Board careful with fee

In the past two weeks, SGB has continued to disperse judiciously the remainder of the… In the past two weeks, SGB has continued to disperse judiciously the remainder of the student activities fund.

In its two most recent meetings, the board approved $21,862.37 for student groups and denied $34,747.48.

SGB President Joe Pasqualichio said supplemental funds for student groups are running short this semester because of generous budgeting earlier in the year.

Some board members have gone the extra mile recently to ensure that the money the board approves is well spent.

After expressing some doubts about the attendance numbers at Panther Bowling Club meetings, board members Will Powers and Shady Henien made an appearance at one of the club’s Tuesday night sessions on the lanes at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association.

According to Powers and Henien, more than 30 students showed up to bowl that night alone.

“Honestly, I did not think that many people would show up,” Powers said.

The board voted to approve $2,400 for the Bowling Club — $1,600 more than the amount recommended by the allocations committee.

Board member Aimee Kleer has also been working with the administration to try and secure free pool table time in the William Pitt Union for the Billiards Club, rather than approving supplemental funds to help the club cover that expense.

SGB Holds Town-Hall Style Meeting

Last Thursday’s SGB town hall meeting saw sparse attendance and students expressing few substantial concerns.

The meeting, titled “What’s wrong with Pitt?” drew brief comments from a half-dozen students about burned-out light bulbs and the disadvantages of Pitt’s plus/minus grading scale.

Allocations committee chair Michelle Turbanic expressed her concerns about the late-night patrol habits of some Pitt police officers.

“I was out at 1:30 a.m. Monday night, and lo and behold, I popped into 7-11, and four cops are in there over by the coffee and the doughnuts,” she said. “Go, patrol, keep students safe. Police officers don’t need to be in 7-11.”

SGB President Joe Pasqualichio said he would take the specific items mentioned at the town hall meeting and present them to the appropriate administrators for their action.

SGB members work on verious personal projects

Several SGB members are currently working on bringing new programs to Pitt that they say will make life easier for students.

Board member Joe Leinbach is in the final stages of an arrangement with Ruckus Network that would bring free, legal filesharing to Pitt.

At the board’s Oct. 19 meeting, Leinbach announced he was awaiting the finalized contract from Ruckus and expects the service to be available shortly thereafter.

Board member Shady Henien is also working with an outside Internet company called Mobile Campus that, if all goes according to plan, would connect students in the same clubs and classes via text messaging.

According to Henien, students and professors would be able to notify members of their groups and classes about schedule changes and other urgent facts through a group text message.

Henien said the Mobile Campus service is free, but standard text-messaging rates will still apply, depending on what wireless service a student uses.

Mobile Campus will also send students text coupons redeemable at local stores and restaurants, Henien said.

Board member Will Powers plans to exploit currently available networking services to set up a more convenient printing system at on campus labs.

If implemented, Powers’ plan would allow Pitt students to print from any computer in the world to any printing station on campus.

Such a system would make picking up documents before class easier and reduce the overall congestion at computer labs during the week., Powers said.

Powers said that, currently, Pitt has the resources to make such a plan feasible, and that it’s just a matter of creating simple software that students can use to access the printing network.