SGA President Mimi Rothfus brought forward a resolution Wednesday calling for a $15,000 contribution to Housing and Resident Life’s upcoming projects. This amount of money included in the resolution is for renovations and possible upgrades coming next year for the Lovernich common area, and possibly new Towers exercise rooms. The resolution was tabled for further discussion at next week’s meeting.
The amount proposed constitutes more than one-third of SGA’s remaining budget.
“This is a lot of money, but it would really mean a lot in the grand scheme of things,” Rothfus said.
With $41,042.01 left in the SGA annual budget, this resolution’s passing or rejection could lead to drastic changes for SGA and campus life. SGA still has more class events and other policy initiatives to possibly fund in the upcoming weeks.
Rothfus was open to hearing amendments to the resolution from other senators after reading the policy’s details. The conversation surrounded concerns about exactly what the money would be used for. Rothfus contended that the amount in which SGA contributed to HRL would signal how much the housing project changes truly mean to SGA as an organization.
The senate members agreed to give $10,000 of the $15,000, if the resolution passes, to HRL for “bare bones” renovations. Bare bones consists of new carpet, new furniture and the repainting of the new Lovernich common area, according to Rothfus.
“This is a large part of our budget, but could be good spending,” Vice President of Finance Jessica Thompson said.
Last semester SGA gave HRL $2,000 toward common space in Lovernich.
The discussion that evolved after the resolution’s introduction soon spiraled into a debate on what constituents would want most from the new HRL efforts.
Since only $10,000 of the funding has been earmarked for specific use, the SGA members discussed the remainder of funding suggested in the resolution. The $10,000 is for the preliminary moving of Special Programs and the creation of the Lovernich common area. Discussions then began on what the remaining $5,000 would fund.
Sophomore Keb Doak emphasized that collected student surveys showed data on student’s concerns with gym facilities and the lack of exercise space. He thus advocated that the student’s wishes be fulfilled by making the exercise rooms the first priority. Doak also noted that a hot tub would serve a smaller portion of the student body, as it would only be available to so many at once.
Junior Senator Patrick Moan offered a few opposing ideas. Moan said he believes the gym could become obsolete fairly quickly. The Towers gym rooms would be exclusively for juniors and seniors living on campus, and other members pointed out that the newer Campus Life plans have detailed new exercise space for athletes and non-athlete students.
“I find this amount acceptable because this is long-lasting,” junior Senator Jordan Womack said. “This [HRL project] will probably impact student life for the next 20-plus years.”
Womack also emphasized that SGA has spent a significant amount of money on single class events this year, whereas the resolution in question will ultimately affect a majority of the student body. “I see this as what SGA should be focusing on funding wise,” he said.
HRL expressed that a contribution from the SGA was needed and could help assist in more renovations with the housing projects. The new housing changes and advancements have been SGA initiatives for the past couple of years.
Rothfus offered to amend the resolution by adding a line to specify what the extra $7,000 would go to directly once received by HRL.
