SGB discusses provost search, AEDs and Democracy Week

The Student Government Board discussed the search for a new provost, automatic external defibrillators on campus and Democracy Week at Tuesday’s meeting. SGB President Ryan Young said the provost search is in early stages.

“I actually started with the provost search committee,” Young said. “I encourage any student that wants to be heard to talk to me. I’d be happy to raise that with the rest of the committee but the provost search is really important.”

Young said he is looking for a provost that can connect with the students.

“I think it’s really valuable in a provost, when someone who can work well with students and understands student needs in a very personal way,” Young said. “As a student leader, I would like a provost that I am comfortable working with or reaching out to. I think that that’s something that is sometimes looked over by faculty because it’s just not their experience.”

Vice President of Policy Sarah Mayer is working on an initiative to make AEDs more accessible on campus. 

“I’m kind of researching where [AEDs] are,” Mayer said. “For instance, like I know right now in the Cathedral there are three AEDs, and you know how slow the elevators are. There are some buildings on campus that don’t even have AEDs.”

Board Member Matt Jurich encourages students to participate in Democracy Week.

“I find that there’s a lot of people who say ‘I don’t like politics’ or ‘I’m not political,’” Jurich said. “I think everybody, whether they realize it or not, has a lot of things in their life that they care about that are impacted by politics. And it’s not as much about just voting. Obviously, voting is important, but it’s also about civic engagement.”

Allocations:

Student Ventures requested funds to participate in a competition. The board funded this request to a cap of $5,000.

Sky Campus Happiness at Pitt requested $4,900 to host on-campus programs. The board amended this request and approved $2,000.

Irish Dance at Pitt requested $4,756.11 to participate in a festival. The board approved this request in full.