By Tanner Anderson, Page Editor
During Wednesday’s meeting, the Students’ Association Congress passed a resolution addressing the university’s advertisement policy and announced New York Times’ best selling author Donald Miller will be a keynote speaker at next year’s Summit.
SA Congress approved a resolution that states students should be allowed to advertise group events on campus. This suggested plan combats difficulties with a recent university policy that prohibits the posting of announcements, advertisements and fliers on sidewalks, doors, walls or trash bins. The policy also prohibits chalk-written announcements on sidewalks.
After a vote of 27-0-1, the resolution passed, and members of Congress now will collaborate to develop an appropriate plan to present the suggestion to the administration.
“The whole reason for the current policy was to beautify the campus,” said Sophomore Sen. Scott Adrian.
The advertisement policy has created a dull campus that negatively affects student groups, Adrian said. He said student organizations and groups rely on campus advertising to gain attendance and participation, and hopefully the resolution will positively affect current campus conditions.
Besides the new resolution, SA Congress President Sarah Pulis announced that Donald Miller, author of the New York Times’ bestselling novel Blue Like Jazz, would be a keynote speaker for next year’s Summit in September.
“SA was given an opportunity to help out with next fall’s Summit, and we jumped at the chance to assist Summit with finances,” Pulis said.
Pulis said Congress invested $3,000 from the Executive Officer Discretionary Fund to bring Miller to campus.
“Our goal is for student advocacy,” Pulis said. “This is something we believe will benefit many students, and we hope that students participate in next fall’s Summit.”
Congress also dipped into its Student Request Fund, which benefits student organizations who plan to attend academic conferences. Two student groups, National Students Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and Broadcast Education Association (BEA), requested money in order to attend educational conferences in Austin and Las Vegas, respectively.
NSSLHA asked for about $5,600, averaging each of its members $100-$120 in fees. Congress granted each student $50, allocating the association $1,750 in funds.
BEA requested $2,656 for a conference in Las Vegas and received a total $200.
“It was a vote we all discussed and treated equally. We gave both groups around $50 per person,” said SA Treasurer Spencer Hemphill.
Hemphill said a major factor in deciding how the SA Congress allocates funds to student groups and organizations is their presentation and the educational quality of the conferences.
