The final Student Governing Association meeting was marked by tardiness on Thursday. After starting 30 minutes behind schedule, the meeting lasted until the early hours of Friday morning. The meeting addressed all end-of-the-year business, including voting on the remaining bills and giving commendations to various students and staff.
Cody Kennedy, junior in education, thanked the entire Student Senate for affecting various student groups on campus through their work with SGA this year.
“I learned how committee meetings run and [enjoyed] seeing the effects of SGA on the student body from the allocations to various student groups,” said Megan Walden, senior in industrial engineering and communications chair. Walden said she also appreciated the opportunity to lobby for students in Topeka. “I wouldn’t trade this experience for a thing.”
Intern Sierra Davila, sophomore in music and psychology, echoed a similar sentiment.
“The experience was 100 percent positive,” Davila said of her internship. “It opened my eyes to what SGA is and does for the university. I really saw the positive impact that it has on students’ lives.”
Commendations were given to Leaders in Freshman Engineering; the women’s basketball team; Bruce Schubert, former vice president of administration and finance; Cindy Bontrager, interim vice president of administration and finance; Kent Kirby, assistant director of undergraduate affairs in the biology department; Student Body President Nate Spriggs’ presidential cabinet; SGA’s various officers, committees and the elections commissioner; speaker of the Senate Emilee Taylor and speaker pro tempore Kyle Nuss; and Brett Seidl and Chelsea Gerber, heads of the Your Union campaign.
Bills that were debated and voted on during the meeting included allocations to
the Brazilian Association to hold Portuguese classes for students; to the Chinese Student Union to hold the Mid-Autumn
Festival; to International Buddies to hold a game night; to the Poize Hip-Hop Dance Team to hold a spring dance; to Creative Arts Therapy Students to travel to
a drama therapy convention; and to students with
Fulbright Scholarships to travel to Kansas City for training sessions. The results of the vote on these bills and the remaining bills for the year were unavailable as of midnight on Thursday.