Learn how SGB works and how they allocate your money

The Student Government Board at Pitt is involved in many different aspects of an… The Student Government Board at Pitt is involved in many different aspects of an undergraduate student’s life. The board works with local, state and federal governments to address issues that concern students, such as tuition costs and financial aid. On the campus level, SGB decides financial issues for student groups and events, and it provides many services for students such as access to a free lawyer.

SGB serves all undergraduate, non-College of General Studies students. The board, which is elected by the student body every fall, is comprised of a president and eight board members. The board also has 10 committees to assist in addressing particular groups and issues of the student body, such as campus life and freshman involvement.

The Allocations Committee involves one of the most important aspects of SGB – they dish out the money. This committee is in charge of $2.3 million supplied by your student activity fee , which it divides between more than 350 University-recognized student groups.

There are several steps in the allocations process. A student organization submits a funding request for a particular activity or event. If the funding is $500 or less, the Allocations Committee decides whether the group should receive money and the process is over once they decide.

For every request at $501 or above, the process becomes a bit more involved.

The committee will first consult an allocations manual, which says what types of activities can and cannot be funded. For example, no money can be given to an event that serves alcohol. The committee’s decision whether to support the request rests solely on the information in this manual.

At the weekly meeting held every Tuesday night at 8:30 on the eighth floor of the William Pitt Union, the Allocations Committee tells the board whether they approve or deny the request.

The board then considers the committee’s stance as well as other factors, such as the impact that the proposed activity may have on the student body.

“[The request] has to be reasonable and fit the criteria of the Allocations Committee,” Henien said. “It must also benefit [the] student body for the board to fund it.”

If the board disagrees with the Allocation Committee’s decision, the request goes under review by the committee for another week. After the week is up, the Allocations Committee addresses the request and its stance, which often doesn’t change, at the meeting. The board then votes whether to approve or deny the request. This vote is the final decision in the process.

SGB, under President Shady Henien’s vision as a board member, put the Incoming Freshman Mentorship Program into action last fall. The program paired 200 freshmen with student mentors who had similar interests and goals.

Henien thinks the first year was very successful and has worked with Pitt’s department of Student Life to make it even more successful this year.

Since 95 percent of freshmen live in residence halls, the new plan is to assign three or four mentors to each freshman floor so that the mentorship program can benefit a larger number of freshmen this year than it did last year.

The mentors will guide and direct the freshmen through important decisions such as choosing classes to take and student groups to join, according to Henien. The mentors may also take the freshmen to certain activities on campus and around the city to hang out.

Henien wants students to become more involved with the University. One way to learn about the opportunities Pitt provides may be through the mentorship program, but students can also learn and enhance their undergraduate college experience by attending SGB meetings.

Students can attend the SGB meetings to address issues that may concern them or just attend to see how the board runs and to meet the members. Either way, Henien believes that if more students would attend meetings or visit the SGB office, the board could make more calculated decisions to benefit the student body.

“Students should feel like they have an active role in changing the campus,” Henien said. “If we can put an issue for the freshmen into play now, then they can work on it and develop it throughout their years at Pitt.”