SGA turns stormy

A debate over debt punishments heated up during this week's Student Government Association meeting, leaving the American Meteorological Society unable to reallocate funds to its Northeastern Storm Conference.

Treasurer and representative for AMS Laura Lenfest requested the reallocation of $1400 from the club's sector search van trip and the annual meeting which was held in Seattle last week. Because the club was in debt earlier this year, it experienced a freeze on its funds and was unable to use the money for its intended purposes.

The club has since come back into good standing with the SGA.

"We paid off our debt. We are fiscally clear now," Lenfest said. "Considering what happened last year, we're really worried about being in the same situation we were in last fall after this year's conference, and we really don't want that to happen again."

Student Investment Group representative Andrew Chapin was concerned that allowing the reallocation would undermine the original freeze on the funds.

"This club was fiscally irresponsible last year," Chapin said, motioning to move on, "and as a punishment for that, the budget was frozen. I think that by doing this you're negating everything you did by freezing their budget and freezing those line items specifically. It sets a terrible precedent."

When Uriah Burhans, the vice president of the Lyndon Emergency Responders club (LER) suggested that not allowing the reallocation was the result of a grudge, executive vice president of SGA Rachel Keller stepped in.

"It's not a grudge," she said. "It's protocol."

In the end, the SGA voted to move on, and the money was not reallocated.

LSC President Carol Moore also visited SGA to explain some potential budget cuts in the upcoming months.

"Nobody likes to see tuition increase, but everything else increases and we need to pay the bill," she said.

Moore explained that low-enrollment majors, minors, and concentrations would come under scrutiny in an attempt to cut spending. Some of these include global studies, women's studies, international studies, and managerial accounting.

Moore also explained that students currently in a program would be able to finish without difficulty, and that the college would not allow new students into cut programs.

While most SGA members accepted Moore's explanation, Vice President of Communications Justin Chenette expressed frustration with one policy that took effect in the fall.

"Last semester you signed off on a cut of one library staff member forcing the library to close on Saturdays," he said. "I strongly recommend that you literally put your money where your mouth is when it comes to that and reopen the library on Saturdays."

Moore explained that data showed little activity in the library on Saturdays, although Chenette believed the data to be false.

Katie White, the representative for the Role Play Club (RPC), also works in the library, and said that the employees there are fed up with the closing being brought into every discussion regarding budget cuts.

"I've worked in the library for four years. There isn't a lot of traffic on Saturdays," she said. "It's something that's being dealt with, and it's not something that needs to be thrown out when somebody wants to make a point about budgets."

"It's called freedom of speech, but okay, as long as it's being dealt with," Chenette responded.

In other news, the Ski and Ride club was also allowed to reallocate $300 from movie premieres to pay for new shovels and signs. The Students For Campus Conservation also reallocated $400 to recycling bins.

Mike Michaud, the representative for Sigma Zeta, was also voted in as the new vice president of residential and commuter affairs, filling the empty seat that financial controller Nick Russo once held.