Chief Justice Lane Chisenhall announced that Student Tribunal has rejected Sen. Thomas Murphy’s Act. No. 7 that gives SGA power to vote on Student Organization Council expenditures.
“Tribunal felt like it was a little vague. Wasn’t transparent or just clear with the instructions on that. And then felt like it was just kind of overstepping the reach of Student Government in the interest of Student Government,” Chisenhall said.
Upon clarification, Chisenhall said it was unclear who would be voting on SOC expenditures and who would oversee the process based on the wording of the legislation.
Chisenhall also announced that the Student Tribunal had approved SGA legislation to move SGA’s meeting times from 4p.m. to 5p.m. starting January 2017.
President Ryan Honea announced that 14 senators, over half of the SGA, have not submitted legislation this semester.
“I would like if over half the senate wasn’t removed. Please, please submit legislation,” Honea said.
SGA senators are required to submit at least one piece of legislation by Nov. 14, and have it voted on during the semester or they will be removed from their seat.
Coordinator for Programs and Special Events, Ty Jesinoski, began the SGA meeting as a guest speaker to announce the Nashville Predators had reached out to APSU to sponsor an APSU-themed final game. April 4, 2017. The event would feature mascot interaction between The Gov’ and Predators mascot GNASH, the APSU Dance Team at halftime and possibly lower ticket prices for APSU students.
“I think it should be pretty cool especially as APSU is trying to expand in the region, so having a big night in Nashville,” Jesinoski said. “I think attendance for Preds games is usually 17 or 18 thousand people. All those people would essentially be exposed to our school.”
SGA passed Act No. 6, which would require SGA ballots to include a small biography next to each candidate’s picture clarifying what the candidate hopes to achieve.
Sen. Duane Kessler’s Act No. 9, was also passed which would require SGA to send all legislation under the New Business category be sent to The All State for immediate publishing.
Kessler’s Res. No. 8, requiring hand sanitizing stations in all buildings with classrooms, was tabled until further research was completed concerning exactly who would oversee the installation of the stations and how much the process would cost. His other legislation, which would see the SGA switch to canvas bags instead of plastic cups to distribute candy at G.H.O.S.T., was also postponed so that Kessler could do further research regarding how many bags should be ordered and possibly finding a more cost-effective option.
Resolution No. 11, also authored by Kessler, passed and will see the number of people attending the G.H.O.S.T. event be tracked and recorded so that student organizations would know how much candy to supply to equip the university for preparation of the event.
Act No. 10 was introduced by Sen. Sara Alexander would require multimedia recording of all SGA meetings and documentation, saying that current meeting minutes do not properly detail the contents of SGA meetings.
Sen. Haley Palmeri’s Act No. 11 was also introduced for discussion and possible vote in the Nov. 16 meeting. That would see the creation of an SGA Budget Committee to properly address expenditures of previous years to create a more detailed budget. The budget would need to be approved by a 2/3 majority in the senate.
Sen. Ashlyn Whittaker’s Act No. 12 proposes the idea of SGA sponsoring the annual blood drive on campus and making it a major event to create more awareness.
Sen. Eric Powell introduced Res. No. 12 to write a formal letter to the Pharos Implementation Committee asking for remaining balances on student printing accounts to roll over from semester to semester.
Sen. Dominic Critchlow, introduced Res. No. 13, would send a formal recommendation to the Policy Committee to allow department chairs to approve university-excused absences.
Sen. Jordan Burns introduced Resolution No. 14 to recommend the Physical Plant to replace the street lamps between the Trahern and Sunquist buildings as to make the walkways safer at night.
The next SGA meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 16, in MMC Room 307.
