The General Assembly on March 5 focused on updates from the different committees and the selection of the new Executive Board member of the Elections Commission.

Mira Santos, Class of 2018, spoke on behalf of the Sustainability Committee. She explained that the Committee is currently collaborating with Ecoherence to put together a Go Green Week from April 23 to 27.

Yumi Gambrill, Class of 2017, provided updates from the Dining Committee. She announced that ADNH Compass is making alterations to the menu in the east dining hall. This will consist of a rotating International Counter, a dedicated vegetarian and vegan counter, the availability of protein from the grill at the Meal Club counter, the provision of sauces on the side and the new availability of steamed and unseasoned vegetables on a daily basis. Furthermore, the dining hall will soon be switching from using palm oil to sunflower oil. This is the result of lobbying by the Dining Committee.

Additionally, the committee is working on several other initiatives. They are hoping to improve the snack selections at the dining hall so that there will be healthier options available for those looking to spend their extra meal swipes at the end of the week. They are also awaiting a response to the Hack the Meal Plan proposal submitted last semester. Additionally, the committee is working on making eggs available at the dining hall all day. Lastly, Gambrill exhorted students to decrease food waste, as currently 61 kilograms of food are wasted daily.

Monika Filipovska, Class of 2017, spoke on behalf of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. She reported that all of the social science majors submitted proposals for revisions to the degrees. Furthermore, an Arab Music minor and an African Studies minor have been approved and are now being reviewed by the Faculty Council. Five new minors in engineering, one for each of the four engineering fields and one general engineering minor, have also been approved and are likewise being evaluated by the Faculty Council. The Committee also discussed the Reading Group letter and emailed the group asking for their thoughts on the curriculum.

Anel Orazgaliyeva, Class of 2020, who also sits on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, remarked that students are not allowed to see proposals for new degrees or revisions to current curricula. Patrick Wee, Class of 2017, expressed concern about this fact.

“We should advocate for input and transparency because it is our education that is affected,” said Wee.

Wee also gave updates on behalf of the Global Student Council. He stated that the new constitution is undergoing another round of amendments. Additionally, Wee mentioned that the Academic Advisory Committee in New York is considering changes to the eligibility criteria of the Founder’s Day Award. The Founder’s Day Award is given to students upon graduation across all NYU campuses who graduate with a GPA of 3.50 or above. However, some have expressed concern that the award is often given to a high proportion of each graduating class. Therefore, a proposal has been submitted to give the award to the top 35 percent of students in each class.

In addition, the meeting also included the selection of the new member of the Elections Commission Executive Board. Mira Santos was nominated and unanimously voted in.