SGB gives self pat on the back

Apparently, Pitt’s Student Government Board is awesome.

During the weekend, some of the… Apparently, Pitt’s Student Government Board is awesome.

During the weekend, some of the board members attended the Conference on Student Government Associations 2005 at Texas A ‘ M University, which allowed SGB to compare Pitt’s student government with those of other schools.

“We really are way ahead,” said SGB member Joe Pasqualichio, who didn’t attend the conference this year but attended last year.

“It was really uplifting to see where we do stand,” board member Jarrod Baker added in one of the dozen-or-so self-congratulatory remarks at Tuesday night’s SGB meeting.

“We get more work done than other [student governments at] other universities, who have staggering bureaucracies and have eight-hour meetings,” SGB President Brian Kelly said.

Kelly then opened the floor for member reports, allowing the members to describe what have they been up to in the last two weeks — a meeting was not held last week because “it was a hectic week,” Kelly said.

Liz Blasi has been working on improving the food situation at Pitt. Today from noon to 2 p.m., the Cathedral Cafe will host a sushi sampling for Pitt students.

Blasi also advised students to collect Pepsi bottles caps and turn them in to Sodexho workers for a drawing to win a free iPod. Students can collect the caps until April 1, she said, adding, “It’s not a joke.”

Still on the table is a proposal to get salad bars, at which salads would be custom-made for students, at Schenley Cafe and Eddie’s.

Jennifer Anukem described the menu for the Red Carpet Event, a formal event for different student activities organizations to get together. Anukem said that Sounds of Pleasure, a Pitt student musical group, will perform at the event, but she was still waiting Tuesday night for three other groups to respond.

“That’s basically all I’ve been doing,” she said, “getting all the RSVPs together.”

Board member Dilinus Harris announced that the first Pitt Make a Difference Day would have to be postponed until the fall semester because of timing issues. Originally, it was scheduled for the day before Easter, but the board decided that it was not a wise time for “maximal” participation, Harris said.

And the traditions committee decorated the panther.

During the allocations portion of the meeting, the board encountered the usual disagreements about financial issues.

The Pittsburgh Intercollegiate Snowboard Team had requested additional funds for its annual trip. The team had already been given $2,000 for the trip, but the participants still had to pay $475 for the week-long snowboarding trip, and the organization wanted to give them a partial refund, said PIST manager Clara Charlton.

Baker asked if allocations could be given for refunds, and Pasqualichio shook his head no.

But the money from the participants hadn’t been deposited yet, countered another PIST representative. The team was simply holding on to the checks and, if additional funds were granted, the participants would get their original checks back and make out new ones for less money, the representative said. Kelly asked to meet with the team representatives after the SGB meeting because of the complexity of the issue.

The board discovered that the $2,000 already allocated to the team was for a trip to Maine, but PIST had changed its location for the trip, Harris said in an interview Wednesday. PIST asked for an additional $3,000 to cover the transportation to the new location, Mount Tremblant in Quebec. But SGB only grants $2,000 for organization trips, Harris said, and the request for additional money was denied.

A Pitt intramural men and women’s swimming team had also requested funds for bathing suits. Allocations originally recommended that this request be denied because it would be funding personal items.

But new members can use the suits next year, said Denise Kulp, the business manager of the team.

“Can you reuse a bathing suit?” board member Monica Higgins asked, grimacing.

Kulp explained that the suits would undergo a sterilization process that would make them usable to others.

“You feel that your membership will reuse these?” Baker asked, somewhat doubtfully.

After an affirmative reply from Kulp, allocations’ recommendation to deny funds was struck down and turned back over to the allocations committee.

The fate of the recyclable swimming suits will be decided after the break.