Student Association Coverage Senate sends Dance Corps to Cortland

BY HAYDEN SADLER Staff Writer

The Student Association Senate met in the Cardinal Lounge Feb. 8 to discuss the approval of club funds. The senate also received a presentation about the upcoming 2024 total solar eclipse.

The SA voted unanimously to fund the club Dance Corps’ upcoming competition in Cortland, New York.

The Senate also unanimously approved the allocation of funds in support of African Unity’s Mystic Night happening, Feb. 18.

The Senate approved the request of up to $1,700 for the Dance Corps. The Dance Corps requested funding from the SA so that 19 members could travel to Cortland, attend a competition and afford a place to stay the night of Feb. 24th before returning. Traveling to Cortland for competition marks a big step for the Dance Corps because according to Dance Corps President Catherine Efsathiou, the club has never done anything like this before.

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Cori Jackson, interim vice president of student enrollment and success, said SUNY Plattsburgh is currently “tracking the numbers” to determine whether it is worth having this “additional service.” It may also point that they are “not doing a good job advertising.”

Burghy’s Blurbs

Celebrating Black History Month

February is Black History Month. Learn more about upcoming events on page 11.

SUNY Plattsburgh gets promoted

SUNY Plattsburgh is now officially recognized as a university by New York state, instead of a college, President Alexander Enyedi announced in a campus-wide email Feb. 13. This change will not affect any branding and instead serves “technical” purposes. However, the email stated, it “reflects the breadth of its undergraduate and graduate programs and its wide ranging areas of study.”

COVID cases rise on campus

The Student Health and Counseling Center saw a “sudden increase in COVID cases among students,” a campus-wide email stated Feb. 15.

Sundowner hours back to normal

Sundowner opened at 11 a.m. for a few days at the start of the semester instead of 7:30 a.m. — due to “some changes,” Chartwells Resident District Manager Christopher Mihalyi said. As of Feb. 9, though, Sundowner has been operating as normal.

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Next on the agenda was African Unity’s request for $1,000 in funds to their Mystic Night celebration. This funding will cover lighting and catering for food such as empanadas, wings and a chocolate fountain. Catering will be done by Chartwells. This will be Mystic Night’s third year in a row on campus. There will also be music hosted by African Unity with its own DJ in the Warren Ballrooms of Angell College Center. Mystic Night promises to be a celebration of body positivity and showing love to oneself and the community. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased on tickets.plattsburgh.edu.

On the topic of the total solar eclipse reaching Plattsburgh on April 8, 2024, speakers Genie Babb and Lisabeth Kissner of the North Country Planetarium firstly presented an explanation of how a total solar eclipse works, as well as how rare they are. Total solar eclipses can occur in the same spot only once every 360 years. When the eclipse comes next year, it should be visible from approximately noon to 4 p.m. Although the eclipse is best viewed in clear weather, the speakers said that even if the weather were cloudy, there will be eclipse-related effects. Babb and Kissner hope to organize a campuswide event for the eclipse. The event would include speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds that will be decided as the date of the eclipse comes closer.

Members of the Senate also presented their goals for the semester. As the final semester for the current SA Legislation and elections for another approach, Vice President Saran Kaba laid out intentions for making a smooth transition for the group that steps into office. Senator Liza Ali explained intentions of setting up a club event calendar.