The final SGA meeting of the fall 2019 semester began at 8:03 pm on December 4th in the Moore Community Room (ASAC 100).
In Student Body Comments, a question was raised about when the bar in the Hive will start accepting credit cards, and unfortunately, there wasn’t an answer available. A comment came up about the lack of outlets near the outer tables in the meeting room, making it difficult to charge laptops without moving to the corner during SGA meetings. A proposal was made regarding the 24-hour lab being taken away–set up a temporary workstation in each residence hall, complete with a printer, so students cramming for finals will have somewhere to print.
The first presentation of the night was from Amy Wright, the director of Career Services. She gave a summary of the services she provides for students, like helping with job searches and interviews, internships, grad school, and more. She went into more detail about the new Career Closet (which, fun fact, is in the old Critic office!), explaining that it’s open every day and provides clothes for anyone who may not have an outfit fit for a job interview.
Patrick presented after with his financial update. The available SGA budget is $19,916.20, with the total in the account being $53,676.20.
The first in the discussion and action items was a proposal for a new club: the NVU Lyndon Dance Ensemble. The club would be for dancers to come and do their thing. They plan to do recitals each semester to showcase all sorts of dance styles, as well as other events and activities. They proposed a budget of $750 for the year, which would include costume costs, event accommodations, dance-related outings, and refreshments. This budget will be separately proposed at a later date. The Twilight Players added that the dance ensemble has been under their umbrella for a while and that they already have some arrangements like their own budget. The ensemble found that they would be better off as an independent club, as they are outgrowing the accommodations the Twilight Players provide. They got voted in as a new club by the SGA!
The next item was a funding request from MEISA. They requested funding for GreggFest, a two-day music festival held at NVU-Lyndon each year in honor of the memory of Jake Gregg. They originally requested $3,500. $1,500 would be for production needs, like lighting, a Wi-Fi extension, and generators. $1,300 would be for hiring the bands and artists, and $700 would go toward hospitality items like catering and aesthetic repairs. Unfortunately, the request didn’t pass the vote initially, but the floor was reopened for another discussion to give them some funding. With a majority vote, MEISA was given $2,500.
Next up, WWLR came for a funding request. They asked for $6,000 to purchase shirts and other pieces of swag for giveaways, equipment, and licensing. It would also provide some backup in case of an emergency. SGA voted to give them $6,500, which passed.
Katy Ebner and the Adventure Program presented next, also making a funding request. She made a point that she has put a lot of thought into how the program’s budget is allocated, and she asked for $6,000 for 2 trips, each one week long, in January and February. The SGA voted to give the program $2,000.
Erin Rossetti came up after on behalf of HOPE to decide on a donation amount for the organization. The SGA voted to give them $750 after much discussion.
Finally, Patrick presented about the Student Activities Fund. This is an account that was created in 2018 with the inception of NVU and contains $97,000. The fund was just discovered a few weeks ago, and the SGA discussed what to do with the money. The SGA decided to table the discussion until the next meeting, which would be in the spring.
The VSCSA will be meeting on December 13th at 5:30 pm in Montpelier. If you’re interested in attending this meeting, contact the SGA via email.
Club and committee updates closed off the meeting. Residential Life reminded students that the residence halls will be closing for semester break on December 20th. If you need housing for any part of vacation, fill out the housing form in your Outlook inbox.
The meeting concluded at 12:02 am. From all of us, we hope you have a wonderful and restful break, and can’t wait to see you next year!