The Associated Student Government Senate swore in a new executive board and heard two legislation proposals Wednesday.

Co-Presidents SESP sophomore Caleb Snead and Weinberg sophomore Ty’Shea Woods took ASG’s oath of office, along with appointed members of their executive board.

“​​It feels fantastic, but nothing has changed,” Woods said. “We’ve been working since February 10, so it feels great but it feels normal.”

Woods said the pair’s immediate priorities are to help the new cabinet members transition into their roles and emphasize to students that ASG is a resource to support them.

Long-term, Woods said she and Snead hope to improve the student group funding process by procuring additional funding for student groups and digitizing access to Student Organization Finance Office accounts.

Woods said some student groups are piloting NUFin, which allows them to access SOFO accounts digitally. The pilot will continue throughout Spring Quarter.

The Senate heard a proposal to offer more pass/fail language classes. If passed, the legislation would encourage Northwestern’s language departments to “allow pass/fail policies in all first or second-year level language classes for students not seeking said language’s major/minor requirements or Foundational Disciplines.”

Another proposed resolution would establish a liaison group between Student Health Service and health- and wellness-oriented student groups. Bienen junior and Senator Angela Choi and Weinberg senior and NU Active Minds Senator Ben Katz said the legislation would improve student healthcare and inform students of available resources.

“(Our goal is) finding orgs that have different missions on campus and are already doing things that Student Health Service can help with and maybe learn from in their own assistance of the student body’s health,” Katz said.

Katz added that, as a large organization, Northwestern Medicine could benefit from student input on addressing unique health needs. Similar liaisons exist at other universities, Katz said.

Both resolutions will be voted on at next week’s meeting, which will primarily focus on funding new student organizations.

Next week, the Senate will hear requests for funding from the New Student Organization Support Fund, which allocates $5,000 to new student groups each quarter.

In preparation for the Funding Senate session, senators were trained Wednesday in criteria to use when evaluating funding applications and how to prioritize justice and inclusion when allocating funds.

“We want to make sure we’re giving all groups their due diligence and that they’re abiding by sustainability, accessibility, justice and inclusion,” McCormick sophomore and ASG Parliamentarian James La Fayette Jr. said. “Urging senators to look at (the applications) before the Funding Senate meeting will give them more time and more agency to assess what each group needs.”

Snead and Woods announced that the Senate will receive $50,000 this year to allocate for Student Activities Finance Committee appeals, an increase from $30,000 last year. The Senate will consider SAFC funding appeals from student groups on May 15.

As co-presidents, Woods said she and Snead will continue to work together to uplift and support student voices.

“We do a lot of advocacy work, and I feel like students don’t really understand that it is really a lot of advocacy,” Woods said. “When we have conversations with students, that is exactly what we’re representing in front of whatever administrator we’re meeting.”

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