SGA Update: “We the Middkids” Invites Student Opinions

The Student Government Organization (SGA) held meetings on Sunday, March 10 and Sunday, March 17.

Finance Committee Report and Compromise

On March 3, the SGA approved every section of the Finance Committee Report, except the section pertaining to transportation reimbursement. A proposal was made to reduce the driving reimbursement to $0.24 a mile, but a compromise was reached to raise that value to $0.35. This final section of the Finance Committee Report was approved unanimously.

Housing Update

Doug Adams, associate dean of students and chair of the Residential Life Committee, spoke to the SGA about housing. There are no major upcoming changes regarding housing at the College. There could be changes in the future dealing with new residence halls, but nothing has been determined at this point.

Election of a New Feb Senator

Evan Allis ’15.5 has been elected to the newly created position of Feb Senator. He attended his first meeting on March 17.

We the Middkids

Chief of Staff Anna Esten ’13 and Senator Hasher Nisar ’16 helped create a new online petition system for students to address their concerns about the College.

“I’m very excited by the potential of We the Middkids to fill a communication gap between the SGA and the student body,” wrote Esten in an email.

“Oftentimes students don’t have a venue to share their ideas or suggestions unless they personally know a Senator,” she added. “I hope this will give every student the opportunity to pass their concerns on to the SGA and will give the SGA a better sense of what the rest of the student body wants and needs.”

Senators urged that the student body use the new website seriously so that legitimate concerns can be raised and addressed.

Re-Evaluation of Increased Parking Fines

Junior Senator Killian Naylor ’14.5 sponsored a bill titled “A resolution in support of the re-evaluation of fines for parking in faculty/staff designated spaces.”

The main concern of the bill was that parking fines had been raised from $10 to $50. Naylor argued that many parking tickets are a result of innocent mistakes, and that it is unfair to students to increase rates by 500 percent. He suggested that fines be changed to $25.

“A 500 percent increase seems too drastic and, given the complicated and intricate rules surrounding parking, excessive for what is often an honest mistake,” said Naylor.

SGA President Charlie Arnowitz ’13 added, “I think the $25 fee that the SGA suggested represents a good compromise between setting the right incentives and not overcharging students who end up making a mistake. $25 is a significant enough disincentive and is on par with almost all of our peer schools.”

Ultimately, the SGA approved Naylor’s bill unanimously, and it will be recommended to Public Safety that parking fines be reduced from $50 to $25.

The Email Revolution Resolution

Arnowitz proposed a bill titled, “The Email Revolution Resolution.” The bill proposes to allow students to subscribe and unsubscribe to whatever emails they like from Middlebury accounts. The SGA approved the bill unanimously with little debate.