Pitt’s COVID-19 Medical Response Office presented a plan on Tuesday evening to begin vaccinations, with up to 800 shots for Pitt and “local” students set for next Thursday and Friday at the Petersen Events Center.
A student-run “police advisory body” became an official subcommittee of the long-standing Chancellor’s Public Safety Advisory Council this week, according to Student Government Board member Kathryn Fleisher.
Aside from its COVID-19 discussion, SGB introduced a new bill and a new resolution. Board members also discussed initiatives to improve student worker compensation and dining services on campus.
More than $300,000 in the student activities fee fund — which is financed through students’ tuition — will likely go unused this semester, as clubs continue online programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Student Government Board held a moment of silence for the Tree of Life massacre at its Tuesday night meeting, acknowledging the victims who lost their lives at the nearby synagogue two years ago.
The town hall, part of Pitt’s Mental Health Awareness Month, focused on mental health at Pitt, particularly how it’s been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Pitt police Chief James Loftus and Commander Eric Holmes, the chief of staff of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, participated in the event along with University administration and Pitt security subcontractor Allied Security. The Student Government Board, Student Affairs and the Black Senate organized the town hall.
SGB will post the resolution on its website this week for public comment and review and will vote on it at next Tuesday's meeting. Along with announcing the new resolution, SGB also discussed new COVID-19 updates, future meetings with Pitt police, constitutional revisions and upcoming SGB elections.
Camille Interligi, lead clinician for multicultural outreach from the University Counseling Center, said at a Monday roundtable that the concept of mental health itself — especially in regards to mental illness — is a racist and patriarchal construct.
Besides discussing the state of the pandemic on campus, SGB also talked about its meeting with Compass Group, the ongoing Mental Health Awareness Month and the kickoff of SGB’s new civic advising program.
