F. Appropriations 1. Minutes 2. Semesterly budgets open 3. Hosting budget reviews last week of October G. Club Resources 1. Minutes for October 12, 2026 2. Constitutional Benchmark next week 3. New Club Application a) Wednesday November 4, 1pm - 3pm – Maisa b) Friday November 6, 12pm - 1pm – Prahlad, need one person H. Communications 1. Minutes a) Filming a reel next cabinet meeting I. Equity and Inclusion 1. Planning World Gala - Sign Up form Here a) Sign up if you want to table, sing, dance, or walk in the fashion show - open to everyone 2. 10/8 Meeting w. Lexis a) For THIS semester we're making the Fall Menus more descriptive so students know what their eating b) Working on a cookbook with Lexis for the Spring 2027 EAW menus - It would digital on the compass page 3. 10 /12 Meeting w/ Hugo a) Queer @ Hofstra Oct 28th MPR West 1pm -2:25pm 4. Student Belonging Focus Groups Oct 19th & 28th - Sign Up - Flyer J. Facilities and Operations 1. Minutes 10/15/2026
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Meeting w Rabbi Dave/Maisa/Jacob/Nene a) Very productive discussion of reviving bird sanctuary b) Involve the law school students possibly as well c) Possible creation of recycling how to’s d) Have reached out to some but I need to get on it 3. Upcoming meeting w/ Sev on the 20th 4. Making an effort to host more walkthrough events for facilities a) Walkthrough pinpointing broken clocks b) Walkthrough pinpointing broken/non working outlets 5. Please continue to let me know of facilities concerns a) Remember to always send me an email or a message/if you hear from a student please give them my email b) Remember that everything takes time, some concerns/issues are being worked on and some take longer than others K. Programming 1.
Programming Minutes 10/13/26
2. PLS fill out if your available —> L. Wellness and Campus Safety 1.
Fall Fest Tabling 2026
Wellness Minutes 10/15
2. Met with Brittany and Steve Richman a) Discussed everything Title IX-related 3. Met with counseling services 4. Met with Jovanni a) Ticket Appeal Board 5. Mind in Motion- YAY 6. Dating for Dummies a) October 22nd, 2-5 PM, Plaza West 127 7. Tabling with Grace a) Date: Wed, 10/21 Time: 11 am - 2 pm b) Location: Pride Park V. VI.
For the Good of the Order A. Announcements A. ASMR Club? 1. Kripa
VII.
2. Maisa 3. Jack 4. Adiba 5. Becky 6. Sal B. Pumpkin Carving RA event with RHA Meeting adjourned: 7:27
Respectfully submitted, President Maisa Ahmad