SGB looks to improve city experience for students

The Pitt Student Government Board said Tuesday night that the new Pittsburgh Student Government Council had begun convening for the 2017-18 academic year.

SGB President Max Kneis said in his president’s report the Pittsburgh Student Government Council — which consists of student governments from across Pittsburgh, including Carlow University and Carnegie Mellon University — had their first meeting this past Thursday.

Kneis said the group plans to meet monthly from here on out and discuss how the city can improve experiences of college students in Pittsburgh.

“If there is anything that the city of Pittsburgh could do to improve the experience of all students, we’re looking at ways to do that,” Kneis said.

Kneis also voiced SGB’s approval for the newly named K. Leroy Irvis Hall. The building was known as Pennsylvania Hall until Pitt’s Board of Trustees renamed it in June to honor the late Irvis, who was the first African-American speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

“It’s really great to see the University kind of moving forward and really taking a look at how we can we make our campus reflect the diversity of the body that we have here,” Kneis said.

Board member Ian Callahan reminded those present about the SGB Safety and Wellness Fair — intended to educate Pitt students on how to improve their transportation, home and personal safety — happening this Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the William Pitt Union lawn. Several organizations including the Pitt Police, Allegheny Health Department and the University Staff Council will be there.

“The more you know … the safer you can be,” Callahan said. “Especially since every year you have new students coming in who weren’t able to attend the previous fair, so it’s definitely good [to come].”

Board member Ciara Barry spoke about the upcoming Financial Literacy Conference to be held Oct. 20 in the University Club. The conference will assist students in understanding how to better budget their money and make smart financial decisions.

“Being a finance major, you experience firsthand how difficult it is to manage your funds. I also just saw that [financial literacy] is missing in a lot of different majors’ and schools’ education. They don’t really get an overview of how to do this,” she said.

Barry said as of right now, students will be able to attend one of two presentations at the conference. One presentation will be geared toward upperclassmen and will focus on salary negotiations and compensation packages. The other will be about personal finance methods, budgeting and credit.

“It’s just a way to bring in experienced leaders in the industry to talk about and educate students on how they can best go about managing their money and understanding their compensation packages,” she said.

Allocations:

The Panther Swim Club requested $1,744.95 for their Ohio State University Swim invitational for lodging. The board approved it in full.

The Students for Liberty requested $3,488.11 for their Evening with Barry Goldwater Jr. for honorarium, ground transportation and services. The board approved it in full.

The Carpathian Ensemble requested $625 for purchase, rental and service. The board approved in full.

Chinese Bible Study requested $408.96 for CR. The board approved in full.

Women’s Soccer requested $73.85 for competition expenses. The board approved in full.

Phi Eta Sigma requested $1,127 for CR. The board approved $809.33 and denied $317.67.

Pitt Women’s Club Basketball requested $1,454.67 for uniforms, warmups and practice jerseys. The board approved $71 and denied $1,383.67.

Club Football requested $2,644.72 for their Miami Ohio away game for ground transportation. The board approved in full.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said Leroy Irvis was the first African-American clerk for the Court of Common Pleas. He was actually the first African-American speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Pitt News regrets this error.