SGB, committees encourage community outreach

If one Student Government Board member has his way, Pitt football games will get livelier.

“I…If one Student Government Board member has his way, Pitt football games will get livelier.

“I have a gift suggestion, and I know it’s something that I’ve been harping on, but I want a live panther for the football games,” Board member Alex Murdoch said. “People would go nuts. If anyone is interested in this and wants to help out, let me know.”

This proposal came at Tuesday night’s SGB public meeting in Nordy’s place, where Board President James Landreneau announced that the Board has been discussing bringing a gift to campus. He said to about 50 people in the audience that the Board — responsible for distributing funds from the more than $2 million Student Activities Fund — will be looking for gift suggestions and student support if the initiative is to move forward. Previous gifts from the Board include “The Tree of Knowledge” sculpture in the WPU.

SGB also discussed campus safety and student awareness at the meeting, starting with Board member Megan McGrath, who gave a shout out to the Pitt and City of Pittsburgh police departments.

“I had a really scary incident in my house over the weekend, but the police were super nice and made me and my roommates feel extremely safe,” she said. “I know we were thankful for them last spring during the bomb threats, but it’s also really nice to know that they are around for us day-to-day.”

Board member Natalie Rothenberger reported that she rode the 30C with Transportation and Safety Committee Chairman Richard White on Monday night to gain a better understanding of the routes. Encouraging students to use the 30C as well as Safe Rider when necessary, Rothenberger said she is continuing to discuss safety throughout South Oakland and is working on improving the current situation.

Community Outreach Chairwoman Mary Mallampalli stressed the importance of student involvement in the community. She said that while Pitt Make A Difference Day — which will take place on Oct. 20 and involve students helping clean Pittsburgh communities — registration is currently closed, students can still participate in campus community service.

One such event Mallampalli talked about was the Sleep-in For The Homeless event on Oct. 19, which includes a walkthrough of Downtown and provides valuable information on how to combat homelessness. The event will provide students with five to six community service hours.

Board member McGrath also provided an update on the Pittsburgh area shopping shuttle system initiative that she ran on in the previous election. McGrath said that while she is having difficulty with the program, which would include a shuttle system to provide student access to shopping areas in the Pittsburgh area, she is working to amend the project to produce valuable information for students.

“I’m running into a million walls at the moment,” McGrath said. “But I am working with some people in creating a transportation guide which will be more streamline-specific for entertainment areas and suggests stops for students.”

Allocations

Club Golf Team requested $1,586.20 for registration, lodging and two cars’ worth of ground transportation expenses for eight people to attend a regional tournament. The Board approved its request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Russian Student Association, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian Club and Polish Club requested $1,532 for their East European Festival. The Board approved $1,400 and denied $132, adjusting to keep the food expenses under the $2.50-per-person cap in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Musical Theater Club requested $638.60 for a keyboard. The Board approved the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

The African Music and Dance Club requested $1,307 for musical instruments. The Board approved the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Pitt Mock Trial requested $1,181.71 for lodging and ground transportation expenses to an invitational tournament at Ohio State. The Board approved $947.44 and denied $234.27, adjusting for an extra room in the hotel in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Hindu Student Council requested $4,319.73 for an annual event. The Board approved $3,740.73 and denied $579, adjusting to keep food expenses under the $2.50-per-person cap in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Engineering without Borders requested $705.65 for regional conference expenses. The Board approved the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Session: Middle East requested $4,261.20 for regional tournament expenses. The Board approved the request in full in line with the Allocations recommendation.

Caribbean and Latin American Student Association requested $12,792.61 for a fashion show and cultural extravaganza. The Board approved $4,276.99 for two out of five scenes of clothing, a quarter-page ad in The Pitt News and the expenses for one host and denied $8,515.62 for the second host and a DJ in line with the Allocations recommendation.