SGA meeting minutes from October 26, 2006

The Student Government at Western Carolina University held its weekly meeting on Thursday, October 26, 2006, and the organization covered a considerable amount of material. Michelle Crowe, Director of Food Services at WCU, spoke about the new dining hall that will replace Dodson in the near future. “Construction on the new hall begins in July 2007, finishes in the summer of 2008, and opens in the fall of 2008,” said Crowe. Helder Residence Hall will be demolished, and according to Crowe, “The new dining hall will be located where Helder is now.” After the conversion to the new dining hall takes place, “The basic menus and food items will not change,” said Crowe. She also spoke about dining in general at WCU. “Campus wants more variety in food on campus,” she said, “and the campus is working on this.” In response to concerns about the cost of food in campus cafeterias, Crowe said, “The dining prices in cafeterias are the same as retail locations off-campus. In other words, the WCU community pays no more for a Chick-Fil-A sandwich and fries on campus than it does off campus.” Crowe provided much useful information about dining at WCU, and the audience asked numerous questions related to this topic. SGA then moved on to its internal business. Vice President Max Long led the meeting from this point on, and President Cody Grasty, other SGA officers, and other SGA senators were also in attendance. This portion of the meeting began with a discussion of satisfaction with the various committees of SGA. It was established that the Commuter Student Association is underrepresented at WCU, and the SGA reviewed a survey for commuters about parking on campus. An SGA Constitution update then took place, in which the required attendance of senators was reduced from its current level. SGA reviewed several Presidential Notifications of Appointments, in which there was a discussion about the appointment or removal of various SGA officers in three sections-Judicial appointment, Committee appointment, and Judicial branch. SGA made an amendment to its Constitution regarding the attendance of its senators, reducing the amount of meetings which the senators are required to attend each month. Applications to serve on the Rules Committee of SGA were distributed, and the meeting concluded with various committees of SGA reporting on their personal business and events. To get involved with the Student Government Association at Western Carolina University, stop by the SGA office, located on campus in Room 212 of the University Center (after climbing the staircase or getting off the elevator, turn right and continue down the hall to the left). SGA meetings are held Thursday nights at 7:00, and the WCU community is welcome to attend. The SGA held a productive meeting on October 26, and it looks forward to more in the future.