Student Government Board addressed concerns about discrimination against Muslim and Palestinian students and student worker wages at its weekly meeting Tuesday night at Nordy\u2019s Place.<\/p>\n
During the first open floor, representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt<\/a> criticized SGB for inaction on student discrimination<\/a> and hate crimes.<\/p>\n \u201c[SGB] parroted the same platitudes [of the administration] that either withheld information or just didn\u2019t bother to ask [administration] for more [information about student visa termination],\u201d a SJP representative said.<\/p>\n Another representative for SJP at Pitt urged SGB to advocate for increased transparency and student involvement in the administration\u2019s regulation of student groups.<\/p>\n Last year, SJP was suspended by Pitt after a student conduct hearing.<\/a> Afterwards, students and professors raised concerns about the University\u2019s \u201cvague conduct hearing rules.\u201d<\/a> A district court judge ordered Pitt to reinstate<\/a> the club in August.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want transparency and peer oversight in all of the University\u2019s decisions towards us, the students,\u201d the representative said.<\/p>\n An additional representative was concerned about the possibility of ICE\u2019s presence on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to hear a concrete plan from the University on protecting international students and immigrants,\u201d the representative said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer, Pitt works closely with federal, state and local elected officials and agencies \u2014 as well as professional organizations and other higher education institutions \u2014 to advocate on behalf of the international community.<\/p>\n He also said Pitt\u2019s Office of Government Relations and Advocacy<\/a> and University Center for International Studies<\/a>, through its Office of International Services,<\/a> work closely together on these issues. The University has issued guidance<\/a> on what to do if approached by a government official on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a multi-tiered approach that ensures our international students have immediate, practical support for individual cases and institutional backing on broader policy matters,\u201d Stonesifer said. \u201cOn the individual level, the Office of International Services provides access to free legal consultations for international students, and assistance with documentation and issue resolution with the Student Visitor and Exchange Program and [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services].<\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The SJP representative also said SGB\u2019s role is to advocate for students and believes SGB is not fulfilling that role.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are the students\u2019 advocates \u2014 remind [the administration of SGB\u2019s role],\u201d the representative said.<\/p>\n SJP provided SGB with a list of demands for the administration including a public statement of non-compliance with ICE from the University, the condemnation of discrimination against Muslim and Arab students and the enforcement of the results of their March referendum<\/a>. In this referendum, students voted<\/a> to have the University disclose its investment portfolio and to divest from manufacturers funding Israel.<\/p>\n Stonesifer said the University maintains robust policies for responding to incidents of discrimination. The Office of Civil Rights and Title IX<\/a> respond to such reports and provide education to reduce harmful incidents on campus, according to Stonesifer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe University of Pittsburgh does not tolerate any form of unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion,\u201d Stonesifer said. \u201cOutside of our policies and procedures, we work diligently to ensure that our students feel safe and to offer appropriate support when they\u2019ve been made to feel unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n President Marley Pinsky responded and said SGB is willing to work with student groups like SJP to address these issues on Pitt\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m open to having further dialogues with these students, especially regarding the issues that [SJP] raised,\u201d Pinsky said.<\/p>\n Board member Kylie Baker addressed criticism from SJP about SGB\u2019s response when the federal government revoked 6 student visas<\/a> at Pitt, which were later reinstated. SJP claimed SGB did not put out a statement<\/a> fast enough. Baker said SGB has to take the necessary steps to communicate with the University before making any official statements.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason that [releasing a statement] took so long, unfortunately, was because we wanted to have all the information. We had to get into conversations with the Office of International Services,\u201d Baker said. \u201cWe worked a lot with OIS.\u201d<\/p>\n Pinsky said SGB is consistently putting in effort to address student concerns, but claimed the University isn\u2019t always receptive.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, our power is undermined by the University,\u201d Pinsky said.<\/p>\n Pinsky said SGB still has the power and the influence to enact change at Pitt in spite of pushbacks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are powerful, especially when we work together,\u201d Pinsky said. \u201cAccepting that we are not powerful [is] exactly what people who don\u2019t want change want us to think.\u201d<\/p>\n Stonesifer said the Division of Student Affairs<\/a> is \u201ccommitted to fostering an environment where students can share concerns, engage in governance, and participate in meaningful dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe concerns shared at the recent meeting reflect strong student engagement with important campus topics,\u201d Stonesifer said. \u201cWe are here to support student leaders \u2014 including SGB \u2014 and we remain open to feedback and look forward to continued dialogue as we work to support the needs of all students.\u201d<\/p>\n Board member Shanthi Bhaskar said SGB is working to increase student workers\u2019 hours and wages for the spring semester.<\/p>\n \u201c[SGB is planning] a rollout of increased wages and increasing working hours for students,\u201d Bhaskar said.<\/p>\n Allocations:<\/p>\n