Despite the general apathy they receive from many students, the Student Government Board at… Despite the general apathy they receive from many students, the Student Government Board at Pitt has a relatively large amount of power.

Responsible for allocating about $2.5 million – all of which comes from the student activities fee included in your tuition – every year to the hundreds of student groups on campus, SGB members serve one-year terms as the leaders of Pitt’s student body.

SGB consists of eight board members and a president. They hold weekly meetings open to the public on the eighth floor of the William Pitt Union. In addition to allocating money, SGB will plan various projects and activities themselves.

Perhaps the most noteworthy and recent of these projects is the panther statue project. The various decorated panthers you see around campus were the start of “a new tradition,” as outgoing president Shady Henien called it.

The statues, which will be redecorated by different student organizations annually and put on display around campus, cost SGB about $60,000. While many students were unhappy with the high price tag, others welcomed the statues as a touch of decoration around campus.

While only time will tell what project this year’s SGB leaves as their legacy, the 2007-08 board has until early November until their term comes to an end.

This year’s SGB consists of board members Nila Devanath, Lacee Ecker, Ryan Haddad, Amanda Reed, Gary Sanderson, Perry Servedio, Francee Varner and Ryan Very. This year’s president is Sumter Link.

Beneath the board members are 10 committees: academic affairs, allocations, diversity, elections, environmental, freshman affairs, governmental relations, judicial, public relations and traditions.