For Undergraduate Student Government President Alex Solis, the new semester brings new motivation to help make the University a better place.

Solis said USG will be focusing on major issues affecting students this month. This will include a discussion of how to make campus tobacco free and how to best implement gender inclusive housing.

The first meeting of the semester will be hosted Monday at 7:30 p.m. in room 308 of the Union.

Solis said he is also looking to pass a resolution this month for an opt-out program for the campus alert system AlertBG.

The system, which warns students and faculty of emergencies or class cancellations, is currently an opt-in program, meaning you must sign up to receive the alerts, he said.

Solis said he wants the alerts to be automatically sent to everyone on campus, and if they decide they don’t want to receive them, they can opt-out of the program.

“This is a huge public safety issue when you think of recent events in Connecticut,” Solis said. “An opt-out program will increase public safety by volumes.”

Internal Affairs Chair Ben Goldsberry supports the idea.

“If there was a shooting, God forbid, or a chemical spill in a building, [the] alerts let us know in a moment’s notice.”

Goldsberry said he thinks all students should receive the alerts, but supports the option to unsubscribe.

“It’s right for them to have a choice,” he said.

Speaker Melissa Dzienny said another goal this semester is to maintain students involvement in the decision making processes for the new recreation center and health center.

“We want to keep an eye on them and make sure students’ voices are heard,” she said.

Dzienny said USG accomplished a lot this past semester and is looking forward to a strong senate this spring. USG retained all but three of its senators during winter break, she said.

“In the past, we’ve lost half or a third [of our senators] over winter break due to class conflicts or disinterest,” Dzienny said. “I think [this semester] we have a strong group who wants to stay involved.”

Dzienny said she plans to rally motivation and interest in the group by assigning small, individual projects to senators.

Planned projects include keeping campus well lit and getting more trash cans on campus, she said.

“As speaker, I wanted to promote each senator taking on something they’re passionate about,” she said. “It gives senators a strong voice as a student leader and an opportunity to grow and mature.”