Tanjaya talks food insecurity at allocations-heavy meeting

It was a long, busy night for the Student Government Board, full of back-and-forth between the board and its allocations committee. The board spent more than an hour deliberating allocations at its Tuesday meeting, and voted to amend five of the allocations committee’s recommendations after hearing from student leaders.

One student leader, Resident Student Association President Sam Smallwood, expressed concern during an open floor about the allocations committee’s approval process for student groups whose budgets are approved a semester in advance. Smallwood said these student groups meet with the allocations committee each spring to request funds for either the upcoming fall term or the entire next school year.

“With the turnaround from Monday [the 4th] through Friday the 22nd, with spring break being in that period, it’s very difficult for student organizations to gain access to the information they need,” Smallwood said.

Smallwood said he wished the allocations committee had pushed this deadline back a week or sent out an email a week prior. Daniel Rudy, RSA vice president of finance, said RSA events tend to be very large and require involvement from many organizations on campus, making the quick turnaround time difficult for RSA.

“I did hear from our previous vice president of finance that our request was too large to be uploaded to the normal website they use,” Rudy said. “So I think that speaks to the amount of documentation and number of resources we have to include.”

Later in the meeting, board member Albert Tanjaya announced that Forbes Street Market will soon accept payment via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Electronic Benefits programs. He said EBT will allow students to use a preloaded card to obtain basic necessities from the Forbes Street Market with convenience.

He said the University submitted a ticket to the federal government requesting that Forbes Street Market be recognized as a business to accept payment via SNAP and EBT. Tanjaya said the federal government shutdown caused a delay in the decision, but he noted that once the request is reviewed and implemented, students can start using these payment methods shortly afterwards.

“It’s a need because there are students with SNAP and EBT,” Tanjaya said. “Food insecurity is a big thing on campus.”

He also provided updates on several of his other initiatives, including completed updates to the SafeRider app and a push for more variety of feminine products at Forbes Street Market, Market To-Go and QuickZone.

Tanjaya addressed upcoming improvements affecting residence halls with the announcement of Amazon-like lockers to be installed in Sutherland and Towers. He said this initiative seeks to respond to student concerns that the mail room hours don’t match with everyone’s schedule.

Tanjaya said students would receive a code and a locker to obtain their packages without the supervision of mailroom staff.

Tanjaya said he is working with Jim Earle, associate vice chancellor for business and auxiliary services, to get these lockers in not only Towers and Sutherland, but also halls like Panther, Irvis and Forbes-Craig in the future.

“We’re trying to alleviate people that have packages coming in,” Tanjaya said. “The new big things is packages instead of letters, so we are trying to get with the times.”

Allocations

The Reformed University Fellowship requested $1,852.80 for a conference. While the allocations committee recommended denying in full, the board voted to approve in full.

TEDx @ University of Pittsburgh requested $5,449.31 to host a TEDx event. While the allocations committee recommended approving $360.96 and denying $5,088.35, the board voted to approve $2,457.92 and deny $2,991.39.

Pitt Rocketry Team requested $6,101.00 for a project. The board voted to approve $5,000 and deny $1,101.

Black Action Society requested $30,000 to bring a speaker to campus — a budget modification which combined two previously allocated, budgeted events. The board approved in full.

Pitt Chem-E-Car requested $3,803.20 to attend a competition. The board approved in full.

The African Students Organization requested $11,748.56 to host a fashion show. While the allocations committee recommended approving $10,250.56 and denying $1,498, the board voted to approve $11,450.56 and deny $298.

The Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club requested $2,276.52 to attend a tournament. The board approved in full.

The American Sign Language Club requested $2,400 for a trip. The board approved in full.

The Muslim Student Association requested $1,474 for a trip. While the allocations committee recommended approving $1,184.71 and denying $289.29, the board voted to approve $1,297.71 and deny $176.29.

Engineers Without Borders requested $3,710 for a trip. The board approved $3,410 and denied $300.

The Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Club requested $1,870 for uniforms. The board denied in full.

The Vietnamese Student Association requested $3,799.32 for a speaker. While the allocations committee recommended denying in full, the board voted to approve in full.