SGB signs contract on Readership Program

The Collegiate Readership Program is coming back, and it could become available to students… The Collegiate Readership Program is coming back, and it could become available to students other than those in the School of Arts & Sciences.

Student Government Board President James Landreneau announced during Tuesday’s meeting that he’d officially signed the $33,600 contract. But other schools might help defray the cost of bringing 300 copies of The New York Times and USA Today to campus. Landreneau said he planned to send an email to Pitt’s College of General Studies and Graduate and Professional Student Assembly to ask if they would like to become involved in the program.

This could mean that a smaller portion of the fee will be taken out of the Student Activities Fund, paid into by non-College of General Studies students.

The papers will return March 12 in seven locked drop boxes installed across campus, although the precise locations remain tentative. Landreneau said the current plan is for two kiosks to be located in Benedum Hall, two in the William Pitt Union and one each in Sutherland Hall, Posvar and Litchfield Towers Lobby.

While the meeting briefly covered the Collegiate Readership Program, Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget cuts — and how students can respond to it — dominated much of the conversation.

Board member Halim Genus encouraged students to register to vote to get their voices heard.

“The way this happens is because we don’t vote,” he said.

The Board touted the upcoming Pitt Day in Harrisburg, scheduled for March 14, as an opportunity for students to rally and speak directly to the state legislature about the proposed 30 percent slash to Pitt’s state funding.

“This is a very big deal,” Board member Julie Hallinan said. “It’s really important that we go and show the legislature how important higher education is to us.”

During the allocations portion of the meeting, the Board encountered an informal precedent set by last year’s Board.

Panther Parkour requested $1,966 to fund a trip to Washington, D.C., to train during the first half of Spring Break.

The Allocations Committee recommended that the Board deny the request in full.

Landreneau said that approving the request would break a Board precedent not to fund trips occurring over Spring Break because doing so would compete against Pitt’s Alternative Spring Break — a service trip organized by the University. But Landreneau said this Board has yet to discuss its stance on the precedent.

“I know the Board will vote this down,” Landreneau said, encouraging the club to withdraw the request. If the Board votes down a request, the student group cannot submit a request for the same event until the next fiscal year.

Following Landreneau’s advice, the club withdrew its request.

The co-founders of Panther Parkour, Aidan Gallagher and Gabe Streisfeld, said that they were not discouraged by the experience and plan to fund the trip to D.C. themselves.

“I understand what they’re saying,” Streisfeld said. “If we get funding for a Spring Break trip, every club could get it.”

Allocations:

Free the Planet requested $3,500 for an honorarium for Larry Gibson to speak at an event. The Board approved the request in full.

The United States Institute for Theatre Technology requested $3,300 for six members to go to a national conference in Long Beach, Calif. The Board recommended the group withdraw the request and resubmit an allocations request to pay for four members to go to the conference. The group withdrew the request.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers requested $1,353 for three delegates to go to a regional conference in New Jersey. The Board approved the request in full.

The Panther Rugby Football Club requested $525 for A and B teams to register for a tournament. The Board approved $325 to register the A team but denied $200 for the B team.

Kappa Kappa Psi requested $368.18 in transportation costs to attend a conference. The Board approved the request in full.

Panther Belly Dancers requested $329.79 for food and costumes for a show. The Board approved $209.89 for costumes and denied $119.90 for food because it wasn’t an integral part of the show.

Chi Epsilon requested $770 for one delegate to attend a conference that occurs every two years. The Board approved the request in full.

The Campus Women’s Organization requested $518 for two sign language interpreters for the Vagina Monologues event. The Board approved the request in full.

The Campus Women’s Organization asked to modify the amount of $114.48 originally allocated for an ad in The Pitt News for security for an event. The Board approved the request in full.

The Interfraternity Council requested a budget modification of $29,224.16 for the Pitt Dance Marathon because the location of the event changed. The committee approved $28,224.16 and denied $1,406.40 in shipping costs and undocumented costs.