Student Government has adopted an official honor code for all students to abide by, said Vice President Charlie Hannigan at the April 1 SG meeting.
Students were given two honor code options to vote for on the SG election ballot. In total, 2,708 people voted, and the winning honor code option received 1,493 votes. The new honor code reads: “As a Comet, I pledge honesty, integrity, and service in all that I do.”
Other UT campuses have student honor codes, and SG felt it was important for UTD to have an official code of ethics that reflect its values.
After months of writing proposals, circulating petitions for signatures and patiently waiting, the Redbox pursuit has come to an end with Redbox’s decision not to install a kiosk on campus. This decision comes from a Redbox representative, who said the company will be removing all booths from all college campuses. The company has previously expressed its concern that college students will not use the kiosk given the easy access students have to movies online.
“We are sad to hear that, but I still think there is a positive in that we did gather a lot of signatures, and a lot more people heard about Student Government,” said Student Affairs Committee chair Casey Sublett.
• A new app called “My JSOM” has been released for students to download on iPhone and Android devices. The app provides professor information, a schedule of Jindal School of Management events, a map of the building and a weather forecast. The senate hopes that more schools will take the initiative to create apps as well, said Residential Affairs Committee chair Katie Truesdale. The proposal for the campus-wide UTD app is still in the works.
• The university’s contract with Wells Fargo will end in July and will not be renewed. This means students’ Comet Cards will no longer be connected to their bank accounts. Hannigan said this is a protective security measure UTD is taking because there have been security breaches on other campuses of bank account information using school IDs. Students will be contacted by Wells Fargo for further information.
• Academic Affairs Committee chair Joseph Lim said the next “Comet Chats” event is tentatively set for 8 p.m. on April 16 in The Pub. The speakers will be married EPPS professors Alex and Nicole Piquero. Senate allocated $425 for advertisement flyers and posters for the event.
• As part of the new mailing system that began last October, students living on campus will now receive several emails about delivered packages that were too big to fit in the mailboxes. Students will have two weeks to pick up the packages from the Res Hall lobbies, or from the leasing office for those living in the apartments. If a student fails to do so, the package will be mailed back to the sender. In the past, students were notified that they’d received oversized packages by notes left in their mailboxes or at their doors. Oftentimes, students did not receive these notes.
• The newest Res Hall will open in July and will house 600 students, Truesdale said. This new Res Hall will be named Res Hall West, and the current Res Hall West will be renamed Res Hall Northwest. A new dining hall, which will have 700 seats, and an activity center will be located in Res Hall West. All UTD students will have access to the dining hall and activity center.
Senate voted on a few name options for the dining hall to be presented to Auxiliary Services. Some of the name options presented at the meeting include “Comet Cuisine,” “Galaxy Grill” and “Big Daddy Café.”
• Legislative Affairs Committee chair Sidd Sant said SG is working on bringing Texas governor candidates Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott to campus to participate in a debate. A date, time and location of the event will be scheduled once SG hears from both parties.
• Communications Committee chair Miguel Juarez announced that the “Meet Your Senators” event, which was originally postponed because it was scheduled during Springapalooza, is now set to take place from noon to 2 p.m. on April 17 on the Student Union Mall.
• A proposal for new names for the Res Halls has been submitted by university officials to the Board of Regents. If approved by the Regents, the name change will take effect in 2015. Because the proposal has not been approved yet, the proposed names are being kept confidential.
• The next SG Meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. on April 15 in one of the Galaxy Rooms.
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