Bucknell Student Government President Sam Douds ’25 said President Bravman responded to the resolution from the previous session, including the list of demands from the Black Student Union, in the organization’s April 16 meeting. Douds shared Bravman’s email with The Bucknellian, with his permission.

“University administrators have met with BSU student leaders regarding their demands, which we are actively addressing,” Bravman said. “We continue to have conversations with BSU to determine how Bucknell can make changes that better support Black students in truly lasting and meaningful ways.”

Black Student Union leaders said they could not comment on the ongoing conversations, but said BSU will release a statement by the end of the semester to update campus. Douds said his conversation with Bravman will hopefully lead to university administrators helping BSG’s social policy. 

Prior to discussing Bravman’s email, the Congress sat through two brief presentations. The first was a club spotlight of LACOS, the Latinx student organization on campus that is meant to create a “space” and act as a “home away from home” for a lot of Latin-American students.

Gabby Diaz ’25 and other presenters discussed their mission, what the club means to them and the details of a Quinceanera-themed gala occurring next week sponsored by the club.

After that, the Office of Civic Engagement, represented by Lynn Pierson, briefed the BSG on the office’s mission, goals and values. They also explained how students can get involved with new advances on social media and the staff in general to improve communication and training.

Pierson ended with ways the OCE has assisted the community, by improving food security, mental health and the new program “Engage Bucknell,” a data collecting system to see what Bucknell students are interested in with regards to volunteer work and community service.

“This, overall, helps us understand how Bucknell is making an impact on the community and where,” Pierson said. 

BSG then went into their weekly roll call, revised and approved the minutes from last week and took public comments. Douds said he also met with the leader of the Transgender Visibility Walk-Out and explained initiatives on DEI training for senators and house members. Congress then went into lighter fare.

The first, being a description of the event ‘Pizza, Puppies, and Public Safety,’ was passed swiftly with unanimous support. The second was another quickly approved piece of legislation to fund food for a dinner for the Environmental Racism and Justice Panel.

BSG then presented the third change to the by-laws which would help make the elections of the student government more transparent and sensible. They tackled the requirements to run for specific office and how advertising, financial barriers and penalties would work for future elections. The resolution was passed with some discussion and deliberation.

The fourth resolution explained the premise around the at-large committee on elections, specifically who it consists of and what it is responsible for. The fifth resolution presented a BSG feedback form that students can do to express their opinions and the logistics around it. 

The session ended with members giving weekly updates on their respective committees and upcoming events to end the school year. The next, and final, Bucknell Student Government session will be on April 23.