This fall, Student Government Board member Todd Brandon Morris will expect a change in what… This fall, Student Government Board member Todd Brandon Morris will expect a change in what has become an unofficial SGB tradition.

For the last few years, the incoming SGB president has served as the prior board’s business manager — a position recommended to the board by its president.

Although Morris, a second term board member, did not declare that he would be running for president, he did say that he is weighing his options regarding his future with SGB.

And that he suspects the current trend of a winning “chosen one,” in terms of a pre-selected business manager-to-presidential candidate, might end.

Morris said he has learned a lot during his terms, including what to do and what not to do.

Despite being an outspoken proponent of Pitt’s involvement in the United States Student Association this spring, Morris does not anticipate any new progress this fall, unless a board member publicly announces that his or her opinion has changed.

Last semester, Pitt’s involvement with USSA became a heated topic at many of the board’s meetings. USSA is a national organization that teaches students how to lobby their politicians. Over the years, the board had gone back and forth on its position regarding Pitt’s involvement, because USSA also takes strong positions, with which not all students feel comfortable, on controversial issues like abortion.

Morris stressed the importance of a group like USSA.

“We are students first,” he said, explaining that he could not serve on SGB or be involved in the Greek community if he were not first and foremost a student. And because of all of the commitments students already have, belonging to a group like USSA, which hires full-time workers to address students’ needs, could only be beneficial, he added.

Morris is sure that, if the vote to belong to USSA were brought directly to students in a referendum this fall, it would pass. But he said he would be surprised to actually see it happen, and he has not looked into the method for getting a referendum on the ballot.

Unlike some of his fellow board members, Morris is not reticent when talking about the politics that he sees within the board. Addressing the board’s vote on USSA, Morris said certain members oscillate in their opinions of what board members’ roles should be. Some members, at times, think the board represents all students and must act accordingly when the majority of students want something to pass. At other times, he believes, the same members say that they are unable to represent all students, making them unwilling to act.

This summer, Morris and Kelly met with Birney Harrigan, associate dean of student affairs and director of student life, about the future of the student activities fee. Morris was the only board member to participate in the meeting, and Kelly said he invited Morris both for his copious input regarding the fee increase, and because, unlike many other members, Morris was in town at the time of the meeting.

“I was grinning ear to ear,” Morris said of his reaction, upon learning that SGB would have more control over the allocations of the fee. “This is a huge change for Pitt.”

Morris expects to spend a lot of time debating how the new allocations process should happen. Though the debate will consume a great deal of time now, he believes it will pay off in the future. The board must make sure there are no loopholes left in the system, and to do so, it cannot rush the decisions regarding the fee, he said.

Helping future leaders also takes utmost importance in Morris’ mind. If he does not help to recruit, educate and train future leaders, he will not have accomplished anything as a board member, he said.

“It’s really about giving back,” he said. He added that his work with SGB “has nothing to do with me,” but that it is about setting a sound foundation for the students who will follow him.

Also unlike many other board members, Morris believes the summertime layoff from the office, during which many board members leave Pittsburgh, hurts the board. When everyone returns to city for the fall semester, Morris will expect to spend time waiting for other members to get back into the routines of the office and to get fully caught up.

And by that time, the next election cycle will be coming.