Indiana University Kokomo’s own Student Government Association (SGA) held their routine meeting on Feb. 15 to discuss updates on their initiatives for the spring semester.  

SGA’s main purpose is to serve as delegates of the IU Kokomo student body and to prioritize their best interests. The association works closely with other organizations on campus and in the Kokomo community, from seeking potential volunteer opportunities to advocating for students’ wishes within their own educational experience. 

Most students depend on the Cougar Café by Rozzi Catering to keep them fueled while on campus. However, students have expressed great concern for the rising costs of the food that is available to them. 

SGA’s President, Mary Hogsett, guided this discussion through reflecting on her own conversations she had with representatives from Rozzi Catering. Hogsett expresses that the prices of foods have increased drastically beyond the Cougar Café, resulting in higher prices for what students remember from previous semesters.  

To combat such issues for IU Kokomo students, Rozzi’s has begun preparing lunch specials ranging in price from $5 to $8. According to Rozzi’s, the average amount that a student spends in a stop at the Cougar Café is about $6, meaning that these lunch specials should be affordable for students while also being nutritious and filling.  

Hogsett reports that Rozzi’s has expressed interest in potentially conducting focus groups for quality testing for students. Set plans for such focus groups have not yet been made, but they have shown importance in having a small, diverse group of students to try new things that could possibly be put on their shelves. 

Alongside these structured meal plan costs, Rozzi’s aims to produce more media content to keep students in the know of the changes that will be made in their cafeteria.  

 SGA mentions that students should keep an eye out for alterations being made in their calendars for final grade deadlines. Hogsett explains that all IU campuses are merging their calendars together, meaning there may be shifts in the way that final grade deadlines are dealt with at IU Kokomo.  

When concluding the meeting, SGA’s Vice President Andrea Méndez Rodríguez, pushed for members of the association to make sure students are aware that there is an abundance of condoms available in the Multicultural Center on campus. With spring break approaching, Méndez Rodríguez hopes that students remember these resources are available with no questions asked.