MINUTES
The fifth meeting of the eighth Senate of the Student Government Association of Western
Kentucky University was called to order at 5:02 PM on September 29, 2009 with the Speaker of
the Senate in the chair.
There were of 36 senators present.
The minutes were read and approved.
President – Kevin Smiley
- Arrangements have been made to get provide a ride contracted. It will begin on
Thursday.
- Provide a ride number: (270)776-7777
- We contracted the same company
- We are creating a University Food Services Committee.
- Three students will be sitting on it.
- We’re going to be launching our green teams initiative
- They’re groups of students who are making places more sustainable
- Issues initiative is up and running.
- The weekly out and about outing will be tomorrow 5-7.
- Sometimes we’ll be bringing speakers to Senate.
- I’m looking for students interested in serving in the University Publications
committee.
Executive Vice President – Kendrick Bryan
- I had a student life meeting last week.
- New houses for Sigma Chi and Pike in new lots
- Working with Eric on the student discount initiative
- Provide a ride posters soon in every hall
Administrative Vice President – Justin Thurman
- The first org aid appropriations bill is up tonight
- I’ll be discussing a shuttle to and from the Nashville airport
Speaker of the Senate – Wade Pierce
- We have two bills up for second read
- Keep getting legislation going through
Staff Reports
Chief of Staff: Eric Smiley
- We’re doing western Wednesdays and we get a certain discount for wearing western
gear into certain places
- The textbook subsidy board- we’re going to try to get that going
Director of Public Relations: Angelika Masero (KS)
- She has completed a brochure
- She’s created a Provide a Ride logo and is working on posters
Director of Academic and Student Affairs: Aaron Pawley
-
Make a difference week
We’re talking about campus cleanup
We’re trying to promote the event and we’re talking about creating a poster for it
We’re also trying to find a way to paint the bus stop by EST
Hall of distinguished seniors: we want to have 10 honorees in the fall and 20 in the
spring.
Director of Information Technology: Sarah Howell
- Went to surplus last week and picked up several new computers and we’re updating
many of the computers
- The new website has officially launched
- You’ll find a bunch of new information
- We also are looking for some new pictures, so if you have any let me know
Committee Reports
Academic Affairs: Dave Vickery
- Our first bill is up tonight
- We also have our meeting right after senate
- We’ll talk about the hall of distinguished seniors and scholarships
- Encourage you all to come to our meeting
Campus Improvements: Kaylee Egerer
- Our first piece of legislations is up for second reading
- Emily is here with our design for the mural
- Tonight Aaron is coming to our meeting to talk about make a difference week.
Legislative Research Committee: Eileen Forsythe
- We’re going to be having our meeting on Thursday at 5
Public Relations
- Meeting will be on Thursday in the SGA office
Student Affairs: Currie Martin
- Last week we got the ball rolling and brainstorming
- We’re supporting make a difference week and up till dawn
- We’re trying to promote Western pride
- Tonight we’re going to talk about Kaylee’s endowment fund for injured student
athletes
- We’re going to try to get the Library open a little bit longer
Special Orders
University Committee Reports
Kevin Smiley- Board of regents committee meeting is this Friday.
- Parking ticket committee met today and we overturned 5 tickets
Justin Thurman
- Undergraduate committee met last week. We discussed new majors and minors
Judicial council
Unfinished Business
New Business
Presidential Approvals
Potter College Complaints Committee
Soloman Kisspoor- passed unanimously
There was a motion to vote by Senator Currie Martin. There was a second. The motion passed
unanimously. The vote passed unanimously.
Diversity Enhancement Committee
Kat Michael
There was a motion to vote by senator Kaylee Egerer. There was a second. The motion passed
unanimously. The vote passed unanimously.
University Senate Committee
General Education
Stuart Kenderes
There was a motion to vote. There was a second. The motion passed unanimously. The vote
passed unanimously.
PR Chair
Austin Wingate
There was a motion to vote. There was a second. The motion passed unanimously. The vote
passed unanimously.
Speaker Approvals
Seargant-At-Arms
Bethany Riggs
There was a motion to vote. There was a second. The motion passed unanimously. The vote
passed unanimously.
Old BusinessBill 01-09F: Funding for Florence Schneider Mural Project
There was a motion by Senator Currie Martin to have this bill constructively read. There was a
second. There was a division. The motion passed with two (2) opposed and one (1) abstention.
There was a point of information by Austin Wingate- Do you know exactly what will be painted?
There was a point of information by Kaylee Egerer- There is a paper being passed around with
the painting on it.
There was a request for a friendly amendment by Senator Skylar Jordan to amend the purpose
clause to say “for the SGA of WKU… on the concrete encasing surrounding the garbage
compactor.”The amendment was accepted as friendly.
There was a request for a friendly amendment by Senator Daniel Shaw to move the second
whereas clause to the therefore clause. The amendment was accepted as friendly.
There was a point of information by Senator Skylar Jordan- before last year, be it further
resolved clause was never on legislation so I think it’s ok.
There was a request for a friendly amendment by Senator Dave Vickery “and” should follow the
second whereas clause. The amendment was accepted as friendly.
There was a motion to move into the vote. The motion passed. The vote passed with one (1)
opposition and one (1) abstention.
Bill 02-09-F Bill to Allocate Funding to Purchase Scantron Forms and Blue Books from the
University Bookstore
The Author Spoke about the Bill
There was a point of information by Austin Wingate: Where will these be after we purchase
them?
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery: 15 Residence Halls and other campus
locations. Some might be distributed in the Greek Houses.
There was a point of information by Senator Skylar Jordan: Have you talked to the people at
DUC about this?
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery: No
There was a point of Information by Skylar Jordan: So there is a possibility they might say no.
Will professors accept blue books with a stamp on them?
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery: Why not?
There was a point of information: How do you know which scantron is more important? And Are
we going to buy all three?
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery: We are going to buy all three. We have
determined that scantrons are more widely used than blue books.
There was a point of information by Daniel Shaw- Where are we buying them?
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery- The bookstore
There was a point of information by Daniel Shaw- Have you checked other places to see if they
have a better deal?
There was a point of information bye Dave Vickery- I think it’s kosher to buy from the
University.
There was a point of information by Kat Johns- David Emerson has to approve before you upt
out any type of pamplet
There was a motion by Skylar Jordan to table the bill until the 13th of October. There was a
second.
There was a point of information by Dave Vickery- We have the first round of midterms coming
up so I think we should have them out as soon as possible.
Vashea Swope- we’re trying to do something nice, but I think if we can just put them in the
dorms, that’s a start. I don’t see what the issue is in buying scantrons and bluebooks.
There was a point of information by Eileen Forsythe- also; in the dorms is where most of the
freshman live and a lot of them don’t know they have to bring a scantron. This is good for them.
There was a point of information by Daniel Shaw: I don’t feel comfortable passing this bill
without knowing that we are getting the best deal.
There was a point of information by Justin Thurman: Having investigated this online and
elsewhere, prices are very similar everywhere. The problem with doing it online is that we have
to allocate a much larger amount of money in order for it to be cost effective.
There was a point of information by Skylar Jordan: the vast majority of students aren’t living in
residence halls and aren’t going to residence halls. Commuters are usually looked over. How
are we going to benefit the majority of the students? I just think we need to have more
information.
There was a point of information by Senator Mitchell Stevens- in order for it to be economic, we
should only give the scantrons to smart kids.
The motion to table the bill failed. There were four (4) in favor of this motion.
There was a point of order by Senator Skylar Jordan: are you going to allow someone from exec
to speak during debate?
There was a point of information by Speaker Pierce: yes.
There was a point of information by Senator Skylar Jordan: I think it’s poorly researched. I
would love to have more information.
There was a request to strike the “other convenient campus locations” from the bill for the time
being. There was a second. The vote failed with six (6) in favor, fourteen (14) in opposition and
three (3) abstentions.
There was a motion to end debate by Senator Dave Vickery. The motion passed with one (1)
opposed and one (1) abstention.
The bill passed with two (2) opposed and two (2) abstentions.
There was a motion to suspend the bylaws to approve the allocation and org aid bill to be
moved into old business. There was a second. The motion failed with seven (7) opposed and
eight (8) abstentions.
Announcements
Kevin Smiley
- Green team sheet, if you’re interested let me know
- Congratulations you passed your first bills
- If you think you have a problem, say point of order and then the question
-
Wade Pierce
Make sure I call on you before you speak
The meeting adjourned at 6:05 pm
Ann-Blair Thornton, Secretary of the Senate
Student Government Association
Western Kentucky University