The Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on April 1 opened with a presentation by Berol Dewdney ’13 and Kareem Kalil ’13 on the initiative to make a multicultural literacy course a graduation requirement, and continued to approve one club and discuss ongoing campus issues.

Though Dewdney and Kalil’s presentation was solely informational, both students are working with the administration to make the proposal a reality.

A multicultural literacy class would focus on issues like ageism, racism and classism, among others. Of her experience as a teaching assistant for the class last JanPlan, Dewdney said, “The most important thing is that I saw tremendous growth in these students even within just a week.”

Both students argued that this requirement would be a more effective outlet for the current diversity-based curriculum. “We want to change the scope of the current diversity requirement so it does what it’s supposed to do. A lot of times, it’s really easy to gloss over [the requirements] and not take courses that really challenge you,” Kalil said.

Abbey Wallace ’12 advocated for the approval of Colby TalkAbroad as an official campus club. The group would connect to an online service that allows students to Skype with native speakers of the languages they are learning. With access to Spanish, French, Chinese and Arabic speakers, the club would be effective for a wide range of students. It was unanimously approved.

As a recommendation to the Dining Services Committee, Peter Landsman ’12 of AMS moved to suggest that Sodexo phase out all artificial trans fats from the dining halls and Spa. “A lot of food companies and restaurants have phased this out, but Sodexo has not, and it’s in a lot of the food that we eat every day,” Landsman explained. He listed the tortillas, pizza dough and oil used in the Spa as a few examples of daily campus cuisine high in trans fat. The motion was passed.

SGA also passed a motion to work with the administration to adjust the standing alcohol policy regarding the use of kegs at campus events. Proposing that SGA and/or the Student Programming Board (SPB) be permitted to purchase up to eight kegs per semester for events and activities, the policy would increase the accessibility of free alcohol at campus events for students over 21 years of age. Co-president Laura Maloney ’12 said, “We want to encourage more inclusive events that do involve alcohol but encourage a healthy drinking culture.” If approved, the updated procedure would not affect the current registered party system, which remains an integral part of SGA’s recommended social policy.

Before adjourning, Alfond Apartments Dorm President Claire Grady ’12 called attention to the tremendous amount of dorm vandalism committed in the Apartments this past weekend. Members suggested a number of ideas to alleviate the issue but settled on the notion that if a student witnesses an incident of residence hall vandalism, he or she should feel obligated to report it. Security, Dean of Students Paul Johnston and all community advisers (CA) are people to whom one can report such an incident.