By Ella Ware
Grand Rapids Community College Student Government held its first town hall meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to share updates about upcoming events and open positions.
Some events highlighted were the Sept. 17 Homecoming events, including Bouquet Making in the Gerald R. Ford FieldHouse as part of a larger tailgate being hosted with free food and GRCC merchandise. Thursday was also the Constitution Day Tabling event in the RJF G2 Game Room.
On Friday, Sept. 18, the Tangled Homecoming Dance will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the ATC banquet hall. Students are allowed to bring a non-GRCC student as a guest, but they have to be at least 18 years old with legal proof of age, such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport. Volunteers are needed to set up the dance from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the student center to set up decorations, parking vouchers, as well as $5 Raider Bucks.
There are even more events coming up this fall. Some other upcoming events include a Murder Mystery night on Oct. 29 and Therapy Dogs on Nov. 30.
The Campus Activity Board (CAB) is also looking for more members.
“We are still in need of more members, so if you are at all interested in applying for CAB, we would love to have you on the team,” said Divi Mancilla, Campus Activities Board President. “It is a paid position, and it’s just a really great opportunity to build some leadership skills. Some other benefits include the fact that you get to make your own hours- super flexible, just kind of unique. You get to actively be part of planning all the fun events that happen here on the campus and get free parking.”
Students are not permitted to hold more than one leadership position at the same time.
New to GRCC is Simulated Endowments Investments Managers, (SEIM), a new organization run by Abraham Figuereo Reyes aimed at providing a structured, professional environment for financial literacy and institutional asset management. The long-term goal is to launch the first-ever community-college-led student endowment fund.
The first meeting will be held on Sept. 30.
President of Student Government, Adeline Butts, shared Student Government essential resources such as the health clinic on campus, with free STI testing included by the Red Project. She also shared that GRCC has the Early Childhood Learning Laboratory, where staff and students can seek childcare for their children aged six weeks old to six years old.
Other resources include the food pantry and clothing closets, located at the Student’s Center by Student Life, where students can find free food and clothing items.
On Sept. 8, the first Academic Governing Council meeting took place. Butts shared a change in wording in the academic forgiveness policy. The policy provides an opportunity to exclude portions of students’ academic history that have negatively impacted their overall GPA. They are changing the wording to make it more understandable to students, but nothing procedural about the policy is changing.
The first goal for the Student Government this year is civic engagement in the midterm elections and making sure students get the information they need to be able to vote.
On Oct. 28, there will be a Trick-or-Vote event with different stations with candy and voter information around Student Life.
“Your vote matters,” Butts said. “The amount of things I’ve been seeing about how much lacking in young person voting there is compared to the older generation is making me very sad this year. I want that to be changed, because soon enough, it’s just going to be our generation left, and we need to vote.”
Christina Maza, Treasurer of Student Government, encouraged organizations to request allocations for conferences, events, or promotional items. There was around $1,000 of the budget for student activities left over last year.
Maza shared more about the budget for student activities around campus. The total expected budget for 2026-2027 is $290,000.
Students and student leaders voted on an allocation request for $4,935.33 for the Foreign Affairs Club’s upcoming trip. The group has plans to attend American Model United Nations in Chicago, where students have an opportunity to develop skills in leadership, speaking and writing, creative thinking, and collaboration.
Students are given the opportunity to learn about diverse countries and perspectives, build connections, and practice empathy. The Foreign Affairs Club fundraised last year and has additional fundraisers scheduled for October.
The council voted to allocate the funds to the Foreign Affairs Club.
In other news, GRCC launched its third annual Real College Survey, which is an assessment measuring basic needs insecurities. Students are encouraged to go to GRCC.edu/realcollegesurvey and complete the survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes.
The survey is open until Oct. 16, and GRCC is giving away $5 campus dining vouchers while supplies last. When the vouchers run out, a different incentive will be given.
The Student Government’s next town hall meeting will take place on Oct. 21 at 3 p.m.
