SGA updates: Safety forum, university-wide committee for a CBA

NEWS – The Signal After twice confronting the Student Government Association (SGA) during their meetings, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Turner Field residents and student activists finally grabbed the organization’s attention.
USAS made an appearance in the student government meetings first on Jan. 26, during a Q&A with Georgia State University President Mark Becker, where student activist Asma Elhuni was taken out of the room by police and issued a two-year ban as a criminal trespass warning.
A measure that GSUPD chief Joseph Spillane said will work differently from now on. He said the ‘ban’ will last only until the student meets with administration, and will also depend on whether the individuals are students or not, and how severe their violation was.
“[GSUPD will] want to bar that student until they talk to [Dr.] Holloman and see which conduct was violated — until Holloman tells me we’re good to go,” he said during SGA’s campus safety forum on Feb. 23.
And Dean of Students Dr. Darryl Holloman said they have looked into the process ever since Spillane came on board and could not determine where the two-year period came from, saying it “maybe was a little too long.”
USAS members and Turner Field residents spoke out again during a Feb. 2 meeting, where they decided to meet with the organization to discuss possible ways the student government can help.
In their Feb. 16 meeting, SGA heard a special report from USAS members on the recent Turner Field sale and the terms of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) they have been pushing for.  Two senators, Sen. Maxwell Turner and liaison Markeesa Walker, also presented a special report on the subject after researching the aspects of the sale and the CBA.
According to SGA communications director Anthony Nguyen, USAS had drafted and presented a resolution to the senators which called for the association to take a stance ...


Read more