In the Big 12 Room of the K-State Student Union last night, the Student Governing Association met to pass legislation and make commendations in an unusually long meeting to prepare for the end of the senate term.
The meeting featured a visit from K-State Athletics to inform the senate that there are only 324 iCat passes remaining for the 2013-14 school year. This is the fastest that the passes have ever sold, and it is unlikely that any incoming freshmen will receive the passes when they go on sale in June.
The majority of the meeting was spent discussing a bill that was sent through special orders, meaning it was introduced and voted on in the same meeting. The bill proposed moving funds from a reserve account to the allocations account because the allocations committee has already used all of its funds for fiscal year 2013.
“We’ve run out of money. We have gone over the set budget,” said Nathan Laudan, junior in food science. “I’m struggling to take money out that could be used for an emergency.”
Hannah Miller, senior in agricultural economics, said the reserve is there because the allocations committee has saved money in the past, so that money might as well be passed on to the students and groups requesting funds.
“We’ve not been overgenerous; we’ve not been over-stingy either,” said Stephen Kucera, member of the allocations committee and sophomore in applied music.
The bill passed, which means that the allocations committee will have the funds to finish out the school year and will not have to reject all requests.
New bills introduced included an update on the campus smoking ban and legislation limiting pay for some student workers to minimum wage.
The meeting also included allocations for an event to promote physical fitness, a cultural soccer tournament to be held by the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, a Take Back the Night event sponsored by Gamma Rho Lambda and an event to raise awareness for the global water crisis.
SGA also approved various commendations during the meeting. These commendations recognized Lori Gilmore, who has aided the allocations committee in keeping track of funds over the years; the KSU Mock Trial Club for their accomplishments during the year; the Black Student Union for winning the most outstanding Black Student Union in the Big 12; John English, dean of the College of Engineering; and the men’s football and basketball teams for each winning a Big 12 title, as well as various members of each team for their individual accomplishments throughout the season.
The Student Governing Association will have their penultimate meeting of the year next Thursday, April 4 in the Big 12 Room of the Union.
