The Student Association Senate met Monday on the Mount Vernon Campus and discussed concerns raised by students of the Corcoran College of Art + Design and reviewed fall financial allocations to student organizations.

Photo Courtesy: Student Association

The session, which was held in the Eckles Library Auditorium, fulfilled requirements in the Senate bylaws that require one session each year to be held on GW’s secondary campus located in the Foxhall neighborhood of D.C.

Although no general members of the student body were present, Executive Vice President Avra Bossov thought the timing of the meeting in the middle of midterms, and not just the location, was a reason for the low attendance.

“I think [this meeting is a] great way of at least opening the door and allowing the Senate to also experience the Mount Vernon Campus,” Bossov said.

Much of the meeting was devoted to discussing concerns of students regarding the Corcoran College of Art + Design, which became part of GW earlier this year.

CCAS-U Senator Thomas Falcigno explained the concerns conveyed to him by Camila Rondon, president of the Corcoran Student Association. These included the reduction of hours in which students could freely access the studio where all artwork is kept, issues with payment of work-study wages and the rejection of many juniors and seniors from GW housing.

While the GW administration has made some efforts to meet with and rectify the concerns of Corcoran students, there are still important unsolved issues, Falcigno said.

Many senators wanted to hear directly from Corcoran students to understand the issues better, and Falcigno said he was working on bringing representatives from the Corcoran Student Association to future Senate meetings.

CCAS-U Senator Sean Kumnick said he was displeased with the administration’s handling of the situation and that Corcoran students “should get the same rights and privileges” they were promised when they entered the school.

The Senate unanimously approved $8,355 in financial allocations to student organizations that applied for funds in the fall. 60 organizations, most of which are new this semester or did not apply for funds in the spring, submitted requests for funding. Thirty-seven of the organizations received funds. Most of those who did not receive funding did not submit proper budgets, according to U-At-Large Senator Ben Pryde, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Two non-voting freshman senators were confirmed by the unanimous consent of the Senate. Rayhaan Merani will be joining the Finance Committee, while Alyssa Weakly will join the Academic Affairs Committee.

During their remarks, Bossov and SA President Nick Gumas both discussed the It’s On Us campaign, which is aimed at ending sexual assault on college campuses. Gumas and Bossov will be at the White House on Thursday for a D.C. Student Leader Roundtable Discussion about the campaign.

Other initiatives mentioned during the session included improvements to advising in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, discounted metro rides for students and priority registration for student veterans.