By Sarah Ann Figueroa ’28
Staff Writer
The final senate of the 2025-26 academic year, held on April 21, would be the last senate for many of the executive board members of the Student Government Association, including Senate Chair Coco Athas ’26.
Before the senators began the yearly budget vote, Athas gave her routine rundown of the weekly events, such as end of semester destressers and celebrations. With the change of seasons and upcoming festivities like Pangy Day, student organizations across campus are preparing their final gatherings of the year to give their communities the break they deserve. Once these brief announcements were made, Gabi Mello ’26 took the stage to go over the SGA’s budget.
The total collected from student activity fees this year was around $571,000. For the majority of the last senate, senators were given information about where these funds for the upcoming academic year would be going. A majority of the changes made to the budget for next year were increases in funding for various departments of the College. The Office of Residential Life and the SGA Ways and Means committee will both be receiving extra funds. For the cultural centers on campus, a $7,000 increase was allocated to keep them functioning and to support the events they hold throughout the year.
Chapin Auditorium is the hub for many of Mount Holyoke College’s annual events, both held by the College and by student organizations. The SGA has recognized this and will now be designating funding for events specifically held in Chapin, so all organizers may have the money they need. It is unclear yet how this money will be distributed evenly throughout the semesters.
Overall, the total for next year’s budget comes out to just around $702,000, almost $200,000 more than what was available from student activity fees.
The floor was then opened to a Q&A for senators to ask any questions they had about the new budget. One individual asked about the funding of an upcoming project for health and wellness vending machines around campus. SGA president Nathania Amadi ’26 provided a bit of insight, explaining that these vending machines will be stocked with a variety of hygiene products and over-the-counter medications which are not easily accessible on campus. SGA will be providing a portion of their funding to this project. Students can expect to hear more information about these vending machines in the 2026 Fall semester.
When it came time for the vote, Athas instructed the senators to raise their hands and say “aye” if they agreed to the proposed budget. The vote passed, and Athas took the stage again to conduct the remaining event announcements.
At the end of the senate, a small pinning ceremony was held for senators who would not be returning next year. A song akin to that which is played at an official commencement began, and each senator received a pin and gave an impromptu speech about their time being part of senate. Continuing with the humorous vibes, Athas gave a statement at the end of the ceremony, saying, “I just want to take a moment to thank everybody for their service … I know not everybody wanted to be here. I recognize that … Not all heroes wear capes.”
A group photo was taken with all of the senators and SGA executive board members, commemorating the final senate of the 2025-26 academic year. To the future executive board members in the room, Athas left them with a piece of advice that exemplified her time in the position of senate chair. “You are only as good as your best ice breaker.”
Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact-checking.