USG passes resolution to incorporate Transfer Student Assembly

The Undergraduate Student Government presented a resolution to incorporate a Transfer Student Assembly into the organization during Thursday’s meeting, which was rescheduled due to Election Day on Tuesday. Authored by officials and members of the Transfer Student Community, the resolution hopes to remove the stigmatization some transfer students have faced at USC and provide resources including transfer-specific advisers and opportunities to engage in more academic activities. 

Transfer Student Community co-Presidents Francesco Loiola and Katerina Levandis authored the resolution to support transfer students, who make up around 30% of the undergraduate student body. The resolution is currently supported by USC officials, including Vice President for Student Affairs Winston Crisp and Assistant Vice Provost David Glasgow. 

USG Sens. Dario Arganese and Alexis Areias also sponsored the resolution. Arganese, who transferred to USC from Suffolk University in Fall 2018, spoke about his experience in an interview with the Daily Trojan and the challenges that came with the transition.

“When I got to USC, I saw that there were a lot of initiatives and events that were going towards just freshmen,” Arganese said. “I thought it was even more challenging to meet people as a transfer student than it probably would have been for freshmen because I went from one environment … to a completely different one at USC where it was much more challenging.”

If the resolution passes, the Transfer Student Assembly would go through an incorporation process, which involves a trial from Jan. 15 to March 12. The trial period would also allow the assembly to showcase its various initiatives proposed in the resolution, including enacting policies to accommodate transfer students and promoting events that would make transfer students feel more included. 

However, demonstrating this would be difficult with USC’s likely remote plans for the spring semester, Arganese said.

“It’s definitely gonna be a challenge because in the past, when you do go to a trial period, it’s a lot more opportunity to have those in-person events and to be able to take that footage, take photos, send it in, show exactly the progress that you’re making with all your initiatives but considering we’re online, we definitely foresee it being a little bit more challenging,” Arganese said.

The Native American Student Assembly is the most recent assembly to become a recognized organization under USG after an amendment was passed last semester to allow student organizations with 50 undergraduate student signatures to form an assembly. 

DivestSC, a student-led campaign urging the University to redirect its fossil fuel investments to clean technology and renewables, also introduced “A Resolution in Support of Fossil Fuel Divestment and Reinvestment” at the meeting. 

DivestSC Co-Chairs Nathaniel Hyman and Tianna Shaw-Wakeman said they have further plans to introduce the resolution to other USC organizations such as the Graduate Student Government and the Faculty Senate.

“The goal is to have support from all parts of USC and from everybody who has a stake in this because we all have a stake in it when we’re talking about USC finances and climate,” Shaw-Wakeman said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. 

Hyman also said that he and other members of DivestSC reached out to USG’s advocacy branch to find senators who would be eager to understand the issue of divesting from fossil fuel investments. Sens. Cathy Ding and Areias sponsored the resolution.

USG senators discussed other issues such as urging USC to extend its pass/no pass option deadline to after final exams, particularly considering the stress caused by the online learning environment and the 2020 presidential election. Arganese cited the latest Change.org petition, which had more than 3,500 signatures at time of publication, as an example of student demand for the pass/no pass extension. 

The meeting also passed an resolution to allow a program that distributes free menstrual products at some campus locations once students return. Areias, who contributed to creating the initiative, said menstrual products would be included at five USC locations: Lewis Hall, Steven & Kathryn Sample Hall, the Student Union, Engemann Student Health Center and the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. 

Senators also approved new leadership into the International Student Assembly. Junior  Andy Song and senior Rui Daniel will serve as co-executive directors with junior Natasha Harianto as assistant director.