Elect energy. Elect change. Elect Eva.

We don't have many solutions for sexual violence yet. But we should use what we do have - bystander intervention - the best that we can. All USG members need to attend a OneWave training during their first semester as a member of USG.

At the Town Hall in January, administrators told us that students of color are less likely to face sexual violence at Tulane. But they didn’t address the factors that make it less likely for students of color to trust the administration and maybe less likely to report violence. They didn’t tell us that students of color who were assaulted were 2-3 times less likely to have been drunk or high during the incident. The data tells us that survivors who are students of color aren’t being assaulted within the party scene as much. Yet targeting party culture was a huge component of the action plan they proposed. What are they doing specifically for people who aren’t white? USG leaders must use their position to push for these and other research priorities in the Climate Survey aftermath.

Every survivor heals differently. Some survivors heal in student-only groups. I’ve been working on legislation to allow these types of student organizations to have anonymous member lists. But Tulane administrators insist that these lists can only be anonymous to USG, not to Tulane staff. We need to change USG regulations to allow TOTAL anonymity for organizations who provide safe spaces for survivors. Because if we can help provide spaces for survivors to heal, we absolutely should.

This year, USG members Sonali Chadha, Juharah Worku, and Shahamat Uddin wrote and passed legislation supporting the effort to rename Hebert Hall. F. Edward Hebert was a segregationist politician whose legacy serves as a continuing reminder of the oppressive history that our nation and our school were built on. This is important work, and it should be continued with other buildings including Stanley Thomas and Gibson. But we must recognize that this is a band-aid solution. So we must also work to make our school a place that supports and cultivates leaders to initiate change beyond Tulane.

Last year, USG passed legislation promoting the use of pronouns on name tags, email signatures, committee introductions, and other appropriate spaces. Normalizing pronouns in introductions can help trans and non-binary folks feel less ostracized in spaces they occupy. They can also help people avoid misgendering others. But this year, USG’s original placards didn’t include our pronouns. Cabinet members’ metal name tags don’t include our pronouns. We now have stickers for the placards, but they’re tiny and can’t be seen from far away. Many USG members’ email signatures still don’t include their pronouns. Next year, all USG members must uphold the pronoun-related standards we set for our campus. And we must encourage our peers to do the same.

USG Senators have to gain a certain number of “points” to keep their office. They get points from tabling and attending certain types of trainings. But tabling doesn’t often expose Senators to the issues that really need addressed. We'll expand points opportunities for Senators to Equity Thursdays, Wednesdays with the O, and Global Café to encourage Senators to build relationships with students often overlooked by administration.

Hundreds of students seek mental health services at CAPS. Some students use it temporarily. But for other students, CAPS is the only viable option if they want to receive mental health care. For students who have to work and take classes from 9-5 every day, CAPS is inaccessible. CAPS' hours must be extended.

For many students, calling or walking into CAPS during business hours is too stressful. The evenings and weekends are the only times they're calm enough to call, but CAPS is closed. So they end up missing opportunities to get the care they need. We need to create a way to schedule CAPS appointments online.

The #OnlyTheAudacious fundraising campaign is meant to finance many projects. One is a Student Health Complex that would combine the Student Health Center, CAPS, and the Well for Health Promotion. Building a Student Health Complex would make changes like extending CAPS and Health Center hours easier because only one front desk staff would have to be paid. It would make comprehensive access to care easier by creating a one-stop-shop. It would prevent the awkwardness some students feel while walking into CAPS.

Another project included in the campaign is Irby and Phelps reconstruction. Irby and Phelps were built at least 50 years ago as temporary structures. They’re not intended to withstand New Orleans heat, humidity, and creatures for this long. Excessive mold and other unacceptable conditions here make students sick. This needs to change. USG must use its platform to press the administration to prioritize the Student Health Complex and Irby/Phelps reconstruction in its fundraising efforts for the #OnlyTheAudacious campaign.

Every new building on campus has to be outfitted for solar panel installation. But we don’t have any solar panels. We must continue pressing for Tulane to divest from fossil fuels. But in the meantime, we should push Tulane to start transitioning some of its power burden to sustainable solar energy. We can start with a solar umbrella in the new Outdoor Classroom, funded by the USG reserve, and build from there.

Tulane has a recycling problem. It’s one of the first issues I noticed here as a freshman. When you arrive on campus, no one tells you where the recycling bins in your residence hall are. No one tells you what you can and can’t recycle. We also don’t recycle very much. In such a densely-populated area as a university, recycling is an especially efficient use of our time and money. It’s an investment in the future of our university and in the future of our world. Not only do we need to expand our campus’ recycling awareness, but Tulane needs to start paying for a glass recycling service.

Tulane utilizes reusable containers at Bruff-to-Go. But the coins you need to get food containers there are inconvenient and prevent many students who aren't regulars at Bruff-to-Go from using its services. We should convert Bruff-to-Go coins into virtual coins loaded on every student's Splash Card.