By Elizabeth Guiten and James Riswick
Staff Writer and Editor in Chief
The adage goes, “Out with the old and in with the new.” This is the current mode of operation as this is the last year the Programming Board will function under the direct jurisdiction of the Student Government Association, having been split from its parent organization by the administration in February. These changes will not come fully into effect until the fall.
“SGA will remain the same — the only change will be that the Programming Board will focus more on events planning,” SGA President Jason Palmer said. “SGA will still have senator-planned class events but their main focus will be more on creating polices that will benefit the student body as a whole.”
When talking about the changes that will take place between the Programming Board and SGA, current Board chair and new SGA President-elect Carl Kasalek said, “Being the current Programming Board director, I see how important it is to have a strong relationship with SGA. As next year approaches with the two groups being separated this relationship is something I strive to maintain.”
The Programming Board will now consist of a Board of Directors made up of non-elected students who must apply for their position. Unlike the current set-up, there will no longer be a single person leading the Board.
Instead, there will be two executive directors of the Board – one in charge of Finance and Administration, and the other in charge of Campus-Community Relations and News. Each will have equal weight within the organization. In the case of a deadlock between the two student executives, final executive control will rest in the Programming Board adviser.
This adviser will be under the jurisdiction of Director of Student Activities Doug Hurley. Within Pepperdine’s administration, Student Activities is a part of Student Affairs under Dean Mark Davis. The adviser has not been named and as of the Graphic’s deadline, there was no date given for the announcement of the post.
In addition to the two executives, the Board will consist of directors for commuter/transfer & outdoor events, concerts, media & technology, school spirit & ongoing events, special events, and two weekend events directors.
Applications for these director positions as well as the executive posts are due by tomorrow to the Student Activities office.
Talks to split Programming Board from SGA began in the summer of 2003 between the SGA E-Board and Student Activities administrators about the Programming Board and its place in the coming school year.
This debate continued into first semester and after much discussion between the incumbent E-Board and Student Activities, the decision was made by the administration that it would be best for the Programming Board to step out from the direct jurisdiction of SGA and function as its own department.
Even though SGA and the Programming Board will now be separated they still plan on being involved in the affairs of the other. To maintain the strong bonds between the two programs, every group meeting will include one representative from the other organization in order to keep everyone updated about upcoming events and current information. In addition to the weekly meetings with group representation, once a month both organizations will meet together for discussion.
While SGA is losing one board, it will be overhauling another next semester in the form of the Administrative Board. Some of the SGA Chairs that this year and in past years have been in either the Programming or Adminstrative boards, have been reorganized, renamed and placed in the remaining SGA board.
Like the Programming Board, the Administrative consists of appointed students who must apply for the position.
These will include an SGA chaplain, public relations director, Convocation director, graphic arts director, sponsorship director, election rules adviser and general Judicial Adviser.
Next year, student funds will be divided so that, $25 will be taken out and the remaining $65 will be given to the Programming Board to fund all of the activities.
For more information about either Programming or Administrative Board positions contact the Student Activities office at ext. 4201.
Submitted April 1, 2004