EMU SGA

Motion 13042011-4 to adjourn: Will

Second: Dan

Motion passed

Meeting adjourned (10:06)

smb 04/13/11

1. I. Call to Order Ben (9:05)
2. II. Roll Call/Prayer Heidi prayed

Present: Benjamin Bergey, Michael Spory, Will Morris, Sarah Beck, Janelle Freed, Alli Eanes, Dan Sigmans, Matt Dean, Erika Babikow, Courtney walker, Todd Hooley, Heidi Bauman, Hannah Schrock, Hannah Wenger, Laci Gautsche, Brittney Wenger, Nels Akerson, Amy Springer

Absent: Amin Laboriel, Vi Dutcher, Ken L. Nafziger

1. III. Approval of Minutes

Motion 06042011-1 to approve the minutes with a few minor changes: Janelle

Second: Matt

Motion passed

1. IV. Announcements
   1. a. Late Night Breakfast-April 27, 10pm: SGA helps serve the food at this event so be aware that this is coming up.
   2. b. SGA door: The door is sometimes left open, which is something to be aware of.  The latch doesn’t always catch so just check to make sure it’s latched closed before you leave!
2. V. Committee Reports

a. Cross-Cultural Committee: Will shared that they shared updates from the current trips, all of which are doing very well.  Nels also shared that they discussed a re-entry program for the cross-culturals; the proposal is to provide an optional re-entry program (1 credit) that would help you apply the knowledge you gained to your life back in the US.  It would also be a time that could help you re-adjust to life in the States again.  This could potentially be something all the cross-culturals do together or it could be different for each trip.  Nels asked for discussion from the senate as to whether we thought this was a good idea.  Many felt that it had potential but concerns were cost and time.  One suggestion was to incorporate it into senior seminar somehow.

b. Writing Committee: Hannah W. shared that the committee discussed writing standards for undergraduate level.  They tried to condense the standards to make it more reader-friendly.

1. VI. Old Business
   1. a. Faculty Forum: Hannah W. shared that they got a confirmation from Mark Sawin and they have the description written down and Common Grounds reserved on April 18 at 8:00 pm.  She inquired whether or not the committee had funding for snacks; funding is in place for coffee and snacks!  This is going to be a great event!
2. VII. New Business
   1. a. Constitutional amendments: Ben brought proposed additions to the SGA Constitution to the senate.  Proposed additions included an additional Exec member (Vice President for Marketing) and a description of the duties that the position would have.  In addition, a proposed point in Article III, Section 2, B incorporated the carrying out of SGA’s strategic plan and future revisions necessary for that plan.  Other than a few grammatical changes, there were no major issues with either proposal.

Motion 06042011-2 to approve the proposed amendments with said grammatical changes: Janelle

Second: Matt

Motion passed unanimously

1. VIII. Open Floor

-Michael shared that a student brought up an idea to have a ticking TV showing announcements from student organizations rather than just putting little slips of paper in campus mail.  Some senators thought that wasn’t very economically friendly; others thought perhaps we could have a whiteboard, e-mail, etc. to get the same idea.  Future Exec members were encouraged to look at this and keep this as an idea for the fall retreat.

-Will told senators to talk to leaders of PPHS and Celebration to bring in their folders to get funding!  Bug them! They need this to get funding!

-We discussed SGA folders and bringing them in to meetings.  Also, remember to take your things with you at the end of meeting—a lot of things are getting left behind!

1. IX. Adjournment

Motion 06042011-3 to adjourn: Janelle

Second: Matt

Motion passed

Meeting adjourned (9:45)

smb 04/06/11

Below are some amendments to the Constitution that the Senate has approved. Please review these as we will be sending out a vote later in April for approval by the full SGA (student body). All these amendments (in italicized font) are additions–the addition of the VP for Marketing and his/her responsibilities, a section to deal with our newly approved Strategic Plan, and additions that all members of the Senate maintain posted office hours.

Article III, Section 1, A. (members of the Exec)
5. Vice President for Marketing

Article III, Section 1, D. (Duties of Exec)
2. e. To maintain posted regular office hours.
3. d. To maintain posted regular office hours.
4. f. To maintain posted regular office hours.
5. Vice President for Marketing
a. To be responsible for all marketing and publicity of SGA and related events
b. To delegate ad-hoc committees for marketing projects
c. To be a point of contact for SGA public relations within EMU
d. To be responsible for the SGA website and social media content
e. To create all promotional material for the SGA
f. To maintain posted regular office hours

Article III, Section 2, B. (Duties and powers of the Senate)
9. To carry out the SGA Strategic Plan that has been approved by the previous Senate. The Senate and related responsible parties are to work on items for their respective time period to the best of their ability. Each April, the Strategic Plan is open for review to allow the Senate to revise it as necessary for following years.

1. I.      Call to Order Michael (9:06)
2. II.      Roll Call/Prayer

Present: Michael Spory, Janelle Freed, Sarah Beck, Brittney Wenger, Laci Gautsche, Courtney Walker, Matt Dean, Todd Hooley, Amin Laboriel, Lars Akerson, Erika Babikow, Alli Eanes, Hannah Wenger, Hannah Schrock, Will Morris, Ben Bergey, Heidi Bauman, Ken L. Nafziger

Absent: Amy Springer, Dan Sigmans

1. III.      Approval of Minutes

Motion 30032011-1 to approve the minutes: Matt

Second: Janelle

Motion passed

1. IV.      Announcements

-None this week!

1. V.      Committee Reporting

a. Strategic Planning Council: Ken shared that SPC talked about how EMU can take leadership as

being the university of choice for a globally-oriented Christian university.  They are striving to be

“A Christian university like no other” where students learn to serve and lead in a global context.  Another thing they discussed was data collection and comparing EMU to 20 different schools.  EMU has a very low student-faculty ratio (10:1) when compared to peers and aspirational peers.

1. VI.      New Business
   1. Funding Request – Earthkeepers: Katie Jantzen spoke to the senate about an Earthkeepers request for funding for 10 students (with two students on the waiting list) to attend the PowerShift Conference held in Washington D.C. on April 15-17.  The conference is bringing young adults together for grassroots organizational training in leadership skills focusing on clean energy and how young people can have the power to move towards a clean energy economy in the context of environmental and social justice.  They will also have the opportunity to learn about the down sides of “dirty” energy.  The conference is $65 per person to register and $30 per person for lodging for a total of $950.  Earthkeepers is hoping to raise money to fund transportation and food for this conference.  They sent out an all-campus e-mail and got three interested students outside of Earthkeepers who wanted to attend; after the conference they hope to share what they’ve learned with the EMU community by writing up an article in the WeatherVane.  After Katie left, senators expressed concerns for the large amount of money requested.  There was agreement that this is a worthy conference and we want to support the students going; however, it is not unreasonable to expect students to have to pay a small portion of the cost to attend something like that.  Will shared that our budget is in very good shape at this point in the year so we do have the funding in place to provide the necessary money to Earthkeepers.  Some discussion ensued with whether SGA should pay the full amount of the conference fees or just pay registration fees and have those wanting to attend pay some out of pocket.

Motion 30032011-2 to approve the full cost of registration and lodging ($950) for these students to attend the PowerShift Conference: Hannah S.

Second: Alli

Motion passed

1. SGA Budget: Will shared the recommended SGA budget for the 2011-2012 school year.  He went through each club and the requested/recommended allocations. The biggest change in requested amounts and what we’d like to allocate was with YPCA; they requested $8,000 and we decided to allocate $6,000 and encourage them to try to find Y-trips that don’t require such high transportation costs.  In the case of a student-initiated Y-Trip, YPCA can also come back to SGA with an additional funding request.  YPCA also helps with scholarships and other activities around campus.  Another concern was the large amount of money given to Common Grounds; however, that is a valuable center of student activity and would not be sustainable on its own.  We therefore feel it is a worthy place for our money.

Motion 30032011-3 to approve the recommended 2011-2012 budget as presented to the senate: Sarah

Second: Janelle

Motion passed 17-0-1

1. VII.      Open Floor

-Hannah W. and Alli shared that 3 of the 4 professors (Jeanne Horst, Tom Joyner, Lynn Mackey) have agreed to participate in the faculty forum on April 18^th at 8:00 in Common Grounds.  They are going to ask the 4^th professor tomorrow and once they have a final word from him they will begin advertising the event.  A special thank you to Hannah and Alli for working on this and setting it up!

-Michael shared that he and Ben shared with the Board of Trustees last weekend and shared our strategic plan with them.  They were very affirmative of our work and appreciated all that we have done this year!

-Alli shared that she got an e-mail from Brian Martin Burkholder as part of the Lectureship committee; he was wondering about possible suggestions for speakers for the Student Lecture Series for next year.  Go to Alli with any ideas!

1. VIII.      Adjournment

Motion 30032011-4 to adjourn: Janelle

Second: Hannah S.

Motion passed

Meeting adjourned (10:06)

smb 03/30/11

March seems to have come and gone about as quickly as VA snow can in the
midst of 60 degree weather.

And here we are, reflecting on another eventful month in the SGA. We
elected new members of the executive committee who will lead the SGA next
year: Nel Akerson and Mariah Elliott as Co-Presidents, James Souder as VP,
Dan Sigmans as Treasurer, and Alli Eanes as Secretary. Congratulations
again to them.

SGA helped with volunteering at the Calling and Career day, which was
another successful day in bringing organizations in for students to talk
with. It also gave students opportunities to review their resumes, have
practice interviews, and attend informative seminars. Special thanks to
Amy Springer and Jen Litwiller and others for their work on this day.

We also volunteered at the Commons Phase II dedication, where many guests
were on campus to view the grand opening of the renovated Commons and have
a special dedication service.

The Board of Trustees was also present this past weekend for their
semester meeting. SGA reported to the board to update them on current
happenings, and the Board affirmed our work.

SGA has also been working with a new strategic plan. We have approved
this working document within the Senate as a way to have larger, long-term
projects. This document will be passed on over the years, with chance for
revision at the end of each term. You can find the document attached if
you would like to review it.

Remember to take advantage of the outstanding Attachment Conference coming
up…it is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

May you all finish out the semester strong. Stay focused, and have fun as
spring arrives!