Grand Rapids Community Student Government held its monthly town hall meeting to share updates, open positions, and upcoming events with students and student leaders.
Program Director for the GRCC Center for Counseling and Well-Being, Melissa Ware, shared a new Student Advisory Board to be occupied by students to assist the department in planning and creating events on campus that properly address the needs of students.
The Advisory Council will be a recurring focus group of students who will meet on a monthly basis to share insights and unique student perspectives, as well as emerging needs related to mental health issues on campus.
This is an opportunity that is open to all students who are interested. All students will participate in an interview before the council is selected.
“You don’t have to be an expert in mental health, you just have to be a human being,” Ware said. “Someone who will be willing to advise us on things that we’re thinking about, to help partner with us and give us ideas about what’s most relevant to students.”
Students who are interested can contact Melissa Ware via email at melissaware@grcc.edu or at 616-234-4130.
Every meeting will have a free dinner and provide parking passes for those on the board. Along with the new Advisory Board, Ware also announced the new Peer Educator position within the department for interested students.
The role of this paid position will be to provide awareness, education, and outreach to fellow students across campus. The department’s plan is to hire just four students for this role, with the possibility of being able to hire more in the future.
These positions are funded by the state of Michigan, students that are interested can apply on the GRCC Student Employment website.
President of Student Government, Eldin Causevic, shared a change to a policy that was announced during the Academic Governing Council meeting regarding academic standing. New wording has been included in the policy to replace phrases like “failed to” and “fell below.” Nothing procedural was changed in the policy that would affect how academic standing affects students.
In other news, Campus Activities Board Secretary Alma Velic provided updates about CAB’s recent activities and what’s ahead. Tomorrow night, CAB will be hosting its Boot Scootin’ Boogie western line dancing event, and the group is looking for volunteers. All student volunteers will receive free pizza.
CAB will also be hosting a Stuff-a-Plush event, where students can create their own stuffed animal on Tuesday, March 17, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Student Success Center, room 234. Volunteers are also wanted for that event.
Student Government and CAB will be looking for new executive board members for the 2026-27 academic year. All applications for both CAB and Student Government are currently available in Raider Connect and must be registered in order to access the applications. Opening positions include President of Student Government, Vice President of Student Government, Communications Director, and Treasurer of Student Government.
Additionally, Vice President of Student Government, Amelia Haywood, provided event updates, including a report on the “Putt Putt with Dr. Triezenberg” event. Haywood went on to express her thanks to Dr. Triezenberg as his term as interim President of the college ends at the end of March.
“Thank you to Dr. Triezenberg. He has done a great job,” Haywood said. “He was so engaged with students, and he made me feel like I was important. We hope that he has fun and finds enjoyment in his return to retirement.”
On Feb. 4, Student Government, CAB, and the Black Africana Student Union collaborated to bring a free flower bouquet and card-making event that brought students together to make special bouquets and cards for their loved ones.
“We had so much fun, and it was a great opportunity to see students engaging and interacting with multiple clubs at once,” Haywood said. “Collaborating, loving, and keeping up that community aspect was great to see.”
Moving on, Treasurer of Student Government, Itai Aharon, shared budget updates. As of Feb. 19, the current budget is $16,970.78. That’s a $3,916.22 deduction from the budget since Jan. 22. Aharon went on to acknowledge a recent decline in the allocation of funds to a group he did not name due to an insufficient cost breakdown.
Two major allocation requests are expected to be presented at the next town hall meeting.
Furthermore, Director of Student Life and Leadership, Valerie Hargraves, announced that prayer rooms are now available again throughout the campus. The locations of the rooms are Sneden room 211, Science Building room 114, Cook Hall room 222, and Applied Technology Center room 229A.
In other news, Student Government is hosting the annual Student Leadership Ceremony, celebrating student leaders on Thursday, March 12, from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. in the Student Success Center room 234. Nominations for awards can be found on Raider Connect under the forms tab. Nominations close on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Looking ahead, newly appointed GRCC President Kathryn Rogalski is expected to make an appearance at her first student leaders town hall on Thursday, March 19, in RJF room 108.
