Student Senate met with Decorah City Council member Christopher Miculinich, as well as passing motions to approve the Student Senate Grant Program Guidelines during their meeting on March 7.
A majority of the meeting focused on Senators discussing future City Council initiatives alongside Miculinich. The Ward 2 representative was present to observe the proceedings of Student Senate meetings and assist in addressing any questions members may have regarding Decorah. Miculinich expressed his interest in focusing on and strengthening the connection between Luther and Decorah.
Miculinich told CHIPS that attending the meeting was “a great experience” and that he plans on strengthening connections between Luther College and the city government of Decorah in the future.
“I enjoyed seeing the student body’s engagement in college governance,” Miculinich said. “I am looking forward to building my connection with the Luther College Student Senate and seeing the community partnership grow with Luther College’s student government and the city government of Decorah.”
According to Miculinich, City Council is currently working on increasing the number of outdoor community spaces around Decorah. A 5-year plan currently exists that will hopefully lead to a sports complex that will include tennis courts, softball fields, and other recreational facilities. Miculinich is the youngest elected city-council member in Decorah history.
The General meeting closed with the passing of the Student Senate Grant Program Guidelines. The Student Senate Grant supports individual students and student organizations seeking one-time financial aid for personal projects, experiences, and beneficial events or initiatives during Spring, Summer, and Fall 2024.
Student Senate Treasurer Sophie Bierlein (‘24) gave a brief overview of the guidelines during the meeting, noting idealistic deadlines for the grant program.
“If you are applying for the grant program, it’s on a rolling basis, and ideally, if you are a student organization for example, that’s applying for an event, you would submit 4 weeks before the event is going to happen,” she said. “There might be exceptions to this deadline, especially since we’re already halfway through the semester.”
Only currently enrolled Luther students can apply for the Spring 2024 Student Senate Grant. Individual students are limited to one application, unless they are applying on behalf of an organization. Student organizations seeking the Spring 2024 Student Senate Grant must be officially recognized by the Student Activities Council. Only one application per organization is allowed, and those associated with varsity athletics or official music ensembles are ineligible. Senate has not officially announced when the application will be opened and may request financial records from applicants.
A notable event currently going on is the Luther Student Nurse Association (LSNA) FAME fundraiser. Earlier this year, six Luther College Nursing students visited FAME in Karatu, Tanzania. Established in 2002, FAME has made significant strides in patient-centered care. Impressed by their experience, students with the Luther Student Nursing Association launched a fundraiser to support FAME’s vital services, as the hospital relies on donations. The fundraiser goes from now until March 15th.
The next Student Senate meeting is scheduled for March 12 at 9:45 a.m in the Mott-Borlaug room.
