EMU SGA

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

10th of April 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:39 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

a. Welcome to new 2013-2014 exec. – New exec and this year’s Senators will be recognized next week in Chapel.

b. Campus Pastor Candidates (April 15, 19, 22) – Ken spoke that they are bringing in candidates for campus pastor position. The first candidate is Carmen Schrock-Hurst.  Student leaders will be meeting with each from 12:15-1:00pm on the day they are here. SGA in encouraged to attend chapel as well as the lunch meeting. James Ellis is the second candidate. The third candidate is Lana Miller.

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Librarians talking about drinks in the library – Stephanie Bush and Jennifer Ulrich came to determine if drinks in the library should be offered and how SGA might support this endeavor. They are thinking of selling coffee there to be more convenient for students, but do not want to compete with Common Grounds. They are thinking of having a trial period to sell during times when Common Grounds is not open to see how popular it is. They have thought about working with Common Grounds for such a project. Senators had differing opinions if this is a need on campus and if they should have a trial run. A trial run would be best for the fall was the common consensus.

b. Phoenix Funding Request – Brendan Erb and Hannah Patterson came to ask SGA for $1000 in order to print more copies to distribute across campus. They have thought about more electronic copies (one is currently online), but hard copies are more widely seen. The new copy is of a bigger size. Currently 260 are in print, and they would like to print 250 more (at a cost of $4 each). They are distributed to students for free. It will be released this year on April 18. Last year they printed 500 and ran out (most of which went to current students). Seth made a motion to give them the $1000 with the stipulations to increase student access, next year consider putting in an ad to cut the costs, and document the distribution of all the copies (such as which departments get which). Becca seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

c. Funding Request, Games in the Library – Elias brought a list of games that were voted on Facebook. The total cost of the games people suggested came to $307.09. The library wants to put these in heavy-duty bags ranging from 3 to 10 dollars. So for 15 games, that would be around $100. The total request is $400. Becca made a motion to approve the funding request for $400. Christine seconded. Motion passed.

d. Final Budget Allocation Vote –ISO requests an additional $1500 this year to help with costs and raising awareness on campus. Zach said he would be willing to subtract $500 from Student Lecture Series and giving it ISO. Peace Fellowship also asked for an increase to $800 since they are an active club on campus and could use money for more on-campus events in collaboration with other clubs as well as helping bring in other speakers. John motioned to approve the budget. Matt N. seconded. Motion passes unanimously.

7. Open Floor

a. Carissa had a Cross Cultural Committee meeting. They talked about who might take over the open position. The current group in Colombia is split up with different MCC workers right now. The committee is also waiting for 2016 proposals.

b. Carissa also announced that this week is the last week for Friday announcements.

8. Adjournment

a. Tyler made motion.

b. Chantelle seconded.

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

3rd of April 2013 

“Never, never, never give in!”

-Winston Churchill

1. Call to Order – at 8:45 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

a. F/S Appreciation Days (April 8 & 9)

b. Sign-ups for Springfest (April 19)

c. USO lunch tomorrow – UC 176 12:05

5. Old Business

a. Matt M- USO Funding – Matt is requesting $500 from SGA, half to subsidize student tickets and half for the event itself. Julia made a motion to give the full $500 to ISO. Tyler seconded. Motion passed.

6. New Business

a. Jim Yoder- Carnival de Resistance – Jim came as part of QEP to give a brief overview of the event. He is looking for feedback of what student reaction will be and concerns QEP has. An environmental and social justice art festival is the best description of the event. It is being organized by four people. They are convening 20-25 artists to live in a spot for nine days. If EMU was to host they would be here September 14 or 15 for nine or ten days. The main area would be on the quad where they will have a tent for their big performances. There will be two big performances on both weekends they are here. Before and after they have a midway with games to educated around peacebuilding and sustainability. They will set up a temporary village where they will live and exercise simple living.  They do not want to use any of EMU’s energy but will use bicycle generators and such. They hope to engage with the host community (EMU) and other community organizations and such. Main concerns are the length of time and the time in the semester. Senators seem to be in support of such an event.

b. CAC Music list- choose 12

c. Erika- Park Cabin Funding – Erika came asking $400 to help with more supplies, furniture, and food/misc. Christine motioned to give the $400. Matt N. seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

d. Harrisonburg Immigration Rally-Carol Snell-Feikema – Obama put through a proposal and there is also a bipartisan proposal and in support, there is a huge rally to take place in D.C. However, there will also be a rally next week on Wednesday, April 10 at 6pm because the chair of judiciary committee in the House is Representative Goodlatte is a key person and is based here in Harrisonburg. We want to encourage him and let him know that his constituency is in support of comprehensive immigration reform. She would like SGA to endorse this rally. Erika said she will bring it up at the USO meeting as well as send out an all-campus email. We will also work to put out flyers and table tents in the cafeteria.

7. Open Floor

a. Elias announced that library people are coming next week to discuss hot drinks in the library.

b. Erika announced that the final club budget approval will take place next week.

8. Adjournment

a. Andrew made motion.

b. Tyler seconded.

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

27th of March 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:37 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

5. Old Business

a. CAC Band Recommendations – Hannah is getting a list together from recommendations that people emailed in. Senators were encouraged to get involved. John and Kyle volunteered.

b. SLS and Rachel Held Evans – The Intellectual Life Committee wants to bring in Rachel Held Evans who would cost $4000. An issue not to invite her is that she is not as well known with college students. However others mentioned that if we advertise it well, she seems to be very relevant to college students, especially when it comes to some harder faith issues. John made a motion to grant $2000 to the Intellectual Life Committee to bring Rachel Held Evans to campus. Christine seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

6. New Business

a. Executive Elections Help – Only a couple of people have shown interest in the vice president position so SGA needs to nominate all the other positions. Senators worked to come with different names for the different open positions.

 b. Strategic Planning Committee - Christine went this week and listened to discussion between Goshen, Bluffton, and EMU about long-distance learning through WebEx. Courses being discussed are sociology and will start fall 2014. Business masters programs for distance learning also being discussed. The next topic was a Leadership Conference that took place at Laurelville. There was also an update from faculty senate about concerns about administration about their role of teaching and not much support for being spread thin.

c. Cross Cultural Committee – Carissa went and said they talked about Deidre  possibly leaving for the undergraduate dean position. They said the semester long program is becoming more popular. The CASAS contract will not be the same so EMU can travel to different places in Latin America.

7. Open Floor

a. Matt M. brought a funding request for ISO. He wants the annual fundraiser dinner to be bigger and has reserved half the gym for the event. This year’s theme is “Breaking the Chains: Ending Modern Day Slavery.” Speakers and musicians come from the student body. Matt hopes that SGA will buy some tickets to give away in order to encourage more students to buy tickets. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for community members. Becca suggested that we subsidize all the tickets, instead of giving some away free. Zach             suggested SGA would cover $2 of the $5 student cost. Matt will come back next week with exact numbers.

b. Mariah brought up that she has walked through dorms and seen horror/torture movies being shown in public lounges that can be disturbing to people walking by.  Mariah doesn’t want to take away the freedom to watch any movie, but is uncomfortable when they are played in such public areas. Ken brought up that in the CLC, we have the power to speak up in situations that make us uncomfortable.  

c. John brought up that there is a business event occurring in Harrisonburg, where students can present ideas to investors. Three students are going and John was wondering if they could possibly get SGA funding. Erika suggested going to departments or the Dean’s office. SGA money usually goes directly to open student events.

8. Adjournment

a. Andrew made motion

b. Tyler seconded

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

20th of March 2013

The difficulty lies not so much in developing

new ideas as in escaping from old ones. -John Maynard Keynes

1. Call to Order – at 8:46 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes - Minutes passed. 

4. Announcements

a. Park Cabin Workday: Erika passed around a sign-up sheet for Friday’s workday and to sign up to bring food for the community volunteers.

b.  March 26th UG Dean Meeting: Next Tuesday 8pm in Common Grounds meeting with Deirdre Smetlzer Erb. Hannah would like a few people to commit to come and chat.

c. Executive Elections: Petitions are due back the 25th, elections on the 2nd. Exec officers will start training for the last month of the semester.

5. Old Business

6. New Business

a. Doug/CAC concert planning: Doug Wandersee and Cody Walker from CAC asking about performing arts series and Joshua Radin concert and what our input/advice would be for next year. Doug provided info about EMU’s agent. They discussed the pros and cons of PAS vs concert. brought list of artists in the $10,000-20,000 range; questionnaire from last year had students favoring PAS 55% to 45%, so they want to revisit the idea of a concert. students are coming to events because it’s the PAS and recognize that quality even if they aren’t familiar with the acts. Carissa asked Doug what they wanted from SGA; Doug wants guidance: do we want a large act or PAS? Matt M suggested sending out a new survey. If we do a large concert, how do we go about choosing an artist? Go through list from agent and of the artists that will be touring next year and matches their tour date and our facilities and then ask students. Even if we have our artist, we need a back-up or two. Chantelle said she preferred PAS because it was spread out and not once and done. Andrew liked the community turn out of big events at Hesston and would like that community feel at an EMU concert as well. Carissa said it might feel repetitive to have only PAS; Matt Naf likes the spread out PAS but thinks there should also be a large act every few years. Hannah said she thinks students like big events now and then as a visual of where their money is going. Erika highlighted Carissa’s point of a concert making a PAS refreshing. Overall senate feeling towards a concert. Matt M suggested putting a Facebook poll/update to help narrow down an artist. Doug needs decision by end of April; concert at earliest next fall, possibly next spring. CAC is severely understaffed this year and needs volunteers for Springfest April 19 and Cody passed around sign-up sheet.

b. Intellectual Life/speaker sponsorship: Tara Kishbaugh; Brian Martin Burkholder and others contacted IL committee about hosting Rachel Held Evans (from TN) her fee is $4,000 for two speaking events; out of budget, would there be other groups interested in contributing to her fee? She is a blogger and a writer chronicling her faith struggle and embracing tough questions; also what does it mean to be a woman Biblically? Tries to take approach that there are many commands about what it means to live correctly and we all pick and choose and then cover it up and don’t talk about it. Would like for her to speak in chapel and then do a follow-up chat later in the evening. Tara wants to know if others are aware of her? Tara would like her to talk more than just about her book, but also why youth leave the church and why some choose to come back. For Spring 2014; IL only has $1,000, would SGA be interested in helping to fund her? Tara doesn’t need decision right away, next IL meeting is April 2nd. Tara wondered if we thought Rachel would be generationally appropriate. We have the money to work with but would the students be interested? Matt M had concerns about overall campus involvement. We’ll look at blog then discuss it again next meeting.           

c. Questions for Townhall meeting: Zach sent Loren, Ken, Daryl, and Nancy 5 questions that we had as of Tuesday. Zach would like us to brainstorm more questions: Reflections on how the university has changed in the last 10 years; why do we offer so few languages if we have such a focus on being globally aware? What is the Master Plan? Ask each of them what they think the most interesting portion of the Master Plan is. Why aren’t their financial incentives for students to be more sustainable? Why aren’t we making institutional changes? 

d. Faculty Appreciation Day: April 8th and 9th; a class is already planning a faculty panel on 8th but might be moved to 9th. Meg, Becca, Carissa volunteered to help with poster/cards. Becca mentioned that setting out flowers and smartees helped bring awareness to faculty appreciation. Elias volunteered to help Erika with that. ask Molly about taking pictures outside of caf for dress like a professor day. Becca suggested a baby/teenage picture guessing contest.

e. Funding Request-Andrew Penner: Eldon gave the amount of $500 to put up lights in sand volleyball courts. Money goes to cover the cost of the concrete bases, conduit, and the wire. Hopefully they’ll be up by the end of the school year, but we aren’t sure of the timeline. Zach made motion to approve $500 funding request. Becca seconded. Motion passed.

7. Open Floor

8. Adjournment

a. Becca made motion           

b. Christine seconded

c. Motion passed.

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.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

30th of January 2013 

1. Call to Order – at 8:42 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes – Minutes passed.

4. Announcements

a. Dinner with Pat and Loren – March 13^th at 6pm with some vegetarian options being available.

b. Sign-up sheets were passed around again.

6. Old Business

7. New Business

a. Peace Fellowship Funding Request – Krista Nyce brought up the request for the annual Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship Conference for $475. $75 is to help cover part of the registration fees and then $200 per car (for two cars). Participants are paying $20 out of pocket to go. This conference has been funded always in the past by SGA. Becca gave the motion to give the full amount of $475. Matt M. seconded the motion. Motion passed.

b. Committee reporting – Meg went to the Strategic Planning Committee today where they talked about fundraising for the new Science building. They need about $2 million more of the $7 million budget. Building should be done if fundraising and renovations go as planned in 2016. Right now they are trying to make connections with wealthy alumni.

8. Open Floor

a. Andrew brought up that the Athletic department cannot help fund sand volleyball lights and gave other ideas of ways to fundraise. He was unsure what the final cost would be. Phys plant already has poles, which are the most expensive part. Hannah suggested having students volunteer for Pioneer.

b. Becca and Carissa went shopping for the Encouragement Corner. Molly is working on a sign to make it for visible/colorful. Carissa suggested making postcards from SGA to send students for encouragement.

c. Elias met with library committee about board games to be checked out. They are open as long as SGA funds it and does inventory. Elias also asked about keeping the library open later for finals week as long and they said SGA would have to be willing to staff it. This idea was shot down by several people.

d. Zach reported that the Administration Transparency Committee were going to try to schedule a town-hall meeting. Molly suggested a warm month and hold it on Thomas Plaza. Others brought up that that might be too late in the semester. Zach suggested a couple of weeks after Spring Break.

e. Carissa wanted suggestions for the Opinion Board. She also brought up that the SGA Office does not have a single pen. Carissa also hopes to post more on the facebook page and make the Opinion Board mostly online.

f. Erika brought up that the WeatherVane is still willing to give SGA a box. Meg and John said that they could help write sometimes.

9. Adjournment

a. Becca made motion

b. John seconded

c. Motion passed.

Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

23rd of January 2013

1. Call to Order – at 8:35 pm

2. Roll Call/Prayer

3. Approval of Minutes

4. Announcements

a. Dinner with Pat and Loren:– Senate decided to meet on March 13 at Pat and Loren’s at 6pm and not have a regular Senate meeting that night.

b. Sign-ups – Sign-ups for Office hours were sent around, as well as contact information, snack sign-ups, and committee sign-ups

6. Old Business

a. Basketball Club – The Senate from last semester had made suggestions for their constitution, but they never got back to us with changes.

7. New Business

a. MLK Day Feedback – A lot of people felt that they could not go to events due to classes. Most senators agreed that they would have like to go if they had not had classes. Attendance for Shane Claiborne’s events was high and Carissa remarked that his afternoon forum was especially good.  Table flyers with events were helpful as well as Brian’s emails with links to the website.

b. Committee Forming – The retreat on Saturday spent some time talking about last semester. The rest of retreat was spent working on committees. Hannah talked about ways that committees can continue and not loose momentum as the semester gets busy. She hopes to develop individual goals that people can be working on. 

-The first committee is on Common Grounds and how it can become a more sustainable place.

-The next committee is Administration Transparency so students know where their money is going.

-The third committee is working on installing lights on the sand volleyball courts. John mentioned that they have been in contact with phys plant and the cost will not be too high as long as we do the manual labor ourselves.

-The fourth committee is the Hospitality/Encouragement committee that works to recognize students as well as help with the encouragement corner by the post office.

-Brad then talked about the fifth committee of music in the caf. One idea is to have theme days, as well as play EMU student music. Another outlet we can work on is coordinating communication between SFI (Sustainable Food Initiative) and the caf. Tyler shared that Bruce has been in contact with local sellers to buy more local food.

-Molly and Elias talked about the last committee about putting games in the library to check-out. They have already been in contact with the library.

-Christine brought the idea of campuses partnering with SPCA’s and rescue groups to bring animals to campus where students get to hear about spaying, neutering, and rescuing. Students can then also pay to spend time playing with animals like once a semester. Other ideas are a campus puppy.

-Christine also brought up that there is a grad student willing to facilitate a discussion on race and ethnicity on EMU’s campus.

-Ken shared that he wanted to hear more about flash seminars. Erika organized them but it is not an SGA initiative.

-Mariah expressed interest in forming more support groups on campus, especially on mental health or sexual abuse.

-John talked about starting an EMU rugby team. He has a sign-up sheet of 100-150 guys who have expressed interest.

-Ken shared how the EMU president used to hold “town meetings” and if this is a format we would be interested in? He shared that different administrators could come and be open to hearing different questions and giving different reports. This died out, but it is something we could revive as SGA. Senators seemed to like the idea, but worried about the success of such an event. This could go under the Administration Transparency committee.

8. Open Floor

a. Vi brought up the Henry C. Smith Oratorical Peace Contest that is coming up this semester and refreshments are needed. She was asking if SGA would be willing to make something and take charge of that part.

9. Adjournment

a. Becca made motion

b. John seconded

c. Motion passed.