SGB approves two new board members to fill vacant seats

Student Government Board appointed Braydan Issermoyer and Annika Agarwal to the board at its weekly meeting after an additional seat opened up following board member Derek Dressler’s resignation. 

At its Tuesday evening meeting in Nordy’s Place, SGB planned to host a Q&A between Agarwal and Issermoyer to fill the vacant board position left by Alison Linares Mendoza. But instead of having a separate application and deliberation for Dressler’s vacant seat, the board selected both of the candidates to fill the two vacant positions. SGB will vote on the appointment of the candidates at next week’s meeting.

“They both showed an incredible commitment to supporting transfer students and to being champions of ending sexual misconduct,” SGB President Danielle Floyd said, “They both embody the very mission of our organization, which is to serve and represent the interests of undergraduate students, and it couldn’t have been more of a pleasure to welcome them to this years student government board.”

Issermoyer and Agarwal both made campus sexual assault prevention and mental health awareness key tenets of their campaigns. 

Max Wasserman, a sophomore civil engineering major and the president of the Autistic Student Union, questioned who will supervise the launch of the new ad hoc committee on disability resources in light of Dressler’s resignation. 

“Seeing as the board member responsible for overseeing ad hoc committees has resigned, it brings into question who could supervise this committee and who would assist us in getting it off the ground,” Wasserman said.

Floyd said the initiative is something the board is “passionate about doing,” and SGB will appoint a new interim vice president in the coming days.

“We will be appointing a new vice president for governance in the coming days,” Floyd said. “We are also going to have discussions within the board about who will serve as that liaison for this new committee, but it’s certainly something that I think we all are really passionate about doing and insisting on.”

Carson Hawk, the allocations chair, also announced that SGB reached a deal with Student Affairs to increase the budget of the Student Organization Resource Center by $190,000. Hawk said the agreement also resulted in the creation of three new funds meant to “direct reallocation of critical funds back into meaningful student programs” and will address “blind spots in the allocations committee’s funding philosophy.” 

He said $25,000 of the budget increase will go to the Student Emergency Assistance Fund which provides funds to students in a state of crisis, such as sudden homelessness, safety needs or loss of childcare. 

“And I just wanted to really reiterate that this agreement comes at no additional cost to students and will be funded yearly through unspent funds in the student activity budget,” Hawk said.

The board also voted on two bills. Both bills were not read at the meeting, but are available on SGB’s website. Bill BB-2023-1 passed with board member Ryan Young, who authored the bill, abstaining from the vote. This bill modifies the constitution to allow student organizations petitioning to join the assembly to be voted in by a simple majority.

The second bill, J.B.-20233-1 passed unanimously. This bill clarifies the language detailing the procedure to full board member vacancies. 

Allocations 

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority requested $600 for three members to attend the Pittsburgh-based Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.

SailBot, a club that builds robotic sailboats to compete with other schools, requested $1,050.59 for a variety of parts for their current project. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.

Salsa Club requested $4,800 to hire an instructor for the semester. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.

The men’s club soccer team requested $2,014.50 for uniforms and gear. The allocations committee recommended a reduction to $1,971.08, which the board approved with no abstentions.

Club Cheer requested $8,543.11 for transportation and lodging so they could attend a showcase at the University of North Carolina. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.

The American Marketing Association requested $8,256.12 for lodging, transportation and registration to attend a national conference. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions

The Vietnamese Student Association requested $2,500 for a speaker to come discuss the Vietnam War Project, a speaker series that focuses on the legacy and impact of the Vietnam War. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.

Men’s club volleyball requested $7,979.33 for flights to a national competition in Kansas City. The board approved the request in full with no abstentions.