Student Government Association

Senate Agenda

18th of April 2012

“It ain’t over till it’s over”

– Yogi Berra

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call/Prayer
3. Approval of Minutes- “Motion passed” was added to the end of the budget discussion. James moved to approve the revised minutes. Brandon seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Announcements
   1. Collect Senate Binders- give to Hannah
   2. YPCA
      1. Brian Martin Burkholder presented the funding request. YPCA has a deficit of $5,000 (maybe $5,200—they are not sure yet). Last year they had a deficit of $2,000 and SGA voted to give them the money to balance the budget, but the business office was not notified—the money was not given to YPCA. YPCA did Y-trips this year that were closer to save money, but they still had to spend lots on trips. Also, students were originally supposed to pay $150 for Y-trips to help YPCA cover the cost, but in the end they only paid $110 (because that cost was not told up front), so YPCA ended up paying more than intended. Also, this year the spring service day did not happen for a number of reasons, so the money that normally comes in from that was lost. Brian is requesting that SGA give them $5,000 (or whatever the cost ends up being—it could be more than $5,000) to cover the deficit/balance the budget for next year. Brian was asked if they have a plan for next year to avoid having another deficit—he answered that the spring fundraiser will happen, also students will raise more money/pay more for Y-trips so that YPCA does not have to cover as much. Ken clarified that YPCA historically is great at raising money and does not usually have a deficit. Brian said that if SGA does not allocate enough to cover the deficit they would have to/be able to fundraise next year.
      2. Senators were hesitant to give them the full amount. It was suggested that they do a service day in the fall (to replace this year’s spring service day) to try and close the gap. Some senators suggested $3,500 (especially since the last SGA supposedly promised them $2,000). Andrew made a motion to approve giving YPCA $3,700. Blene seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Committee Reporting
   1. UG Council: James
      1. Talked about faith outcomes/development from each dept. Talked about having a unified EMU arts theology statement and dept. chapels this fall. Discussed possibly getting retention software to log attendance, behavioral reports, etc. all in one place.
   2. ISPC: Tyler
      1.  Talked about their strategic plan and a policy review. Notable changes in policy: personal wireless printers (they are not allowed on campus), IS will be in charge of all domain names on campus (so student clubs cannot have their own websites—should it be included in club handbooks?)
   3. QEP- Elias
      1. They discussed ways to get students to care more about sustainability.
   4. Campus Ministries: Kari, Blene
      1. Discussed YPCA funding, Augsberger Lecture Series (reviewing feedback), how to get undergrads to attend seminary chapels
6. Old Business
   1. Late Night Pancakes- be sure to wear SGA shirts and come on time
7. New Business
   1. Ultimate Frisbee Constitution
      1. They originally submitted their constitution in the fall and were asked to make some changes. The changes were made. Tyler moved to approve the Ultimate Frisbee constitution. Brandon seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
   2. Reviewing Accomplishments
      1. Hannah and Erika will be sending out an all student email including SGA accomplishments from this semester: feedback for the sexuality course, faculty/staff appreciation day, adding funds to the student endowed scholarship fund, funds for the musical, passed constitutions, cosponsored the writing conference, moved to new spaces, changes to the constitution.
   3. Strategic Plan
   4. Student Endowed Scholarship
      1. This is a fund SGA started several years ago to help students who cannot afford to pay all of their tuition. SGA has not given funds to this endowment in a while and we have quite a bit of money sitting in our back account (about $15,000). The exec suggested giving around $5,000. Some senators suggested giving the full $5,000 and others were hesitant and felt more comfortable giving about $2,000 now/giving more later. Ken said that we could add more money through fundraising later if we choose. Senators liked the idea of doing more fundraising next year (and giving less now). James moved to allocate $3,000 to the Student Endowed Scholarship and set aside $2,000 for a potential fundraising event next year. Katie seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
   5. Phoenix Funding Request
      1. This year the printing costs of the Phoenix has gone up so they are not able to print as many copies this year as they have in the past. They distribute it for free and want to print more for next year so they can hand them out to first years, the VACA dept., etc. to make it more visible. They are requesting $800 in order to cover the cost.
      2. It was clarified that next year we allocated them $1,200—also it is supported by the Lang & Lit Dept, but is a separate entity. Senators wondered if giving them $800 to print more was the best way to gain more publicity (perhaps they should explore other options?). They also paid more this year because they expanded the size of the Phoenix so perhaps they should print fewer copies to balance that out? Taylor suggested giving them $400. Carissa made a motion to allot the Phoenix $400 to cover their unexpected printing costs. Taylor seconded the motion. Motion passed.
8. Open Floor
   1. Carissa and Jacob have been attending meetings for the Student Leadership Conference. It will be the last Saturday of Sept. and will be free for all students.
   2. Jacob will pursue the Beehive Collective next fall as it is too last minute to try and get them to come this spring.
9. Adjournment Carissa made a motion to adjourn. Laci seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.