The Student Government Association discussed a variety of issues and passed two motions, including the allocation of additional funds for Spring Concert, at its meeting Monday night.
The Senate, with 37 of its 50 members in attendance, approved a motion allocating $50,000 of its excess funds from the current fiscal year to the University Programming Council (UPC) to fund a third music artist and cover costs to the Mullins Center.
In another motion, the SGA unanimously supported MassPIRG and its coalition in advocating for the “Bottle Bill,” which will appear on November’s ballot. The bill expands the 5 cent deposit on carbonated beverage bottles and cans to include other drinks like water, sports beverages and iced tea.
President Zachary Broughton announced the formation of a committee that will recommend improvements to the amount of space on campus reserved specifically for students to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.
Broughton also mentioned the possibility of using spaces like The Hatch eatery and the Curry Hicks Cage for students as they become vacant after renovations to Blue Wall and the construction of the Champions Center.
SGA and CEPA representatives will be raising awareness for the 5 Votes for Student Trustees petition at a table in the Campus Center on Tuesday.
The University currently has five trustees on the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, but only two of the five have voting rights.
Senate Speaker Sionan Barrett announced that Student Activities and Involvement (SAI) will be providing a bus for UMass students to attend Saturday’s men’s basketball game at the University of Rhode Island.
Tickets for the bus and the game will cost students $10 and the bus will depart from Haigis Mall at 11 a.m. For more information, students can visit umass.universitytickets.com.
Elizabeth Chilton, co-chair of the Joint Task Force on Resource Allocation, presented the University’s plan to change the way it receives and distributes funds.
Chilton called the current model “very centralized” and “complicated” and said that the University is undertaking a series of steps to receive feedback and suggestions to shift to a “more decentralized” model.
Open Senate meetings are held on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center, room 163.
Eric Bosco can be reached at [email protected]
