SGB discusses allocations improvements, renovations on Forbes Avenue

At Tuesday’s weekly Student Government Board meeting, the board discussed simplifying the allocations process, allocation funding and renovations for the space in front of Barco Law School and near Lawrence Hall. 

SGB and the allocations committee are working on a new platform, Experience Pitt, to improve the process for student groups to request funding.

“Right now, the allocations process is very manual,” SGB President Ryan Young said. “It’s a lot of Excel spreadsheets emailed back and forth between the service office and us. We’re trying to make that process all on one platform. It would also be useful for students because then they can see the status of that request and every part of it. There’s one central location for documentation.”

In a statement put out by SGB on Sept. 19, the board expressed its neutrality towards different viewpoints in the allocations process.

“Allocations decisions do not represent the views of the Student Government Board,” Young said. “Supreme Court precedent mandates we remain neutral when voting on allocations requests involving speakers with varying viewpoints. Because the Board is responsible for voting on allocations requests, we must adhere to viewpoint neutrality and the policies outlined in our allocation manual. The Board is able to exercise a very limited discretion — confined by the bounds of our policies — only in interpreting the requirements of the allocations manual.”

Board member Katie Emmert met with David Rubin from the Land Collective about a construction project on Forbes Avenue near the Barco Law building and hopes the new space will benefit the community as a whole.

“I recently spoke with them about their plans for the area,” Emmert said. “I emphasized the need for community space and a space that not only is accessible for students and work with law students, but also the greater community of Pittsburgh. I also spoke with the lead architect on the project and it was confirmed that they will not be incorporating any anti-homeless architecture in that area.”

Vice President of Initiatives Katie Fitzpatrick is “excited” to begin working with this year’s First-Year Council.

“All the applicants were fantastic,” Fitzpatrick said. “And our committee is also very excited to be working with them on some leadership development, and then they’ll also be running their own initiatives working on the issues they see around campus so I’m very excited to work with them.”

Allocations: 

Women in Business requested $1,742.33 to attend a conference at Harvard. The board approved this request in full.

Turning Point USA requested $25,397 to bring journalist James O’Keefe to speak on campus. The request was postponed due to errors in the allocations request and lack of accessibility to all Pitt students. 

Pardis Crossfit requested $1,337.50 for women’s barbells. The board approved this request in full.

Unwind Board Game Club requested $1,335.90 for new games and a whiteboard. The board amended and approved this request in full.