Allegheny Student Government held its weekly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 in the campus center. The agenda for the meeting was light and it will be the last one before the class of 2019 elects its ASG representatives.

In her vice president’s report, Tess Bracken, ’17, alerted ASG that it might receive a petition in the next week. The petition is to change the weight room policies which were altered at the start of the semester that allow it to be reserved for sports teams.

Bracken said the petition already has more than 100 signatures.  

“We only need 25 to act on it,” she said.

Once the petition is submitted to ASG, the next step will be to facilitate a meeting with Director of Athletics and Recreation Portia Hoeg and the ASG president and vice-president. Bracken said they would also likely have a meeting with Hoeg and the entire ASG body.

Aubri Caslin, ’17, ASG director of communications and press, added that several constituents had approached her with concerns over weight room dress code policies being enforced by Randy Moore, director of peak performance and fitness who is beginning his first year at Allegheny.

Caslin said the complaintants voiced their objection to prohibiting certain items of clothing in the weight room such as spandex and crop tops, a power she said Moore does not possess.    

“He is telling people they can’t wear certain things, which he can’t do,” Caslin said.

Moore declined to comment however urged students with questions or concerns to contact him directly.

ASG Director of Sustainability Levi Lundell, ’17, also reported on the first divestment meeting of the year. The meeting was meant to interest students in pushing the college to stop investing its endowment in non-renewable energy.

“There was a smaller turn out I have to say,” Lundell said.

Despite the low attendance, Lundell said he is not discouraged as this was the first of many meetings on the issue. He said the later start time for the event may have been a factor.

Connor Racine, ’16, ASG director of diversity and inclusion, reported on the progress that has been made since the passage of Resolution 10-06, which called for more visible gender neutral bathrooms on campus.

Since the passage of the resolution at the final ASG meeting of the 2015 spring semester, Racine said the college has put in place signage which lists the locations of gender neutral bathrooms on campus.  

“It’s great, but it does not say where in the building they are locate. But it’s something,” Racine said.

Racine said that the director of the physical plant explained that whenever they try to convert larger bathrooms to gender neutral, it creates a lot “fuss.” He said for now they are focusing on smaller bathrooms, but he hopes it will go farther in the future.

“We are going to have some more conversations about this,” Racine said.