The Slippery Rock Student Government Association (SGA) failed a motion Monday that would have given 3.75 percent of graduate funds currently governed by SGA to the Association of Graduate Students.
Because AGS is not recognized by SGA, they would have been breaking policy by giving funds to AGS.
According to Michael McCarter, Speaker of the Senate, the motion would have meant treating AGS differently than any other organization on campus.
“If this were to pass, we would be giving AGS a special preference,” McCarter said.
The main reason the motion was shot down was because of a lack of information and research.
Brad Kovaleski, SGA Advisor, clarified some points for the senate.
“The motion isn’t creating a riff or separation,” Kovaleski said, “It’s just a band-aid for this year until the idea of an AGS can be further explored.”
Kovaleski explained that AGS is just a population of students who wants their own governing body, and they are seeking an opportunity to show what they can do with a budget.
Vice President of Financial Affairs Ben Motyl is presiding over the committee that is exploring the possibility of the separation of AGS from SGA.
The 3.75 percent of graduate students funds, which comes from a student service fee that every student pays (with the exception of certain online students), would have amounted to around $5,700, according to Senator Rogers Clements.
While most senators agreed that the number was relatively small compared to the nearly $150,000 that comes from graduate student fees, the Senate still believed that more research needed to be done before considering giving AGS any money.
“Discussion is moot until we discuss in the AGS committee and in informal senate,” Senator Anthony Plumberg said.
An additional motion that was discussed, and later tabled, at the Monday evening SGA meeting was the implementation of a club and organization event review form.
According to Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Henry, every organization would have to fill out a form when asking for money specifically for an event.
“The form gives us a good way to look at past events, and see how groups are changing,” Henry said. “The form needs some work and is currently in its rough draft stage, but eventually it will be beneficial to SGA and to organizations alike.”
The Vice President of Internal Affairs Kelly Moore also announced the way homecoming court will be processed this year.
According to Moore, a candidate must either be represented by an organization (with a maximum of two candidates per organization) or they must collect a certain amount of signatures on a petition.
“As long as the candidates meet the GPA requirements, they will be included on the ballot,” Moore said. “The entire campus will vote on every person.”
Moore said that the homecoming court will be announced at the pep rally on the Friday night of homecoming weekend, and the winner will be announced the next day during the football game.
