During the Sept. 26 CUSG student senate meeting, Robert Halfacre, Mayor of City of Clemson, and Dr. L. Chris Miller, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, gave presentations of city and on-campus improvements for students and the community going forward.
Halfacre spoke first and gave a presentation titled “Making Progress in the City of Clemson,” which elaborated on efforts for recreational expansion, outdoors and infrastructure sustainability, partnerships and collaborations, embracing diversity and community events and services.
In regard to recreational expansion, the Pump Track Ribbon Cutting and Clemson Park Reimagining events took place recently and mark the sign of future recreational progress. Along with these events, the first phase of the Green Crescent Trail project is set to begin in December or January, and the Gateway Connector project will take place within the next week.
A new department was also created and titled “Urban and Park Land Management,” which will help “Improve, Increase, and Mindfully Maintain Sustainability,” according to Halfacre. To help increase the Monarch butterfly population, Monarch City USA plans to purchase 100 plants from the South Carolina Botanical Gardens this fall to be placed at Calhoun Bridge Center, Chamber of Commerce and the Sedgefield neighborhood.
The total of grants for Quality-of-Life Enhancement is $8,282,378, which will support affordable housing opportunities, a regional traffic study, recreational initiatives and electric busses. There are also applications in for an additional $7.7 million to address infrastructure, road safety, body worn cameras and other needed supplies.
Halfacre concluded the presentation by discussing community events and services, which include On the Ave and Rock the Block events, with outdoor dining, live music and family games.
Miller then gave an update on University student affairs, which covered current statistics and goals for the upcoming year.
For the 2022 year, Miller presented that there are 196 employees employed in thirteen departments across campus, more than 27 million dollars of funding managed by student affairs and 14,387 students involved in at least one organization.
Other statistics included that 36,868 medical, counseling or psychological visits were made to the Redfern Medical Center, 26.2% of undergraduates are affiliated with fraternities or sororities and there have been 464,624 total visits to recreational facilities on-campus.
Following this information, Miller stated that the focus of work over the summer was “reimagining our foundational statements, defining our vision and mission and core themes and associated outcomes.”
After both presentations concluded, committee updates were given, with upcoming events for this week discussed. The Anti-hazing Summit that Joe Strickland presented during the CUSG meeting on Sept. 12 took place on Sept. 27 and 28 in Bracket Hall from 6-8:30 p.m., where students discussed their hazing experiences within Greek Life. The event encompassed a listening and educational session, where students could share and learn from their own experiences and examples.
Old business was discussed with “An Approval Bill To Appoint Members of the CUSG Elections Board.” The bill was created to approve the following appointments to the 2022-2023 Undergraduate Student Government Elections Board and passed after being submitted originally on Sept. 16.
Another bill was then approved to amend the Social Justice Council Bylaws to better equip the Social Justice Council to fulfill its mission.
Once both bills were approved, the meeting concluded.

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Katie Bradham, Photo Editor

During the Sept. 12 CUSG meeting, Joe Strickland-Burdette, the Associate Director of The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, spoke about the Anti-Hazing Summit that is referenced in the article.