EMU SGA

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

27th of February 2013

In times of great stress or adversity,

It’s always best to keep busy, to plow

Your anger and your energy into

Something positive.

-Lee lacocca

1. Call to Order – at 8:38 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Faculty appreciation day – Started last year to give acknowledgement to all the hard work and hours our faculty puts in. Last year included cards for students to sign in the staff, dress like your professor day, handing out smarties and flowers, and a faculty forum. Senators suggested having a poster signed for departments. We hope to have this event sometime in April.

b. CAC allocation – An email came from Doug Wandersee wondering what CAC should do for next year in concern to the Performing Arts Series, if they should try for another big name (such as Joshua Radin who came in two years ago), 8 smaller sessions (like the past two years) or cut CAC’s allocation for this portion. Christine spoke up that she thinks the series should continue because students expect it and enjoy it. Elias suggested bringing in a big name again because of the hype it builds on campus. Ken brought up the high cost and investment bringing in one big act costs. John showed interest in one big concert and possibly raising the cost because students would be willing to pay a little more for a bigger name. The right amount of preparation and hype would get the students interested. Becca brought up that since we are using student fees, it would be better to have more sessions because students at least go to one or two per year. Other Senators suggested getting name suggestions from students to see if there would be a group we would want to bring in.

c. Christine went to a QEP meeting, which is a sustainability effort on campus in order for EMU to be reaccredited. This is the third year of a five year effort and they feel like they are currently in a lull. They are planning an event for next year called “Carnival de Resistance,” where people come to campus for theater, music, interactive events.

d. Christine also went to the Strategic Planning Council. The first part of the meeting focused on MCUSA with Ervin Stutzman sharing MCUSA’s “Purposeful Plan.” Then QEP presented on where they are. Creation Care Council also presented about EMU becoming a Carbon-Neutral campus.

7. Open Floor

a. Carissa shared that the new opinion board is up in the caf and she will be decoration it after Spring Break.

b. Becca sent Bruce an email about why cups had been removed from the den for water. She received an interesting response from him that people have been stealing soda instead and he does not want to make the den workers police the soda machine. Erika also brought up that there is a drinking fountain right by the SGA office.

c. Erika brought club binders to be handed out to Senators to give to club leaders. She also gave an overview of the upcoming club budget giving process.

d. Erika gave a Park Cabin update of what is happening and how students will soon be asked to help.

e. Zach mentioned that the first official Town Hall Meeting will occur March 21st in Common Grounds and we will be collecting questions after Spring Break.

8. Adjournment

a. Becca made motion

b. Tyler seconded

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

20th of February 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:34 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Housing – Brandon Waggy came to talk about the issue of limited intentional community living options available for students. Two options that have been opened in the past were Martin and Redmond Houses. Martin House has since been closed and groups the past two years have been denied Redmond due to resident life not allowing coed living situations. Brandon would love to see more spaces available for students wanting to live in intentional communities as well as offer coed living situations; such as they have at Goshen College and other Mennonite colleges. Brandon believes the SGA can get involved as the voice of students. Ken described the reasons for closing Martin as well as zoning issues that have caused problems as the University has tried to find places for intentional communities. He talked about the plans to move departments out of houses into academic buildings and either use the current buildings for intentional communities or rebuild houses specifically for intentional, coed living.  However, these plans come after the Science Center is built and more money is raised. Brandon sees that there is a lack of options for creative living and the situation is becoming worse as a roundabout is going to be built and Redmond House will be torn down. Hannah suggested that SGA members build a task force with interested Senators. Brandon said this would be nice, but also let the University know that this is important to students. John expressed interest in working with this issue.

b. Fund Request – Roberto Wingfield came on behalf of the Ultimate Frisbee club to ask SGA for $200 to help cover the entry fee for a tournament coming up in Maryland. Club members are already going to pay a significant amount to cover transportation, food, and shelter. 10-12 EMU students will be going to this tournament.  Roberto mentioned that the club has been featured in the WeatherVane and they hope to put in another article after the tournament. Becca mentioned that we should give more because they have been such a large, active group on campus. Becca made a motion to grant the EMU Ultimate Frisbee Team $300. John seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

c. Committee Reporting – Meg and Mariah went to Campus Ministries Council. There was an update on Spiritual Life Week, Y-Trips, and a discussion on chapel policy reform. There was also talk about a graduation requirement for Seniors to attend a certain amount of chapels.

d. Brad went to the Intellectual Life Committee. The group is implementing One Book, One School. The book voted on is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for next year. The committee is still discussing how to implement this new plan and ways SGA can be involved.

7. Open Floor

a. Seth brought up that some students have suggested moving the Opinion Board outside the cafeteria to gain more student attention. Carissa has plans to contact Eldon and Bruce about putting up another bulletin board and using that space for the Opinion Board.

b. Elias brought up that the list of potential library games has disappeared from the SGA office. Senators quickly came up with a list of games.

8. Adjournment

a. Becca made motion

b. Christine seconded

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

13th of February 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:40 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

a. Erika encouraged Senators to do their SGA office hours.

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Peace Fellowship Funding Request – Krista Nyce came from Peace Fellowship to ask for $275 to go to The Justice Conference coming up in Philadelphia. Most of the funding has been obtained from the Orie Miller Funds, but more expenses have come up that need to be funded. SGA money would go towards transportation and part of registration. Becca felt that this is something we can support because Peace Fellowship has taken the initiative to get most of the funding from other sources. Becca made the motion to grant the request of $275 to Peace Fellowship. Mariah seconded. Motion passed.

b. YPCA Funding Request – Nels came in representing YPCA asking for $465 to go towards sixty T-shirts produced Laughing Dog for the YPCA 2013 Spring Break Y-Trips. YPCA believes the t-shirts will get the YPCA name out there and build a good reputation for spring break trips and the YPCA in general. Carissa asked about the current costs for Y-trips since YPCA was significantly over last year. Nels reported that the trips are staying more local and costs have been cut significantly this year.  People going on Y-trips mark if they want a t-shirt so we know the t-shirts will be worn. Zach liked the idea to get the YPCA name out there, especially if 50 people wear their t-shirts around campus. Christine made a motion to cover the amount needed for the t-shirts. Matt N. seconded the motion. Motion passed.              

c. Basketball Club Constitution – Glen Nofziger came to the meeting to discuss the new EMU Basketball Club that has formed. Officers of the club are now all in the seminary. They formed a club so they could reserve the gym to play every Friday. They have been playing weekly with attendance up to 75 people. The advisor is David Evans in the seminary. The club is mostly made up of seminary students and CJP, but they are open to anyone wanting to join.  Undergraduate attendance is growing as more people find out they are playing every week. Matt M. made the motion to recommend the EMU Basketball Club to become an official club. Matt N. seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

d. Email Access for Flash Seminar – Erika has been putting together flash seminars where professors lead a discussion on a topic of their choice with 15 students. Erika has been sending out emails through her role as SGA co-president. Since she has been using her SGA access to send out emails, the SGA needs to approve this action. Senators asked if SGA would be endorsing the events by giving Erika access and also if the seminars would continue next year when Erika is gone. Matt M. made the motion to allow Erika to use her SGA access to send out Flash Seminar messages. Meg seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

7. Open Floor

a. Committee Reporting – Carissa went to the Cross-Cultural meeting. The two current groups are doing well. For the 2015/2016 school year a China cross-cultural was approved for the fall and Linford’s trip to the Middle East was approved for the Spring. Other trips were discussed but not approved as they are still trying to find leaders.

b. Kyle went to the Commons Council committee meeting. A main point of discussion was who would get funds if someone rented the group exercise room. They are also going to take down the tennis back drop and put signs up for bikes to be left outside. Bikes inside will be taken by phys plant and then the second time, people will be made to pay a fee.

c. Meg talked about what she wrote for the Weathervane, which has not yet been published.

d. Erika brought a Park Cabin update that asbestos will be removed starting this week and they have already raised $600 more.

8. Adjournment

a. Seth made motion

b. Becca seconded

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

6th of February 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:44 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

a. Meeting with Undergraduate Dean candidate – Lynda Nyce will be here on             Monday, February 11 at 8pm in Common Grounds if people can come.

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Earthkeepers funding request- Melinda Norris came representing Earthkeepers. They are sponsoring a 56 person bus to the Climate Rally in D.C. on February 21. They hope to have people pay only $10, instead of the full $21. The protest is going to be the biggest climate rally in history. 45 students have already shown interest in going. They are asking $150 from SGA to help with the costs. Tyler made the comment that it was exciting that they are sending so many people. Becca made the motion to grant the funding request to Earthkeepers for the $150. Andrew seconded the motion. Motion passed.

b. Park Cabin – Emily Harnish came on behalf of a group of EMU students and faculty wanting to keep Park Cabin open. Park Cabin was recently closed down due to asbestos in the floor tile. Great renovations are needed, but the only reason the cabin is closed is the asbestos. In conversation with Eldon Kurtz and Physical Plant, it was learned that asbestos removal would cost $2400 dollars. Phys Plant is willing to pay 1/3 of this cost ($800). If $1600 can be raised, Park Cabin will reopen. They are requesting $1200 from SGA and doing other fundraising through alumni and other groups. The group is also going to organize student workdays to work on improving the space for many more years of student use. Tyler suggested we give them the entire $1600 to give a bigger push and show the school we care. Becca also worried how much student money they could raise, so it would be good to give them more. Andrew felt that maybe we should see if they can get some money from other departments. Vi said as a department chair, not many departments have extra money. Zach gave the comment that this seems like the perfect way to use rollover since SGA has accumulated over the past years, while Park Cabin has been forgotten. Matt N. made the comment that by giving more than they asked for, it shows less support because not as many students/groups will be contributing. Zach chimed in that this is student money because SGA’s budget comes directly from student fees. Carissa made a motion to approve the $1600 coming from the SGA general budget with the stipulation that they continue to raise funds for other building improvements. Tyler and Christine seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

c. I Remember Dr. King Gallery – Nels Akerson came on behalf of Peace Fellowship, Black Student Union, and YPCA for the MLK gallery in Common Grounds in January.  The event itself went really well. The request is coming late because of a miscommunication about the amount of money in the USO fund. Zach then informed us that the USO account has $2400 in rollover. The Senate agreed that the money should come from the USO budget.

d. MLK Day Shane Claiborne costs – Hannah presented on the exact costs for Shane Claiborne, now that we know all of the costs. The total cost was $1738.28. Elias motioned that we give the amount in full from the SLS. Becca seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

e. Career and Service Day – Amy came asking for help on February 20^th when the annual fair is being held. She would like for Senators to help run the orientation booth. She needs a total of 6 Senators, working 2 per hour for 3 hours.

f. Committee Reporting – Becca went to the Writing Committee meeting this past week and reported on current discussions on The Everyday Writer and if they should switch to an online writing handbook.  

7. Open Floor

a. Brad talked to Bruce this past week. Bruce said that SGA would have to approve all the music and figure out what to play, but gave the green light. Bruce was also very open to get more student art on the walls and possibly having a competition for students to submit their art. The caf will also be expanding in the next couple of years. Ken addressed that the renovations will cost $3 million, with Pioneer Catering provide a third, fundraising a third, and borrowing a third. The timeline for this project is not in the next year, but it would be good to begin to get student input. The architect is happy to come talk to SGA.

b. Meg is writing a short update for the WeatherVane for this week and is open to suggestions.

c. Christine suggested bringing Michael Shank come in for the Student Lecture Series. He is Senior Policy Advisor and Communications Director for a Congressman and graduated from CJP. Erika suggested she talk to Res Judicata.

d. Carissa encouraged people to help clean up the encouragement corner if they see it is messy. Becca also asked for any old magazines to be cut up.

8. Adjournment

a. Carissa made motion

b. Matt N. seconded

c. Motion passed.