Grand Rapids Community College Student Government held its last town hall meeting, where many open leadership positions were announced, and a new social media accessibility policy took center stage.
GRCC Social Media Coordinator and operator of Student Government’s Instagram page, Kailee Potgeter, gave a presentation informing student leaders on accessibility within their respective organizations’ social media accounts. Potgeter began by expressing how content posted by student groups needs to be usable and readable for people with disabilities.
There have been recent changes to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which now states, “clarifying requirements for all public universities to proactively deliver content in formats that meet recognized accessibility standards by April 24, 2026.” These modifications now affect public institutions like GRCC.
This includes more than just GRCC social media accounts; it also includes the school’s main website, where students access online tools and learning systems like Canvas and other platforms.
The biggest changes that have occurred with enforcing the new policy have been in photo and video content. Now, to make all of those accessible, videos must be closed captioned. “If someone cannot hear the video, they need to be able to see what is going on,” Potgeter said.
In terms of images, alt text (alternative text) now must be used. This feature is what a screen reader uses to identify an image. “If a person who is visually impaired is using a screen reader, it can read the text, but the screen reader doesn’t always know what the image represents,” Potgeter explained. “So we provide alt text, which is just a very brief description of an image.”
These new standards for social media posts are required. Potgeter noted that they are actively checking student organizations to make sure they are following these new guidelines; failure to follow them will result in a warning, and if a second warning is given out, the organization’s social media account will be deactivated. Not following these new policies can lead to legal action, financial penalties, and potential lawsuits against the college.
More information about accessibility can be found here. Along with an approval form to start up a student organization’s social media account.
Moving on, Program Director for the GRCC Center for Counseling and Well-Being, Melissa Ware, appeared to give a final notice to students, faculty, and staff to fill out the Healthy Minds Survey. This survey is being conducted by the Healthy Minds Network, and is the largest mental health survey for college students in the United States.
Staff, students, and faculty can find this specialized, anonymous survey in their GRCC email. Students who participate will receive $5 in Raider Bucks, free parking passes, and be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a pair of AirPods. The survey closes on Monday, April 20, at the end of the day.
Continuing on, Treasurer of Student Government, Itai Aharon, introduced a new student organization he helped bring to life at GRCC, now known as the “Simulated Endowment Investment Manager,” SEIM for short. This will be GRCC’s first student-operated, advisor-supervised investment group of its kind. Additionally, this will be the fourth official student leadership group on campus.
“The idea is to simulate the investment management of an endowment, which gives students a real hands-on experience in portfolio management and access to finance,” Aharon said.
Since this group handles simulations, it holds zero financial risk to the college. However, for Aharon, the overall goal is to request a real pilot fund and handle real money on behalf of the college. Aharon believes this can be accomplished after two successful years of virtual and simulated investments. Applications to join this group will open on June 1 and can be found on RaiderConnect.
In other news, current Communications Director Adeline Butts was named the new president of Student Government for the 2026-27 academic year. Student Government President, Eldin Causevic, expressed his joy for Adeline stepping into the position after his departure from GRCC.
“Adeline is an incredible team player, and I’m excited to see her take on this new role as the president of Student Government,” Causevic said. Student Government’s Treasurer position is still open; the application can be found on RaiderConnect under the forms tab. The Campus Activities Board also has open positions, including President, Secretary, Communications Director, and Vice President.
All positions are paid roles and come with free parking. Applications for all positions be found on RaiderConnect.
Along with the announcements of opening positions, both CAB and Student Government shared event updates as the semester winds down. On Friday, April 17, there will be a Student Showcase event in the Applied Technology Center banquet rooms, where students campus-wide will showcase their work and learning experiences throughout the academic year. The event will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Additionally, GRCC’s 109th Commencement ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 30 at the Van Andel Arena beginning at 7 p.m. CAB is hosting a final therapy dogs event on Monday, April 20 in room 234 of the Student Center from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by a bath bomb making event at the Lakeshore campus on Tuesday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Aharon, went on to present budget updates to student leaders. The starting balance of the account as of the last town hall meeting is $17,206.00 approximately. Two allocation requests were submitted this month, with one coming from the Staying RootED club of $428, and a catering request for their seed exchange event which totaled $160. That brings the ending balance for the year to $16,618.00.
Aharon went to announce a new initiative that will be starting, using the campus activities budget that all GRCC students pay for.
The new initiative is allocating money from the remaining end-of-year budget to the campus’s food pantry. Now, based on funds available after revenue adjustments, approximately 33% of the remaining budget will go to the pantry. The goal is to support students facing food insecurity and improve access to essential resources.
Aharon also notified leaders that clubs are allowed to make allocation requests during the summer semester until June. All requests must be under $1,000.
The first town hall of the fall semester will be held on Wednesday, September 16, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in room 108 of RJF Hall.
