In came Santa, a disguised vice president Seth Gladysz, with a gavel in his hand to discuss proposals and updates. Soft Christmas music filled the room where the Student Government Association members gathered together for this week’s meeting. Thomas Burgess, vice president of finance, human resources and technology, announced that there had been a miscommunication between SGA, Global Student Programs & Development and Student Enrichment and Intercultural Development about how much funding they would receive.
MONEY MISCOMMUNICATION
GSPD and SEID do not receive a direct percentage of the student fee like other departments, but instead receive a memorandum with a certain amount of money on it. Because GSPD and SEID budget every two years, while SGA makes theirs every semester, the two groups had an outdated memorandum from SGA that was given to them before SGA’s funds decreased. With SGA’s funds being lower than normal this semester, they are struggling to pay GSPD and SEID the $16,500 they had budgeted before their funds dropped. Since it was only a memo, there is not a binding obligation to give the money to GSPD and SEID, but it would be very beneficial to give them the money since they do so much for students, according to president Renee Waller.
Burgess proposed that the senate give GSPD and SEID $5,500 from their contingency budget and an additional $11,000, which was originally given to senators for dormitory improvements. However, this would only suffice for this semester. For next semester, Burgess said he will propose budget cuts next week to put their funds back on track, freeing up enough money to pay GSPD and SEID $14,000, with the Student Missionary Union covering the remaining $2,500. This will be voted on next senate meeting.
REACHING OUT TO STUDENTS
After the announcement from Burgess, the SGA team went out to set up Christmas decorations throughout campus, pass out candy canes to students and sing Christmas carols in front of the library. Decked out in Christmas sweaters and reindeer antlers, the team spread holiday cheer, with Santa following close behind them.
