By ABIGAIL SHEARER
Tiger Media Network
At Thursday’s Student Government Association meeting, executive staff shared a letter from Fort Hays State Marketing and Strategic Communication discussing the future of the Sternberg Museum.
The letter said that in less than a month, the public raised $638,000 to help keep Sternberg open, and with the Schmidt Foundation’s 1:1 match, over $1 million has been raised. FHSU still wants to reach a $2 million support goal. Sternberg will remain open and will begin developing a sustainable, long-term business plan.
Donations are still being accepted and can be made here. All donations are tax-deductible.
In new business, four bills were up for first reading.
Bill No. 26.F.123 proposed a trip request from Brooklynn Raacke, who requested $150 for Hotel ($120) and Registration ($30).
Bill No. 26.F.124 proposed amending the SGA bylaws to permanently combine Tiger Debs under Athletics, by striking the words “Tiger Debs” from the Student Government Association Bylaws Section 7.05, sub-section a.
Bill No. 26.F.125 proposed amending the SGA bylaws to remove all references to the Student Government Association’s authority to allocate, approve, review, oversee, or recommend funding for Athletics from the Student Government Association Bylaws. By striking the word “Athletics” from the Student Government Association Bylaws Section 7.05, sub-section a, i, and by striking the words “and Athletics” from the Student Government Association Bylaws Section 7.06, sub-section a, ii, also creating a separate committee to handle athletic funding chaired by the Vice President of Student Affairs, with additional members to include 2 senators of the Student Government Association, the Faculty Athletics Representative, the FHSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council president and vice president.
Chair of the Legislative and Political Action Committee, Star Parham, explained that the student fee will transfer to the new committee and if Athletics asks for an increase over $0.99, it will still go to a student body vote.
A discussion of this bill and its implications for the future of Student Government and Athletics will take place next week.
Bill No. 26.F.126 proposed that the marketing club move $2,528 from the line-item ‘Educational Trip – CA Airfare’ to the creation of a new line-item ‘Educational trip – New Orleans, LA Registration.’ Then that $1,000 be moved from the line-item ‘Educational Trip – CA Hotel’ to the line-item ‘Educational Trip – New Orleans, LA Airfare.’ These changes would move $3,528 in total.
During old business, two bills were up for a vote.
Bill No. 26.F.121 proposed nominees for appointment to the Student-Faulty Court: Tayton Robers, chief justice; Lynsey Davenport, student justice; Elijah McCullough, student justice; Landon Lane, student justice.
Bill No. 26.F.122 proposed that Model UN Allocated Amounts be adjusted to move $13,990.15 across multiple line items.
Senator Olivia Pince moved to amend the bill to state San Diego airfare instead of San Diego mileage. The amendment passed.
Both bills passed unanimously.
The meeting also had a guest speaker. FHSU Study Abroad Coordinator Stacey Lang spoke to Fort Hays State’s Student Government Association on Thursday.
Lang said there are many opportunities for students to study abroad or participate in a student exchange, and that the best way to learn about these opportunities is through Tiger Travel.
“If you have any interest in staying in the know about new programs, announcements, and things happening in our office, you can easily create an account now,” she said.
Lang said Tiger Travel offers a trip match with over 400 programs in the directory.
“It’s a really cool way to now have options and see what’s a good match for you,” she said.
There are trips of all durations: a week, intersession, semester, and year-long.
“There is something for everyone,” she said.
Lang also spoke about the National Student Exchange, noting that there are about 160 campuses where FHSU students can participate in a short-term exchange. Lang said this means a student can spend a semester or a year at a different campus while paying Fort Hays State tuition.
“It doesn’t cost you any more; your scholarships will apply and financial aid will apply if you have financial aid,” Lang said. “It’s a really good way to go to another region in the US.”
These opportunities are good for students seeking graduate programs and research opportunities.
There are also faculty-led programs in which one or two faculty members take a group of students abroad. For the 2027 year there are 9 programs.
Those who are interested in studying aboard or exchange programs can email studyabroad@fhsu.edu or go to the global student affairs/ international student affairs office 014 to talk to Lang.
SGA will reconvene at 7 p.m. next Thursday.