Jared Moses, student president, and Natalie Moore, student vice president.
The University of Memphis Student Government Association met on Thursday evening and unanimously passed its $420,000 budget for the 2016-17 school year.
Student travel consists of $105,000 of this year’s budget and $12,000 was approved for a smart phone application that would allow students to call campus police.
Here are the other issues discussed in this first meeting.
Mr. and Mrs. U of M
Jared Moses, student president, and Natalie Moore, student vice president, suggested that Mr. and Mrs. U of M be held in the fall. They also suggested that students vote for the recipients, in addition to the panel and application traditionally utilized to decide Mr. and Mrs. U of M. They discussed GPA and essay requirements for applicants as well as more official involvement from recipients, but nothing was finalized.
Committees created
Five committees for the year were approved and appointed. Committees serve to write bills for an individual focus area before the bills are presented to the full government association.
Green Fee allocation
Sustainable projects like the TIGUrS garden are funded by the student green fee.
Dan Bureau, chair of the U of M Green Fee, spoke on the initiative’s history, mission, and plans for the upcoming school year. Most students are currently paying $20 per year in Green Fees. There is currently $320,000 allocated for sustainable student projects for 2017. This year, the program has approved funding for nine projects, including five that have received consistent funding and four new projects.Â
Student Travel
Travel bills were approved. The bills allot $1,607 for five students to travel to various academic conferences during the school year.
Restructuring
Justin Lawhead, interim dean of students, discussed merging U of M’s Financial Aid Office and Bursar’s Office into a “one-stop-shop,†but nothing was finalized.
