Student Government Minutes January 19, 2004 Call To Order: 5:03 pm I. Welcome, Reading of the University Creed, Motion to Approve the Minutes A. Motion Seconded and Approved II. Guests: Dr. Warren Self and Dr. Norleen Pomerantz A. Discussion of the proposed Internal Governance Review Task Force 1. The last study of RU’s current internal governance system, which is 8 years old, occurred 2 years ago, and the project was met with limited success. The most successful group in restructuring the committees and reducing the numbers of required participants was the SGA. Several University constituent groups now feel that it would be helpful to dedicate time and resources to a concentrated study of our current IG system to determine any necessary modifications to make the system more efficient and less redundant. 2. It is believed by many that now is the best time to start such a task as the University will be coming under new leadership in the next several months. Dr. Covington, who will be retiring as University President in 18 months, supports this review although he has no vested interest in its outcome. Those who support this task force believe that it will benefit the new University President and other leadership officials to have a clear and concise study with proposed recommendations to expedite the restructuring process. 3. Currently, the Faculty, Staff, and Administrative Senates are all in support of undertaking an IG review. All groups agree that at least one student should be involved in representing the student body’s interests on this task force, although the exact makeup of the task force has not yet been decided; this will be jointly agreed upon by the Senate Presidents. 4. The goal is to implement the task force in February 2004 and submit a complete review proposal by January 2005. 5. Dr. Self recommends that Michael Mardis serve on the committee to protect and represent the students’ interest from an administrative standpoint. 6. Discussion: How urgently is this review is needed and will the new President be obligated to follow the recommendations made by the committee? It was reiterated that now is the best time to begin researching potential changes so that the new leadership can tackle the issue from an informed stance. The new President is under no circumstances obligated to follow any or all of the recommendations. An idea was proposed for the committee to investigate IG systems at other Universities to make recommendations about effective and ineffective strategies. III. President’s Report A. Tartan Transit 1. This is a new idea that represents a joint effort between the City and the University to provide a transportation system, mainly for off-campus students. The idea is for a bus to run on city loop from 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm Mondays through Fridays, with 9 off campus stops. This is to provide an alternative for off campus students instead of driving to campus. The project started today. a. Concerns were raised about how effective the publicity was for this project, as many students were unaware of it and it appears that only off-campus students received the informational email. b. Idea proposed to have student input for this project. B. State Update 1. The General Assembly went into session last Wednesday, and a long session is expected. There are two tax reform plans on the floor for review. 2. The LAC trip to Richmond is scheduled for February 4-5, 2004. Please plan to participate in this as everyone’s support is needed; no political knowledge is necessary to participate so please sign up! IV. Executive Vice President’s Report A. Winter Retreat 1. Thanks to everyone for coming to the Winter Retreat last week; it was a successful event! V. Legislative Vice President’s Report A. Elections 1. The following timeline has been set for SGA Elections: * February 23 – Filing Begins at 12:00; Application packets are available in the Dean of Student’s Office or online at the SGA Website. * March 1 – Candidate Information Session in the Blue Ridge Room from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. * March 22 – Candidate Information Session in the New River Room from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. o Current members are encouraged to attend these sessions to help prospective members learn more information about SGA. * March 23 – Filing Ends (applications due by 5:00 pm in the Dean of Student’s Office) * March 24 – Presidential Debate and Meet the Candidates Night in the Commonwealth Room from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. * March 31 – Elections begin at 10:00 am online. * April 1 – Elections end at 5:00 pm. 2. The current IG list was sent around for members to initial and indicate their attendance at these meetings. Please contact Brie if you are having problems with IG meetings. VI. Cabinet/Staff Reports A. Secretary’s Report – Kelly Snead 1. Please sign up for office hours. Every member is required to do one office hour per week. New improvements are being made in the SGA office so that SGA members can feel more productive while working in the office. Office hour sign up sheet was passed around; office hours will begin next week. 2. A new roster was passed around for members to check their information. This roster will be emailed out to all SGA members to promote communication. B. Director of Communication Report – Ashley Mezyk 1. Ashley will be emailing a Tartan reporter every week after the SGA meeting to keep them updated on current SGA events. The reporter plans to put a “SGA BEAT” section in the Tartan when important information is presented or discussed during meetings. C. Director of Publicity Report – Anne Brady Moore 1. Anne Brady attended a UNIV 100 class meeting to speak about SGA last week and several new freshmen expressed interest in learning more about SGA. VII. Council Reports A. HB 65 Legislation – LAC Chair, Shawn Healy 1. Delegate Schuler has introduced legislation proposal House Bill 65. One part of this bill proposes that college students who “take too long to graduate” (i.e. over 2 semesters longer than their degree program) should experience a 20% increase in their tuition. This bill also wants to implement a committee that will review and approve all academic programs at state universities and will have the authority to eliminate academic programs that it deems reduplicated or unsuccessful. Students are obviously not in support of this document. a. Please visit the VA 21 website at www.virginia21.org to sign a petition against this bill. 2. The LAC Richmond Trip is scheduled for February 5. We will be leaving on February 4 around 1:00 or 2:00 pm. All student expenses are taken care of by SGA and LAC for this trip. An informational meeting for those who plan to attend will be on Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00 pm in the Blue Ridge Room. This meeting is mandatory for all who are going on the trip. There is still time to sign up so please contact Shawn if you still want to go. B. BSAC Report – Jennifer Anderson 1. BSAC had a Martin Luther King Day Celebration last week that was very successful. 2. On January 31 to February 1, a retreat is planned to North Carolina to attend a minority leadership conference. 3. A Political Forum is planned for February 16. C. ISAC Report – Kenda Deleon 1. ISAC meetings are Wednesdays at 6:30 pm in the Blue Ridge Room, please attend! D. APC Report – Scott Morton 1. Scott has taken over the Athletic Promotions Council, and a meeting is scheduled for this week to discuss a Pizza Night for the game on January 26 and a Pep Rally for the game on February 7. VIII. Committee Reports A. Library Search Committee has 14 applications now and is in the process of reviewing these. B. The Student Awards Committee is now being lead by Kelly Luther. The next meeting is Wednesday, January 28 at 11:30 am. C. Clubs and Organizations Committee will meet tomorrow; 6 new organizations should be approved. IX. New Business A. Graduate Council Senator – Joey Wilkerson will be handing over this position to someone else. Motion to appoint Mark Rexrode as the new senator. Motion Seconded, floor opened for discussion. Decided to take the motion back to the GSC for discussion and approval. Motion to table this item for next week, seconded and passed. B. Motion made to approve Beth McKay as the new On-Campus Senator. Motion seconded and passed. Congratulations Beth! C. Motion to use $12,000 from the Reserve Account to donate to the Foundation to supplement two Bonnie Hulbert Scholarships for $6000 apiece. This increase is to help defray the cost of tuition increases. Motion seconded and passed. X. Announcements A. A blood drive will be held tomorrow from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Ballroom, please come out for this worthwhile event! B. Kappa Delta Rho is sponsoring a canned food drive for the Women’s Resource Center. Please bring a canned food to Monday’s meeting for this drive. Meeting Adjourned at 6:25 pm.