Student Government senators jumped into plans for volunteerism and Haiti relief efforts during their second meeting of the semester Wednesday. College of Arts and Sciences Senator Drew Prestridge talked about volunteer options for the spring. He said he wants to narrow to a few ideas and focus on those in March. His ideas included senators and students volunteering at local food banks, soup kitchens, battered women’s shelters or Habitat for Humanity. SG is also putting together fundraising for Haiti relief as a top priority. SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann said many out-of-state SG visitors brought fundraising ideas from last weekend’s SEC Exchange, during which SG representatives from all of the SEC’s schools except Auburn University visited LSU’s campus. Scheuermann said the executive staff has brainstormed ideas since the tragic Jan. 12 earthquake, ranging from a benefit concert to a student auction. Scheuermann also said she wanted to bring together all the student organizations which are raising funds for Haiti and unify them to work toward the same goal. ‘To be the most effective would be to unify and mobilize ourselves and work toward the same initiatives together as a opposed to a multi-faceted approach,’ Scheuermann said. She said to be the most effective, all the organizations need to get behind one idea and map out the rest of the semester with different events. Scheuermann also said the executive staff also had an informative meeting on budget cuts because many staff members didn’t know how cuts would affect them. She said SG is going to draw up letter templates to Gov. Bobby Jindal and state representatives so students can express concern about budget cuts. Sergeant at Arms Josh Mullen and College of Music and Dramatic Arts Senator Meredith Westbrook expressed concern for the University’s dance program. ‘The dance program in Music and Dramatic Arts is in’ serious danger,’ Mullen said. ‘They cut the master’s program and major program.’ Students can still minor in dance, but the department is now limited to three dance classes per semester. Mullen said some students are staying around for a fifth or sixth semester just to complete the dance minor. ‘We’re cutting a very popular program which is sad because we have a very high demand for it,’ Mullen said. SG President Stuart Watkins said he is starting 2010 fresh and moving forward with initiatives on and off his campaign pushcard. He plans to team with Senate members to assign appropriate names to fees on the fee bill that have misleading names, such as the ‘women’s transit fee’ which is actually a campus transit fee. The Senate has recently initiated new members. SG Speaker of the Senate Tyler Martin swore in Mallory Richard of the University Center for Freshman Year and Meredith Westbrook of the Music and Dramatic Arts College. —- Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]