Illinois State University’s Student Government Association (SGA) held its last meeting of the semester on Wednesday. It was the first meeting of the new association.New leadership positions were elected internally within the legislative branch. They also appointed three secretaries, four senators and confirmed five ex officio.Off-Campus Senator, Emma Susami, ran for speaker of the assembly, a position which was formerly known as president of the assembly. “I’m passionate about making a difference both within and outside of [SGA] meetings,” Susami said. “I see the position of the speaker of the assembly to be one that focuses on the efficiency and teamwork of the association. I also would like to hold all of you accountable for the work that you have signed yourself up for.” Susami elaborated that she would perform random check-ins to ensure that association members are actively involved. Pride Representative Vincent Smock spoke about their experiences with Susami. “Emma was one of the first SGA members that I met in the fall…she is absolutely a ball of energy,” Smock said. “She knows exactly what she is doing. Emma is one of the most organized and competent people I’ve ever met.” Susami was elected to be the secretary of the assembly with 99% of the vote. Student Life Senator, Abhijith Jannu, ran for vice speaker of the assembly. “As vice speaker, I want to focus on our contact with constituents, trying to make it less robotic and more real. Too often, we see these types of constituents like check boxes, and I want us to start having more person-to-person conversations, getting to know what students care about and not just sending them forms or surveys which they more often ignore,” Jannu said. Cardinal Court Senator, Edgar Chavez, praised Jannu. “I worked very closely with Senator Jannu in the days leading up to diversity week,” Chavez said. “He’s a very hard worker. I spoke to him early on when he talked about running for vice president of the assembly and it is something that he is very passionate about.” Jannu was elected to be vice president of the assembly with 99% of the vote. College of Business Senator Joshua Sweedler ran for secretary of the assembly. “I believe my experience, preparation and dedication make me a strong fit for this role,” Sweedler said. “To prepare for this position, I’ve met with former secretary [Ella Sharp] multiple times where she generously walked me through the expectations of the role and shared the strategies that contributed to her success. Thanks to those conversations, I feel well equipped to take on [the] responsibilities and serve the assembly.” College of Fine Arts and College of Nursing Senator Angel Trader commended Sweedler’s organizational habits. “[Josh and I] came into the association together, and let me tell you, he’s a very organized person. I always joke about stealing his notes and stuff; he literally sits here and takes notes about everything,” Trader said. Sweedler was elected as secretary of the assembly with 100% of the vote. Ross Vancil was appointed as the secretary of college affordability. “He really taught me a lot about student government, and he was able to answer all my questions,” said Watterson senator Lennon Stoner. “He’s really nice [and] he would always ask me about his events and things that I think [could] be better. He always cared about hearing another opinion, even if it was something he thought was already perfect.” Evan Nelson was appointed as the secretary of information technology. “He’s quick, efficient and he’s doing a lot of good work with the messy website he was handed,” said Off-Campus Senator Matthew Rickey. Jovana Emerick was appointed as the secretary of public relations. “She has been a phenomenal PR secretary,” said Sweedler. “Every single event—especially the SGA ones—she shows up, takes as many pictures as possible and she gets those posts out as soon as possible. She does a great job speaking to people on campus.” Student Body President Noah Montoya also briefly spoke about a shooting at ISU last Sunday during his executive report. “I want to start this off by taking a moment to acknowledge a recent act of violence that occurred on campus Sunday evening,” Montoya said. Although the incident was isolated, its impact has been deeply felt across our student body. Some members of our student body were nearby, witnessed the aftermath or are feeling shaken.” Four senators were also appointed: Off-Campus Senator Matthew Rickey, Off-Campus Senator Miguel Figueroa-Fragoso, Off-Campus Senator Mikalya Blum and Education Senator Ella Pettit. Additionally, five ex officio were confirmed with Emily Cardinal representing the Association of Residence Halls, Anthony Tamayo representing the Association of Latin American Students, Vincent Smock representing Pride, Chrissy Abobon representing the Asian Pacific American Coalition and Isabella Tornabene representing Students Ending Rape Culture.

The shooting incident at Illinois State University’s Bone Student Center Sunday night left students reflecting on campus safety and protocols. Although the investigation is ongoing, freshman nutrition and dietetics major Ave Beatty thought the ISU Police Department (ISUPD) handled the situation well. “As far as the response from the University police, I think they did a really good job with responding to [the shooting] quickly,” Beatty said. Stephany Ortiz, a freshman Spanish education major, also felt the police responded well, but is concerned that the person of interest is not in custody. “There were, like, 13 police cars out there, which is more than [usual], but I find it odd that they haven’t found whoever did it yet,” Ortiz said. Ortiz was not the only student worried about the police looking for the person of interest. Junior marketing major Owen Reeter believes classes should have been canceled on Monday. “I don’t think [the University] has done the best job, especially since [ISUPD] haven’t caught the guy yet, and we’re still in classes, I think it’s kind of crazy,” Reeter said. Some students were concerned about the emergency alerts they received while the incident occurred. “I think as far as getting information out at the time of it, they could’ve done better, but also at the same time, I don’t think they knew much,” Beatty said. ISU Chief of Police Aaron Woodruff discussed the difficulties in relaying information during the incident. “The challenge in any type of situation like this is how quickly we can get that information out while still being able to respond and deal with what’s happening on the ground there and actually collect the information from people present,” Woodruff said. ISU President Aondover Tarhule sent an email to students on Monday morning regarding the incident. Junior organizational communications and leadership major Frankie Garcia believes Tarhule should do more to support students at this time. “I feel like he did the minimum. All he did was send out an email, and it was the next day,” Garcia said. Ortiz also felt Tarhule’s message was ineffective. “It was too late, and I feel like it was just summarizing the alerts we already received last night,” Ortiz said. “Everything he said was already something we got in real time.” With the incident occurring at the Bone, Reeter said its close proximity makes students feel unsafe on campus. “I know this isn’t the first shooting we’ve had either, so it’s definitely in the back of people’s minds,” Reeter said. “What they could do is just add a little security on campus. We obviously are never expecting that to happen here, but it happened.” Freshman music education major Campbell Manning said that while the shooting was an isolated incident, it still instills fear. “I definitely think that they should make more strong regulations on it; it makes me a little more nervous because this is supposed to be a safe place,” Manning said. Walk-in counseling services are available to students at the Student Services Building. Students can also call 309-438-3655 for immediate support. “It’s unfortunate that we have to go through this in our schools,” Beatty said. “If anyone needs help, reach out to people, get counseling.”

Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule issued a statement Monday following the shooting incident that occurred at the Bone Student Center Sunday night. In an April 28 email to students, faculty and staff, Tarhule expressed his concern for the victim, and his "shock and anger" over the incident taking place on campus. Tarhule then shared resources available to students, faculty and staff experiencing distress over the incident. Urgent walk-in counseling services will be available for students in Room 320 of the Student Services Building. Mental health services for faculty and staff are available by contacting ComPsych at 833-955-3400 or 800-697-0353. Anyone needing to retrieve personal items left behind may do so today until 4:30 p.m. at the Welcome Desk on the first floor of the Bone Student Center. The Bone Student Center will reopen at 7 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, and Tarhule said all employees should report to work as regularly scheduled. Tarhule reiterated that the isolated incident remains under investigation by ISUPD, and encouraged the campus community to remain united during this "challenging moment." "Let us lean on one another with compassion and strength in this challenging moment. Let us call on the support, kindness and resilience that have always defined the Redbird community and stand united as we continue building a safe, caring future together," Tarhule said in the email.

The Illinois State University Police Department released photos of the person of interest in a shooting incident at the Bone Student Center. On Sunday night, a fight broke out between two groups of people during a registered student organization (RSO) event at the Bone Student Center that ended with a non-life threatening-gunshot wound to a non-student. The victim was transported to a local hospital, and the person of interest fled the scene. ISUPD responded with all available resources and was assisted by Normal Police, Bloomington Police, the McLean County Sheriff, Illinois State Police and the Normal Fire Department. Anyone with information is urged to email ISUPD at ISUPolice@IllinoisState.edu or by calling 309-438-8631.

Illinois State University says there is one reported injured victim from a shooting during a registered student organization (RSO) event at the Bone Student Center. The University issued an emergency alert regarding shots fired at approximately 7:55 p.m. on Sunday. The victim is not an ISU student. Shots were fired as a result of a fight at the entryway outside of the RSO event, according to ISU Media Relations. In an ISU Emergency Alert email, ISU said to take precaution. In an update email, ISU said a person "reportedly discharged a firearm on or near campus." The email also said the person may be armed/dangerous, and there is a potential immediate threat. Police described this suspect as a slender Black male, 5'10, with an afro hairstyle wearing all black. The male was last seen running south from the Bone Student Center. Some earlier reports said that the shots fired could have been the result of a fight. This information was confirmed in an email from ISU Media Relations. At 9:23 p.m., ISU said the Bone Student Center is closed as police continue to investigate. An all-clear has not yet been issued. ISU is urging people to stay away from University and Locust Street and the Bone Student Center. There is no shelter-in-place order set. At 11:41 p.m., ISU sent another email titled "Shots Fired Incident Update." In this email, ISU said employees assigned to work in the Bone Student Center should not report to campus for work on Monday unless told otherwise. All events scheduled on Monday at the Bone Student Center are canceled. Information will be shared later for those who left belongings at the Bone Student Center during the time of the shooting. Classes will continue on Monday. The Illinois State University Police Department is still investigating this incident with assistance from the Normal Police Department, Bloomington Police Department, McLean County Sheriff’s office and Illinois State Police. Immediate counseling resources are available to students, faculty and staff. Email vidette@ilstu.com with eyewitness information. This story will be updated.

Students had a tree-mendous time at “You Grow, Redbird!” on Tuesday in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center. “You Grow Redbird!” was hosted by Event Management, Dining and Hospitality (EMDH), along with six other ISU organizations to celebrate Earth Day and provide a break for students before finals. Students had the opportunity to pot their own plant, complete coloring sheets and learn about taking care of themselves at a self-care station. EMDH Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Samantha Schultz emphasized the importance of student self-care and its relation to this event. “Doing something like [this] gives [students] an opportunity to treasure Earth and treasure where they live,” Schultz said. “Then, they have to go on and keep thinking about it; they have to water their plant and give it sunlight, something that they should also be doing for themselves,” Schultz continued. In previous years, the event was the Succulent Cafe, but Schultz discussed why they changed it. “This year we rebranded to ‘You Grow, Redbird!’ because we try to add a wellness component to all of our events now, and it opened it up to what kind of plants we could use,” Schultz said. “We also partnered with the Multicultural Center to spread the word to more people.” Senior recreation and sports management major Clara Nesvacil appreciated the opportunity to destress on Earth Day. “I think it’s a good reminder to take care of our planet, that’s what Earth Day is all about,” Nesvacil said. Sophomore occupational health and safety major Kaytlyn McGray highlighted the need for students to take a break from schoolwork at this time of the year. “It gives people a sense of escape, and people are able to come here and not worry about a test they have to do later,” McGray said. McGray liked being able to pot a plant and taking care of something that benefits the planet. “We are able to give back to the community, planting our own plants and being able to house a plant rather than ripping it up from where it is,” McGray said. Schultz was happy with the turnout of students and said students were still arriving after an hour of being open. This was the last EMDH event of the semester, but Schultz encourages students to follow Redbird Life for updates. “We will be having a ton of fun things coming up in the fall, hopefully we will have a concert in the fall as well, but we’ll keep everyone in the know,” Schultz said.