By ABIGAIL SHEARER
Tiger Media Network
At last week’s Student Government Association meeting, Bill No. 26.F.125 proposed amending the SGA bylaws to remove all references to SGA’s authority to allocate, approve, review, oversee, or recommend funding for FHSU Athletics. The bill proposed that funding decisions would instead be handled by a newly created committee chaired by the Vice President of Student Affairs, including two SGA senators, the Athletics Faculty Representative, and the FHSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council president and vice president.
During Old Business on Thursday, the Senate discussed the bill at length.
Discussion started with Senator Olivia Pince reading an email from FHSU constituent and former SGA and executive member Madison Albers.
Albers was critical of the proposed bill, saying SGA is built to handle all fees because SGA members are elected to represent all students.
“Bill No. 26.F.125 does an absolute injustice to the history and duty of SGA. The idea of including two faculty to [make] a decision that should be made by the student body is shameful and has never been done before,” the email said. “Ask yourself why should two faculty members decide a fee they will never pay?”
Albers’ email cited her experience chairing the LPAC, saying that the removal of this matter from SGA is cowardly and that while the approval process can be bumpy, the SGA has persevered each time.
“Yes, SGA has caught flak for the handling of these things, but each one of us straightened our backs and continued the important work,” the email said. “We should not hide away from our work because it gets hard.”
Albers’ email also said the bill was a clear conflict of interest for the SAAC and Athletic staff to decide their own fee while standing to benefit directly from their decision.
After Pince read Albers’ email, she shared her own thoughts on the proposed bill.
“This is a very reckless decision. It’s extremely irresponsible,” she said. “If the system in the past wasn’t working, I don’t think it would be going on this long. [SGA] has been extremely supportive of Athletics.”
Senator Corbyn Marquess also explained her concerns about the bill.
“Students are the ones paying these fees, so why are we voluntarily giving up our say in how the fees are allocated,” she said. “I don’t believe removing ourselves from that responsibility is properly representing our constituents. At what point do we realize that we are weakening the purpose of student government itself.”
Senator Veronica Montoya, who also serves as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, said the proposed committee was not created with the intention of attacking SGA or making students’ lives harder.
“I just want to say that [this comittee/bill] didn’t come from a place of trying to be unfair to everybody else,” she said. “But I don’t think anybody who would be on this team right now ever wants to take something away from students.”
The bill failed with 28 votes against, 3 votes for, and 3 senators abstaining.
Three additional bills were up for a vote.
Bill No. 26.F.123 proposed a trip request from Brooklynn Raacke, who requested $150 for Hotel ($120) and Registration ($30).
The bill passed unanimously.
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, subsection a. 1.
Senator Anthony Arial moved to amend the bill to strike the word “permanently” because SGA does not know what the future holds.
The amendment failed with 20 votes against and 14 votes for. Senate then voted and passed it as it was originally stated, with 32 votes for and 2 senators abstaining.
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 will 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.
This bill passed unanimously.
Four new student justices were also installed.
There was no new business.
Announcements
- Allocation applications are now open.
- The on-campus tree lighting is from 5-7 p.m. on December 1.
SGA will reconvene at 7 p.m. next Thursday.