Allegheny Student Government announced new plans for dormitory rooms that will be implemented for the 2018-19 school year and discussed the start of the search for a new Allegheny College president during its meeting on Tuesday, April 24.

Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs Akeem Adesiji, ’20, said each traditional dormitory room will be outfitted with a mini fridge and microwave combination. Living areas with their own kitchen, such as the North Village apartments, will not be given the mini fridge and microwave, according to Adesiji.

“They’re really actually decently sized,” Adesiji said. “They’ve got the separate compartment fridge and freezer. They’ve got USB charging ports for your electronics … They will be a great addition. I’m sure everyone will love them once they’re there.”

Along with being 33 percent more efficient than most refrigerators and microwaves, each unit includes a built-in smoke detector, according to Adesiji.

“The way it works is when it detects smoke, it shuts off,” Adesiji said. “It doesn’t call 911 or [the Office of] Public Safety, it just shuts off so hopefully it doesn’t catch fire.”

Class of 2018 Vice President Zach Javorsky, ’18, talked about his concern over the publicity of the college’s new plan.

“I would just say make sure that’s starting to spread around because I know seniors are starting to post in underclassmen [pages] about selling mini fridges, and we don’t want younger kids to be upset,” Javorsky said.

Adesiji said he is working with First-Year Liaison Matthew Steinberg, ’20, to make sure students know about the appliances and will not buy either for next year.

Associate Director of Housing Operations Maureen Muckinhaupt said the rule preventing resident assistants from looking into students’ refrigerators will still apply to the Allegheny-owned mini fridges and microwaves.

Alex Reganata, ’18, voiced his concern over the addition to the dormitory rooms.

“We’ve talked in the past that the dorms … are definitely in a dire state of needing repairs and other things,” Reganata said. “I definitely think it’s a good investment, but I just wonder if it’s coming before other things” Reganata said.

Muckinhaupt said part of the decision was made because of the amount of energy the appliances will save.

“Part of it is going to be an amenity of the room, so this is great for those rooms,” Muckinhaupt said. “It’s also so folks don’t have to lug just [to go] back and forth. I know that with on-campus storage not being a thing, that was one of the big things that students had concerns about, so we are able to address that by providing that amenity in those spaces.”

The mini fridges and microwaves will be in the room when students arrive in the fall, according to Muckinhaupt. The mini fridge and microwave will have to go into an outlet, but there will not be a specific outlet in each room they will need to be near, so students will have the freedom to organize their room the way they want, Muckinhaupt said. She also said students cannot request to have the mini fridge and microwave removed.

Following Adesiji’s announcement, Chief of Staff Camila Gomez, ’19, talked about another change coming to Allegheny.

“The beginning of the presidential search is happening,” Gomez said. “As you guys know, President Mullen will be retiring in May of 2019, so the search process for the new president is starting on May 2, which is study day. The firm that is going to be helping us in the search process will be on campus.”

Gomez said the firm that will be helping the college find a new president is looking for 12 students to help in the search.

After discussing changes that will be coming to Allegheny, ASG President Mark MacStudy, ’18, suggested doing a year in review to highlight major successes and projects ASG has undertaken. Two ideas MacStudy said he and the rest of the ASG cabinet discussed were the Title IX resolution and the McKinley’s takeout container vending machines. Once he offered his suggestions, MacStudy opened the idea to a discussion with the rest of the senators to find new ideas to include in the year in review project.

Suggestions from senators included the work ASG does with the Loop, the ASG-sponsored shuttles and the new water fountains across campus.

At the end of the meeting, ASG reopened the discussion about the possibility of removing the Judicial Review Board from its constitution. MacStudy said the official decision has been to keep JRB in the ASG constitution and to discuss ways to make it stronger.

When the possibility of giving the power to remove members of the Senate to JRB rather than Senate members, Class of 2020 President Jason Ferrante said that while he believes more power for JRB is good, he disagrees with that option.

“I know that would give JRB more power, but I think that that’s a line that we have to draw in that the power to impeach lies with the Senate,” Ferrante said. “I just think that that’s something that we have to give to ourselves.”

Gomez said her work with the College Committees Council made her realize the advertisement for the position was important.

“These positions need to be widely publicized,” Gomez said. “We need to publicize them CCC style and show people how great it actually is to have that position and to be able to work with ASG in that capacity. I think there’s a lot of people out there who would be interested if we just got the word out more.”