As the Student Government Board commended more than 2,000 Pitt students for voting in… As the Student Government Board commended more than 2,000 Pitt students for voting in yesterday’s election, it reminded them that another pair of races will come to a head later this month —one for Board members and another for president.

To promote awareness about the mid-November SGB elections, the Elections Committee announced that it will soon hold a “Meet the Candidates” event, with a presidential debate to follow.

In addition to the elections, the Board also discussed various campus events.

Board member Zachary Bombatch mentioned the Paint the Panther program, an SGB tradition in which campus groups decorate panther statues to promote campus pride.

“I would like to get one or two of the panthers permanently displayed outside of the Union,” Bombatch said. “It will give the group a greater opportunity to better display their work. Get the students the biggest bang for their buck.”

Board member Molly Stieber, a candidate for next year’s SGB presidency, updated the audience on a proposal she and professors are currently developing. They, along with the Book Center, are working to increase textbook buyback. The proposal would require professors to inform the Book Center if they will use electronic textbooks next semester.

The Book Center has also signed a contract with CourseSmart, a provider of online and downloadable textbooks. By next spring, electronic textbooks will be available for 90 to 99 percent of core classes, Stieber said.

Board member Kieran O’Leary also mentioned that SGB’s first fall newsletter is now available online.

Allocations:

The Italian Club requested $925.47 for Fall Cheese Night. The group received $375.00 — in accordance with the $2.50 per-person precedent set for food tasting — and was denied $550.47.

The Pitt Club Baseball team received the $1,465.08 it requested for game expenses.

SGB allocated the Panther Equestrian team $531.94 after the Allocations Committee recommended to have the request denied in full on the lines that the competitions were too personal. Board member David Gau proposed to have the request approved in full, and all voted in favor except Stieber and O’Leary.

Chabad House was allocated the $650 requested to bring in motivational speaker Tamir Goodman.

Panthers for Israel requested $2,500.00 for a cultural event. The group received $1,802, and was denied $698.

The Roller Hockey Club was allocated the $588.48 requested for an event.

Allocations involving the Campus Crusade for Christ were postponed for another week, as no one from the club came to the meeting.