Board looks to fill open position, sets Tuesday application deadline

The Student Government Board is seeking applicants.

The Board must fill a vacant seat after former Board member Jake Radziwon announced his resignation Thursday to focus on “matters concerning the personal affairs, relationships and aspirations that [he] so deeply revere[s].” Radziwon said he plans to focus more on his roles as a member of the SGB Recreation Committee and a student representative to the University Senate Athletics Committee.

Board President Mike Nites moved the weekly public meeting, usually held on Tuesday nights, to Sunday night. The Board will hold public interviews for prospective candidates Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. in Nordy’s Place of the William Pitt Union, according to Nites.

About 15 people attended the meeting last night.

According to Nites, seven students have applied for the position since he made the applications available on the SGB website Thursday night. He added that if there are not at least 10 applicants by Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline, he will extend the deadline and interviews to after spring break. 

“I understand that it’s not a lot of time,” Nites said. “I’m comfortable with that as long as the number of applications is high.”

Training would be conducted over spring break through Skype, or in person if the new Board member is on campus, according to Nites.

Nites said he will not release the names of the candidates until the public interviews Tuesday and will give the names of the candidates to Board members about an hour before the interviews.

Katie Epner, a sophomore information sciences major and president of Pitt Ski and Snowboard Club, plans to submit an application to the Board. 

Epner said her project ideas include healthier food options and listing nutrition facts of on-campus dining locations, but she has organizational goals as well.

“One of my main [goals] is to increase the interaction between students and the student government,” Epner said.

Epner said she didn’t run for a Board position during last semester’s campaign because it conflicted with her efforts to reboot the Pitt Ski and Snowboard Club. She added that she’s “pretty familiar” with the allocations process from the organizational side. 

To avoid “prewritten answers,” Nites said he will not publicly release specific interview questions, but candidates can expect the Board to ask general questions about their knowledge of student government. General questions, according to Nites, would include applicants’ knowledge of the allocations process and project ideas for student government.

“I want honest answers, but in any interview, you can expect standard questions,” Nites said.

Nites said he would make a list of questions for the candidates and then discuss those questions with the rest of the Board before the public interviews. 

Epner also agreed that the Board’s decision to not release questions before interviews will generate more genuine responses. 

“That puts everyone on the spot,” she said.

Judicial Committee Chairwoman Audrey Winn said the Judicial Committee recommended that the Board releases the interview questions at least 24 hours before the interviews take place “to ensure that no interviewee receives hostile questioning, is given unfairly difficult questions or, alternately, is given unfairly easy questions that makes them shine without really earning it.”

Elections Committee Chairwoman Lauren Barney said that b she supported the Judicial Committee’s proposal to put the interview questions online in advance.

“I support Chairwoman Winn’s decision to make the questions public because if all the candidates are receiving the same fundamental questions, it shouldn’t matter when those questions come out,” Barney said. 

Nites said after discussing the interview format with the Judicial Committee on Thursday night, he has decided the Board should conduct interviews with each candidate individually. He said that he might conduct the interviews in a way that would require any candidate not being interviewed to leave the room, but also said he is still working on the “logistics” of the interview process. 

Nites said he decided to make the Board’s deliberations over the candidates private, after the Judicial Committee recommended that it be done so. 

Winn said she and the rest of the committee were concerned that Board members would not express their honest opinions in front of a public audience. 

“We didn’t want the candidates to have to sit there [if] feedback was brutal and turn the interview process into a ritual of public humiliation,” Winn said in an email.

Winn also said the Judicial Committee was concerned about transparency, but decided that the Board deliberations should be private after a vote between committee members. 

But Nites said the public nature of the interviews would not impact the Board’s conduct.

“We’re not going to be hostile toward any of the candidates, which is part of the reason why the interviews are public,” Nites said. “But even if the meetings weren’t public, I think the Board members’ integrity would keep the interviews diplomatic anyway.”

Allocations: 

Club Tennis Team requested $921.68 to send eight players to a tournament at the University of Maryland. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Club Tennis Team requested $1,242 to pay for costs to rent out courts to host a tournament on campus. The Board denied the request in full in line with the allocations recommendations.

Campus Women’s Organization requested $750 to show the film Madame Presidente on campus. The Board denied the request in full because Brazil Nuts, another student organization, previously requested $150 for the same event. The Board encourages organizations planning an event together to make allocation requests together. 

C Flat Run requested $2,060.40 to attend a competition in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

South Asian Student Association requested $2,323.32 to pay for food and supplies for its spring show. The Board approved $1,948.32 and denied $375 in line with the allocations recommendation.

College Democrats requested $824 to attend the annual College Democrat Convention at Temple University. The Board approved the request in full in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Circle K International requested $801.14 to send four students to a conference in Harrisburg, Pa. The Board approved $712.14 and denied $89 in line with the allocations recommendation.

The Roller Hockey Club requested $765.09 to compete in the ECRHA Regional Championship in Trevose, Pa. The Board approved the request in full in line with allocation recommendations.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers requested $693.06 to send four people to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in University of Virginia. The Board approved $622.06 and denied $71 in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Steel City Bhangra requested $1,120 for new equipment. The Board approved $840 and denied $280 in line with the allocations recommendation. 

Pitt Men’s Glee Club requested $695.59 to pay for transportation during the Glee Club Spring Tour. The Board denied in full with the allocations recommendation because the tour falls during spring break, and the Board cannot fund for events during school breaks according to the Allocations Manual. 

The Pitt Men’s Volleyball Club requested a budget modification of $1,000 to pay for the cost of flight tickets instead of the cost of renting vehicles to compete in two tournaments in Reno, Nev. and Orlando, Fla. The Board approved the request in full. 

The Board has allocated $119,794.89 this year.