SGB discusses recent ACC Advocacy Days conference, upcoming elections

Upon returning from ACC Advocacy Days in Washington, Student Government Board discussed its upcoming presidential elections, the purchase of new AEDs to install on campus and a recent meeting between SGB and senior leadership at Pitt. 

SGB President Ryan Young opened the meeting by announcing the approval of two referendum questions that will appear on the upcoming SGB election ballot. 

The first question, proposed by the Future Planning Task Force, asks if students approve of the proposal to restructure the SGB vice presidential system, Assembly and SGB Governing Code. The second question involved an increase of the Student Activities Fee by up to $20. 

“Both questions are not up on the website yet, but they will be probably within 24 hours on the elections page,” Young said. 

Young also said members of SGB met with Chancellor Joan Gabel and other Pitt administration members last Friday to discuss campus accessibility and labor rights, as well as the ongoing search for a new provost and vice provost. 

Vice President of Operations Sarah Siddiqui discussed the ACC Advocacy Days conference and said one of the focus points at the conference included the rising cost of higher education in the US. 

“That’s something that is really important to us, so it’s something that we wanted to stress because we really think it’s important that we lower the cost of education for college students,” Siddiqui said.

Siddiqui said SGB brought the issue of dining dollars and Panther Funds to the senior leadership meeting last Friday, bringing to the meeting a list of locations on and off campus that do not accept dining dollars or Panther Funds. 

“A lot of times locations will say that they accept dining dollars and Panther Funds and then don’t in practice, and that’s a big issue for students,” Siddiqui said. 

Vice President of Initiatives Katie Fitzpatrick reported that facilities management has committed to weekly checks of door and accessibility buttons.

Vice President of Policy Sarah Mayer announced that the Environment Health and Safety committee has purchased thirty new AEDs for installation around campus. 

“Our goals are to put them first in residence halls and then some of the academic buildings that are lacking them so far,” Mayer said. 

Mayer named Chevron, Eberly and Clapp as priority locations for the new AED. She also said each AED will be equipped with a rescue-ready kit, which includes trauma shears, a CPR mask, gloves and other tools necessary for first aid and CPR. 

Board Member Katie Emmert said her topics of discussion at the Advocacy Days conference included advocating for politicians to follow through on their commitment to updating Title IX before the upcoming 2024 election. 

“The Biden administration promised when they were elected to amend Title IX to make it more trauma-informed, to make it more focused on the survivor, but it’s been a couple years and there has been no progress update on that,” Emmert said. 

Emmert also said the topic of free speech and the recognition of rising Islamophobia on college campuses was discussed in the wake of the recent shooting of two college students near the University of Vermont’s campus. 

SGB concluded the meeting by reminding students that the final deadline to submit a late candidate packet with 200 signatures is February 13 at 5 p.m. SGB will host a presidential debate event on Monday, February 12 at 9:30 p.m. to give students an opportunity to hear from presidential candidates before the election. 

Allocations:

National Society of Black Engineers requested $3,000 to attend a conference. The board approved this request in full. 

Ballet Club requested $2,400 for an upcoming “Alice in Wonderland” performance. The board approved this request in full. 

Women’s club basketball requested $2,704.88 for travel to a Boston College tournament. The board amended and approved this request. 

Model Academic Union requested $2,880 for a conference in Washington, D.C. The board amended and approved this request.