SGA Update

Author: Revathi Avasarala

In last Friday's Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, the topics of discussion were Finance Committee guidelines and further developments concerning the shuttle service.
The SGA Student Senate plans to revamp the guidelines for the SGA Finance Committee in hopes to cut red tape and make it easier for student organizations with reasonable budgets to receive adequate funding for their projects.
This plan is part of a larger agenda established by the SGA this year to facilitate student voice and make student participation more prominent in day-to-day affairs. The revisions were made in response to a general change in the needs of student groups on campus and a hope to make the Finance Committee guidelines more visible in on-campus events and activities planning.
In a letter to student organization leaders, Student Co-chair of Community Council Ben Labolt '03 explained that an ad hoc committee comprised of student leaders and former Finance Committee members was formed to edit the guidelines' language and policy. Labolt stressed the need for revisions, the SGA's commitment to creating an easier funding process for student organizations and a more effective tool in allocating funds to meet each groups' needs.
Labolt, who co-chairs the committee with Ami Kilchevsky '04, stated that "changes to the finance guidelines have been long overdue." He further stated, "those guidelines that were arbitrary, or didn't allow student organizations to fulfill their goals, were taken out, and the guidelines have been edited to ensure that good ideas with reasonable budgets will receive funding."