Student Government Board reconvenes after summer break

A Pitt sophomore took the floor Tuesday night at Nordy’s Place to ask for the Student… A Pitt sophomore took the floor Tuesday night at Nordy’s Place to ask for the Student Government Board’s help to get onto a new soccer pitch.

Ray Ludwig, president of the men’s club soccer team, said his team wants to use the turf fields on upper campus, which are currently reservead for varsity sports, for the club’s home games.

“I’m not asking for a lot,” Ludwig said, adding that the cost to play games at Founders Field in Cheswick is a financial burden that has run the team upward of $1,500 for four games.

At its first meeting of the semester, SGB agreed to assist Ludwig and other club sports in gaining access to the field.

“Student Government is more than allocations,” Board member Ryan Gayman said. “It’s about empowering students.”

President Molly Stieber said she “didn’t even know that was the case” when it came to limited access to the turf field.

Stieber began the Board’s first meeting of the school year by laying out programs for the upcoming week and asking for student involvement. The meeting also included statements from Board members on projects such as the graduate exam resource center in Hillman Library, a shuttle system

GPS project and a Courseweb smartphone app.

The Pitt football game Saturday afternoon against Maine will double as a tribute to the troops that are serving and have served in the American military. Stieber said she is looking for 90 student volunteers to pass out yellow leis before kickoff.

Stieber also said she will continue the fight for the restoration of state-funded higher education to former levels. This year’s state budget cut Pitt’s funding by a total of 22 percent, dropping it down to $136 million.

“Something really awesome happened,” she said, referring to the aftereffects of Pitt Day in Harrisburg during the spring semester.

She said a Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations panel will take place Monday at 1 p.m. in the Alumni Hall ballroom. Stieber will sit on a panel with one student from each state-related university and Stephen Tritch, the chairman of Pitt’s Board of Trustees, as well as a number of professors.

Students are encouraged to attend the meeting, which is open to the public.

“It would be great to have student support there,” she said. “They have to restore our funding because there’s really no other option at this point.”

At the end of the meeting, Gayman announced the five student groups that won a competition to paint five panther statues around campus. Keep It Real was awared the grand prize, so the group’s design will remain in place for two years. The other four spots went to the National Pan-Hellenic Council, WPTS, the Sports Business Association and the National Society of Black Engineers, University of Pittsburgh Chapter.

Allocations:

The Men’s Water Polo Club requested $2,000 for league dues. The Board unanimously approved $1,875, denying $125 in accordance with the Allocations Committee’s recommendation.

The Men’s Water Polo Club received $166.81 of the requested $1,750.69 for tournament fees. Board member Emily Hoover recommended the Board deny $62.80 in taxes, because the University, as a nonprofit, is exempt from taxes.

SBG allocated $1,217.97, denying $562.13, to the Women’s Club Gymnastics team, in accordance with the precedent to pay for transportation to two weekly practices, not three as requested.

American Institute of Architecture Students was allocated $725.07 for a public event. SGB denied $50.76 in taxes.

Men’s club soccer received $850 for the entry fee for the team’s regional tournament and $1,000 for new jerseys in line with the recommendation to approve the team’s requests in full.

Society of Women Engineers requested $2,000 to attend a conference. SGB allocated $1,935, denying the $65 cost of the registration fee that covers dinner at the conference.