The Student Government Association met again in the Black and Gold room of the Union on Thursday and discussed a number of topics that are important to the student body. Most important was the discussions of allocations as well as the implementation of a new bill.
Allocating funds is one of the most important things that SGA does. These funds allow student groups to go on planned trips as well as providing them with revenue to make needed purchases. This money also goes toward the reimbursement of students who paid for group related expenses out of pocket.
Generally, the amount of funds allocated are a bit lower than the amount that the student groups request, but there were a few instances where the amount was substantially lower. Four student groups were allocated $0, all of which requested at least some funding. One of these groups was the Society of Physics Students, also known as the Physics Club. The group requested $5280 in funding, but was allocated nothing. The group needed funding to pay tutors for their time, but SGA was initially unable to provide these funds due to a bylaw that denies groups funding to pay for tutors because the funds are able to be given to the groups by the school itself. Many of these groups spoke at the SGA meeting, appealing for funding, and SGA will consider their requests in the coming days.
A new bill was read for the first time at the meeting as well. Bill 17/S/114 goes along with the allocation of funds by the SGA, basically stating that the “student fee monies from Fiscal Year 2018 will be distributed accordingly to the noted organizations on the attached list.” A list of student groups, the amount of funding that they requested and the actual amount that they are going to be given were included with a copy of the bill. This was only the first reading of the bill with a vote to enact the bill occurring next Thursday.
