BY ALANA PERRY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
To keep Bellarmine University students, faculty and staff informed of changes on campus, The Concord will be providing coverage of each meeting of the Student Government Association (SGA). Meetings are open to all students and occur every other Friday at 3:30 p.m. The last meeting of the semester will be held in Hilary’s Nov. 20.
Each SGA meeting begins with reports from the executive board and committee leaders. Here are the notable reports:
President Amanda Martin gave the president’s report. She announced the results of polling done within the assembly which gauged stress level, understanding at meetings and more. Martin announced the technology chair position is open because non-traditional representative Lucio Gonzalez resigned Nov. 12. She said Dr. Rhodes Day will be Dec. 3, and encouraged the assembly to nominate Bellarmine community members for the Rhodes Honor.
She said the assembly will have its end of semester dinner at Dr. Helen Grace Ryan’s house Nov. 30.
“You all are really getting your name out there and doing great things in the Bellarmine community,” Martin said.
She added students are already emailing with inquiries to be next year’s freshmen representatives. Martin said next week’s meeting is the final budget meeting and reminded assembly members to communicate with the resident student organizations (RSOs) which will be receiving funding.
Vice President Dulce Solorio gave the Community Service report. She said the IgKnight Conference was a success with 22 student participants, and the blood drive was also a success by meeting the blood goal each day. Solorio said the remaining opportunities for the semester are volunteering with Supplies OverSeas and the tree lighting ceremony in the quad Dec. 1.
Vice President Tom Finch gave the finance report. He gave a preliminary report on the 2016 budget to prepare the assembly for the budget meeting on Nov. 20.
Vice President Jacob Schuhmann gave the public relations report. He said his committee changed its meeting time to Thursdays at 8 p.m. and created a PR request form on UKnight. He asked RSOs to leave a bigger description of what kind of PR they would like on the form so his committee can better assist.
Vice President Aliya Thompson gave the recreation, intramurals and athletics report. She said the bowling extravaganza will take place on Nov. 21 and volunteers are needed.
Vice President Amber Fields gave the resident student organization (RSO) report. She said Thankful Chrismahanakwanzika will occur on Nov. 24, and there will be arts and crafts activities at the event. She recognized Phi Mu as the RSO of the month.
Austin Black gave the food services report. He said Comfy Cow will be serving ice cream at home basketball games this year, including a special “Knight in Shining Armor” flavor. Black also said flex dollars will now be accepted at basketball games through the use of a mobile register.
Matt Higgs gave the traffic and safety report. He said his committee is sorting through an abundance of campus security apps to see which is best for use at Bellarmine.
Trevor Stantliff gave the environmental report. He said the environmental stickers, which were approved for purchase in a bill at the previous meeting, have arrived. Stantliff asked for volunteers to help place the stickers on the paper towel dispensers on campus.
Paige Williamson gave the commuter report. She said Knight at the Movies tickets are available for sign up.
In a notable address to the assembly, Director of Student Activities for Orientation and Leadership Sarah Fromm and student members of the orientation team asked the SGA for input on changing the location of freshman orientation.
“The one change we are not making this year is taking away any of your favorite things,” Fromm said.
She said no official changes have been made yet. The two student representatives of the orientation team encouraged proactive changes as Bellarmine grows and interaction with the city of Louisville as a part of orientation.
They emphasized the time and money that would be saved as a result of moving orientation to a location closer to Bellarmine.
The assembly had mixed reactions, but most agreed the traditions and intimate environment are the important aspects of orientation, not the location.
Here are the bills presented at the meeting:
Finch presented a bill to approve the 2016 budget. The vote was postponed to Nov. 20.
Jessica Winters presented a bill to purchase 300 green books from the bookstore to give out to students during finals week for free. The bill passed and $89.04 will be taken from the SGA general account to pay for the green books.
Winters presented a bill to provide $5,000.00 to fund the Student Academic Research Award. The bill passed, and the money will be transferred from the SGA contingency account to the SGA grant account to fund the award. The money must be spent by May 31, 2016.
Williamson, freshman representative Claudia Bejerano and director of student engagement Patrick Englert presented a bill to enroll Bellarmine in an Enterprise Carshare program. The bill failed due to uncertainty on the cost and effects of the program.
Junior representative Lauren Troxell presented a bill to establish Alpha Phi Omega as an RSO. The bill passed, and Alpha Phi Omega is now an official RSO on campus.
Sophomore representative Ellie DeVries presented a bill to purchase 100 mason jars for Mission Identity’s Illuminaria event. The bill passed, and $292.00 will be allocated from the SGA public relations to purchase the mason jars.
Junior representative Andrew Hubbs presented a bill to allocate $1,736.60 for use by students presenting research at the American Academy of Forensic Science conference in Las Vegas, NV. The bill passed and the money will be taken from the SGA general account to help fund the trip.
Finch presented a bill to fund guest speaker Jonathon Bloom for the Bellarmine Food Recovery Network. The bill passed, and $2,400.00 will be taken from the SGA general account to cover the speaker fees.
Winters and publications chair Aly Rauen presented a bill to allow four students to attend the College Media Association Conference in New York, New York. The vote was postponed to Nov. 20 so the bill can be revised.
During open discussion, the assembly brought up three main topics:
– The open technology chair position will be decided at the next meeting.
– The assembly is looking into initiatives for commuter students. These include the possibilities of a designated parking lot, charging for parking passes or initiating a ride-share app.
-The assembly is looking for a more efficient way for students to conduct survey data online.