SGB discusses single use plastics, new committees at weekly meeting

At Tuesday’s weekly SGB meeting, board members voted to charter the new single use plastic task force and the new students of color ad hoc committee. 

The new single use plastic task force was approved at Tuesday’s meeting and was created to greatly reduce and eventually eliminate the use of single use plastics on Pitt’s campus. The taskforce will be chaired by the Student Office of Sustainability liaison to SGB and will work with Pitt Eats, Hospitality and Auxiliary Services and other organizations to reduce the use of single use plastics.

“This is really important because we want to be environmentally conscious as a campus, sustainability is something that’s really important to us,” Sarah Siddiqui, vice president of operations, said.

Board Members Braydan Issermoyer and Olivia Rosati mentioned that SGB is looking into an initiative to divest Pitt from fossil fuels. 

SGB also introduced and approved the Students of Color in Solidarity Ad Hoc Committee at Tuesday’s meeting. Board member Ashley White, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Liaison, feels the new committee is “important” because of its intersectionality.

“I think it’s very important that we have a space where different identities that people have are able to coexist and learn and communicate and collaborate with each other,” White said.

SGB also announced that two new civic engagement fellows were hired. They will work for both SGB and PittServes to promote civic engagement on campus.

“For instance, like if there’s an election coming up, they help promote things like that,” Siddiqui said. “We have civic advising programs at Pitzer — they help promote those. This year, we’re looking at doing a more program-based model as well where the fellows host different types of programs.”

Allocations: 

Delta Epsilon Mu requested funds to pay national dues for their members. The board approved this request for the documented costs of $2,825.

Chabad House on Campus requested $12,000. The board approved this request in full.

Club Football requested funds for new helmets and pads. The board approved this request with a cap at $2,750 dollars.

Connecting Champions at Pitt requested $4,110 to send members on a service trip. The board denied this request in full.

Muslim Student Association requested $5,678.76. The board approved this request in full. 

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers requested $2,580.96 to send members to a national conference. The board approved the request with revisions.

Club Cheer requested $7,976.13 for new uniforms. The board approved this request with a cap.

Robotics and Automation at Pitt requested $2,818.26 for a 3D printer. The board approved this request in full.