SGB announces approval of new judicial chair Stephen Jacobus

Student Government Board kicked off their weekly meeting Tuesday night with President Zechariah Brown announcing the newly appointed SGB judicial committee chair, Stephen Jacobus. Brown, alongside former judicial chair Grace Nelson, who resigned last week, offered the job to Jacobus after conducting interviews.

“Jacobus was the former vice chair of the committee and he has had a lot of experience with what the committee has been up to this year,” Brown said. “He has a lot of his own ideas on how to better organize the committee.”

Brown then proceeded to discuss the new Sexual Assault Prevention Grant program, an intiative being led by the Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner.

“Each individual grant can be up to $5,000,” Brown said. “The grant will be through Student Affairs and will be allocated through the Graduate Student Government, College of General Studies Student Government and SGB.”

Brown said applications for the Sexual Assault Prevention Grant will open Jan. 27 and close March 31. Dean Bonner will hold two informational sessions regarding the grant — one on Jan. 22 from 4 to 5 p.m. and another on Jan. 27 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., both in William Pitt Union Room 630.

Nick Bibby, the elections committee chair, reminded inquiring students to submit their application packet to run for a position on next year’s SGB board by Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. He also announced that several programs for students planning on campaigning for SGB positions will be held later this month, such as an information session on campus financing.

“This week the elections committee is meeting to develop some programs,” Bibby said. “Students can receive up to $600 for campaign purchases like T-shirts and stickers.”

Tyler Viljaste, the community and governmental relations chair, announced that Coffee with Cops, which was originally going to be held on Jan. 16, has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts with the Pitt police. The event has yet to be rescheduled. His committee will also host an information session on student rights to privacy in regards to room searches on campus in WPU’s Dining Room B on Jan. 22 and 23, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Another information session on student rights will be held on Feb. 6. The location was not specified. 

Clara Weibel, the SGB outreach coordinator and the co-director for the Student Office of Sustainability, announced a field trip SOOS is taking to the Racial Justice Summit, which is being held on Jan. 25 at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. 

Following board and committee remarks, Brown announced that Nina Duong, the wellness committee chair, was excused for the night due to illness.

SGB also provided an update on the naming guidelines SORC said it would be reinforcing for student organizations last semester, prohibiting the names of independent student organizations from including University trademarks or wordmarks like “Pitt” and “Panther,” instead encouraging clubs to use phrases such as “at Pitt” or “at the University of Pittsburgh.” 

The board released three possible solutions to the problem at its Nov. 6 meeting. Its preferred solution is to utilize SORC to approve names and marketing materials for clubs that want to “co-brand” with the University — allowing the use of University trademarks or wordmarks as long as sponsorship is not implied or stated.

Brown said after the meeting that he would meet with Director of Student Life Linda Williams-Moore and SORC Coordinator Lynne Miller next week, but would not specify a day.