The Student Bar Association president and a senator said they requested specificity from officials about the University’s procedures for shelter in place at a meeting Tuesday.
SBA Sen. Bernard Baffoe-Mensah, the chair of the Student Life Committee, said he and SBA President Shallum Atkinson spoke with GW Police Department Chief James Tate and officials from the Emergency Management and Safety Office last week about creating a “robust definition” guide to differentiate what a shelter in place means versus a lockdown. He said there was confusion between faculty and students about what defined a shelter in place after a homicide suspect escaped custody in September.
“Some of the deans raised concerns about how the alert didn’t provide sufficient information for students,” Baffoe-Mensah said. “When we received the alert that was like shelter in place, for us who grew up with all these bombs, threats and all of that, the shelter in place means something totally different.”
Atkinson also said he heard complaints from GW Law students about a lack of final exam makeup days because students who miss their exam date will have to wait until the spring or summer. He said the makeup days are “much later” than students prepared for, and that there are going to be make-up exam days immediately following the close of finals week this year.
Atkinson also said he and SBA Sen. Elan Reisner walked around campus with GW Law faculty to create a list of spaces that need renovation, like study spaces. He said he has noticed a lot of the facilities have broken chairs and tables that are “falling apart.” He said faculty were receptive to their concerns and are working to expedite the renovation process.
“The school is understanding of our position,” Atkinson said. “We pay a lot of money, and we’d like to see a lot of it and transparency, especially in terms of facilities we have on this campus.”
Senators unanimously voted to allocate $885 to the Labor and Employment Law Society to fund a trip of six students to attend the National Law Students Workers’ Rights Conference in Philadelphia. Nick Shiach, the president of the society, said students’ attendance of the conference would aid the professional pursuits of those looking to work in labor or union-related fields in the future.
Shiach said his own attendance of this conference in a previous academic year solidified his interest in pursuing labor law in the future.
“If you’re a law student who wants to become a labor lawyer on the labor side, this is it,” Shiach said. “This is the conference you have to go to.”
Senators also passed a bill allocating roughly $648 in ad hoc funding to a GW Law student to cover their travel costs for attending a conference.
Lauren Pittman, a second-year law student, originally requested $1,850 to cover travel costs associated with attending the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association Conference, but SBA Sen. Charlie Schmidt said he was concerned that Pittman’s request was roughly 10 percent of the $20,000 ad hoc fund the Senate has to conserve for the entirety of the academic year. Schmidt introduced an amendment that would allocate $648.35 to Pittman to cover the costs of her flights.
“It is almost certainly more money than we’ve given to one student to attend the conference so far,” Schmidt said. “There was a lot of discussion last year about making sure we spend our money judiciously throughout the year.”
Director of Elections Sidney Lee said the SBA Supreme Court ruled that the evening transfer student who was looking to run for a full-time transfer seat was ineligible to run for the seat.
Senators also unanimously voted to confirm Jason Gerber and Shalom Samuels as justices of the SBA Supreme Court.
SBA senators will hold their next meeting Oct. 17 at 9:15 p.m. in the Law Learning Center.
