At its weekly meeting in Nordy’s place, Student Government Board continued to discuss depleting allocations funds and addressed concerns from Students for Justice in Palestine regarding rejected referendum questions.

The board also introduced a resolution aiming to limit single-use plastic water bottle use and new improvements for student renters. 

During the night’s first open floor, SJP raised concerns based on two questions they had submitted to the SGB election committee for the studentwide campus referendum, both of which the election committee rejected. The organization’s questions asked for the establishment of a policy to ensure University funds are not being used to “support genocide” and increase transparency. 

This is not the first time SJP has come before the board this semester, as the group previously raised concerns about the University’s treatment of student activist organizations.

According to an SJP representative, members of the election committee dismissed their questions as “too political,” and claimed that the wording of the questions “did not pose neutrality.”

“None of these reasons are valid under the SGB governing code as a basis for rejecting a referendum question,” they said. “We are disturbed by the election committee’s definition of neutrality.”

SJP criticized the board for its response to the student activist group’s requests. Representatives urged the board to amend their policies and include both questions in the referendum. 

“If anything, the referendum is a way for students to air their grievances with the University,” they said. “Allowing these [rejections] to go on without challenging them seems like a broken system.”

Another representative urged the board to revise the governing code and stressed the continued importance of listening to student voices. The organization predicted that the denial of their requests will “present a lot of issues down the line” if the board doesn’t listen.

“This is not going to be something that just ends here,” they said. “There needs to be some sort of oversight that ensures that SGB rules are not misapplied and used to silence students.”

In response to SJP’s concerns, SGB President Sarah Mayer stressed the separation of powers between the board and the judicial committee, led by judicial chair Ramsey Smith. The committee is responsible for managing legal matters and overseeing SGB’s governing code.

“The board and the judicial committees are separate avenues and separate processes,” Mayer said. “Our purpose is to serve students and our governing code should reflect that.”

Smith gave context to the judicial committee’s role in solving disputes between student organizations and the board and laid out a plan for SJP to follow.

“I know this is very frustrating, but I want to assure you the judicial committee exists for situations like this,” Smith said. “We’ll address the contents of this complaint in due time, and that’s how things will look going forward from here.”

To improve sustainability on campus, SGB Vice President Lauren Rubovitz read the summary of a single-use plastics resolution. The board will vote on the proposal at next week’s meeting.

“[We are] calling on the University of Pittsburgh to make a commitment to reduce its single-use plastic usage with an urgent focus on single-use plastic water bottles,” Rubovitz said. “Also to introduce biodegradable alternatives and protect the health of students.”

During the meeting’s second open floor, Renters First ad-hoc committee chair Emilia Morris announced plans for a new renters survey, which will be available for both on and off-campus residents. The committee is also in cooperation with Reslife to educate on-campus residents about housing rights.

“We have a housing problem in Oakland in terms of affordability and general landlord mistreatment,” Morris said. “We are committed to educating and empowering student renters and are looking forward to doing some good work this year.”

Mayer announced that the board requested more funding from the University to continue granting allocations through the end of the school year. This money will be taken out of an emergency reserve fund if granted.

“The board has sent over a letter to administration for additional funding,” Mayer said. “We’ve been having a large amount of requests and a drastically higher denial rate, and we would love to continue funding student organizations.”

While addressing allocations concerns, board member Evan Levasseur specified the board’s remaining allocation funds and stressed commitment to equity amongst student organizations..

“It’s really unfortunate, but we’re operating with around $60,000 [for the rest of the school year],” Levasseur said. “We have a limited amount of money, and we’re trying to equitably distribute what we have left.”

Allocations:

Engineers Without Borders requested $19,111.18 for an international trip and budget fees. After debate, the board voted to postpone the request until the next public meeting.

American Marketing Association requested $5,822 to attend a conference. The board amended and approved the request to $5,000.

Latinx Student Association requested $4,560.79 to hold an event. The board amended and approved the request to $3,613.11.

Political Science Student Association requested $3,000 for lodging expenses on a trip. The board approved the request in full.

Gamma Sigma Sigma requested $2,549 to attend a convention. The board approved the request in full.

Men’s Glee Club requested $3,818 for new uniforms. The board approved the request in full.