The Slippery Rock Student Government Association (SRSGA) met at the Robert M. Smith Student Center (SSC) on Monday and voted to approve the appointment of the election commission’s fifth and final seat.
Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs Grant Warmbein motioned to appoint Sen. Gabe Stiles to the 2022 election commission to fill the final seat and ensure there will be no ties in any decisions that the commission makes.
“We had a position open up on the elections commission so, we are hoping to put in Gabe just so if we have any votes on election violations or otherwise, we don’t have an outcome, and nothing gets accomplished,” Election Commission Chair Nic Condon said. “So, we’ll have an odd number of people [on the commission], also Gabe will do a great job on it.”
The motion passed unanimously with no debate.
SRSGA motioned to appoint Mohamad Khalaifa to represent the student body as the Student Appointee to the Presidential Search Committee (PSC) winning an in-person vote by the Senate.
Khalaifa, a junior psychology major at Slippery Rock University and a first-generation middle eastern college student, submitted an application along with Sen. Amanda Brock to be considered for the position.
In Khalafia’s letter to SRSGA, he laid out why he is the best choice for this position.
“Through my own experiences and hearing the stories of others, I believe I have the right mentality to make a justifiable and concise choice for who is qualified of acting on the calls of the student body, standing up for what is right and who will be a president that makes the community feel heard and appreciated,” Khalafia said.
The vote was held in-person through a GroupMe poll.
Seven more clubs
The SRSGA approved seven new organizations which will be the final ones approved for the academic year.
The American Advertising Federation Chapter focuses on working with real life clients and creating advertising campaigns for them.
Allowing students to strengthen their musical skills by improving their intonation, dynamics, rhythm and pulse, the Bassoon Choir organization will also work to develop valuable chamber music skills such as blending, tuning and listening.
Collaborative Faiths is a religious-affiliated club that strives to provide a safe and equitable space for students.
According to a brief provided by the finance committee, the Game Development Club’s goal is to emulate a professional working environment which would similarly be seen in video game studios.
Fixated on expanding the knowledge of Italian culture through a multitude of different activities, the Italian Culture Club wants to create a welcoming environment in order to establish a meaningful tight knit community.
“Essentially, we want our members to enjoy learning about Italian culture while also being given the opportunity to make social connections with fellow members,” the new club said in their statement provided to the Rules and Policies Committee.
The Spikeball Club, open to all students, is looking to promote physical activity through a causal and competitive atmosphere.
The Physics & Engineering Club’s purpose is to maintain and raise the standard of students while enhancing students technical knowledge and professional competence.
Nobody from the organizations spoke during the general body meeting.
New funding initiatives
The senate approved two funding initiatives on Monday night totaling nearly $15,000.
Speaker Hannah D’Egidio motioned to approve the two new initiatives all in one vote.
The first initiative will give $14,678 to the Inline Hockey Club to attend the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) national championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While nearly $5,000 of the funding will go toward national bid dues and travel costs, $9,688 will be spent on lodging.
Parliamentarian Condon suggested amending the financial report before a vote takes place, as there was a correction to the lodging costs due to a misprint on the report.
Senator Braden Brinker challenged the need for the amendment due to the fact that the record was corrected prior to the start of the meeting.
After short deliberation, it was decided by President Mia Graziani that there was no need for an amendment and it was unnecessary to correct the record.
The second initiative was for $275 to the Strengthening Positivity And Reinforcing Kindness (SPARK) Club in order for them to purchase a new tablecloth with their logo on it since the last one was ruined from a previous painting events.
Lastly, SRSGA unanimously approved their minutes from the March 21 formal meeting.
The SRSGA will hold its next formal meeting on April 18 at 5 p.m. in the SSC Theater. For more information, visit their CORE page.
