With an influx of new senators and new business items, ASG convened Wednesday night for a lengthy session to hear from Northwestern’s Chief Marketing Officer Mary Baglivo and student representatives on project pool funding requests.
Previously serving as CEO of multinational marketing agencies, Baglivo spoke to senators about Northwestern’s new marketing initiative. Baglivo hopes to “discover, develop and deploy” a cohesive brand position for Northwestern. The CMO and her team are currently conducting focus groups and qualitative research to find ways to improve student satisfaction ratings, reputational measures as well as the public perception of the university.
“We need a better digital engagement strategy that uses social media effectively to get out our messages and build engagement with the right constituents,” Baglivo said. She expects the outcomes of her marketing committee to be fulfilled by the end of the calendar year.
Returning to ASG for their second consecutive visit, Pura Playa discussed their proposal to ban the sale of bottled water on campus, citing multiple universities that have already achieved this goal. A plastic waste reduction team, Pura Playa encouraged senators to pass the resolution in order to “command the respect and attention of the administration.” ASG passed the non-binding resolution, which supports a phase-out of bottled water in hopes of being bottled water-free by April 2015.
Later, several student groups gave brief presentations to receive project pool funding. Senators considered requests from members of Mayfest, SASA and NU Asian Magazine, all of which will use the funds to enhance their respective organizations. Mayfest representatives, in particular, want to implement art installations to create a more interactive atmosphere for Dillo Day.
Other items for new business included funding requests for pre-med advising and the senior year experience. Senate will vote on the requests next week.
ASG executive board members also presented the 2014-2015 ASG operating budget proposal, which reevaluated ASG spending from the previous year. ASG proposed various funds such as the Student Leader Support Fund, the Wild Ideas Fund and the Event Subsidy Fund, which would eliminate cost as a barrier to attending events on campus.