Vice President Brian Reid opened this week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, held on Tues., April 2, due to President Donald Knight’s absence. The meeting began with the swearing in of Freshman Class Representative Jordan Winoker.
Open forum was cut short due to the nature of this week’s meeting (approving final organization budgets). A member from the gallery mentioned that the Macbook Pros at the library only held a trial for the Adobe Creative Suite, one that has since expired. Reid noted that the issue would be taken to and addressed by Knight.
Other issues brought up in open forum included parking and decals. A senator remarked that Lancer Park residents were ticketed when forced to drive to campus during last month’s snowstorm when the FAB stopped running. It was also noted that parking decals have been peeling, if not disappearing, from cars.
Following open forum, Historian Paige Rollins brought forth the constitution for the National RetailFederationandStudentAssociation (NRFSA). The NRFSA seeks to provide networking and professional experiences to those individuals interested in retail. Though the organization has a concentration toward business students, it is open to anyone who is interested in the field.
It was announced that SGA elections would open for students beginning next Wed., April 10, and run until Fri., April 12. A debate between the two presidential candidates will be held on Tues., April 9 at 8 p.m. in Blackwell Ballroom.
Treasurer Queen Burrell gave the Student Finance Committee Report (SFC)toallocate money to two organizations this week. The first organization, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, asked SFC to allocate $1,533 to a conference event. The other organization, Phi Mu Delta, requested $3,800 for the Save a Life Tour next semester.
Both motions to request money were passed. Phi Mu Delta was denied allocations last week because the SGA’s bylaws stated that funds would only be allocated to events happening during the current semester. After coming back to SFC again this week, Phi Mu Delta’s request was allowed because the tour needed to be booked and paid for immediately in order to reserve the spot — under the stipulation that the fraternity would not request any further funds other than those already allocated for the next fiscal year.
The rest of the SGA meeting focused on approving the final student organization budgets for the 2013- 2014fiscalyear.Furthercutstoorganizations’ budgets would need to be made in order for the SGA to reach their allotted total of $600,000 — the current total stands at roughly $683,000.
The SGA worked in conjunction with representatives from student organizations to ensure that the budgets were reasonably adjusted for those organizations that faced additional cuts.
Organizations that faced further budget adjustments included: the SGA, Lancer Productions, Mortar Board, RCL Advisory Board, WMLU, CBE Dean’s Advisory Board, Tri-Council, NPHC,YoungLife,StudentUnionAdvisory Board,SpanishClub,RelayforLife,Student Health Partners, the Senior Class, Intervarsity, the BSA and ACM.
After a short recess, discrepancies of up to $20,000 were found when trying to calculate the changes made to the organization budget. A motion was made to table the approval of the remaining budgets until these discrepancies could be calculated and remedied. The motion passed. The next SGA meeting will take place in the BC Rooms of the Lankford Student Union on Tues., April 9.
