The Student Government Association (SGA) passed four legislations, two bills and two resolutions, Wednesday night, including a Pepperdine relief fund of $1,000.
C.B. 95.05, the Pepperdine Relief Fund bill, was presented by Madison Shewmaker to allocate $1,000 from SGA’s congressional budget to ACU’s sister school. The Executive Cabinet also allocated $1,000 from their funds, making the donation $2,000 total.
President Phil Schubert will present the check during halftime at the men’s basketball game on Saturday.
Ty Kelley, executive president, said administration reached out to ask what congress would be able to do to assist Pepperdine in light of recent events.
“It says a lot about our student body that we are willing to put ourselves second while they are in distress,” Kelley said. “It’s something we’re called to do as Christians, especially in a scenario where one of our communities is in a time of need. It’s important that we show support for not just sister schools, but also any community in need.”
The second bill, C.B. 95.04, was proposed by Hayden Howell, an athletics representative, to allocate $250 to the Hudson Wade 5k race. The executive cabinet matched the allocation, totaling $500 to sponsor the race.
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee, host of the run, and SGA have partnered since the race started four years ago. The money allocated covers the cost of t-shirts and race operations so that all registration fees are given to the beneficiary.
“Its important because it goes toward a really great cause,” said Josh Fink, president of SAAC. “It’s been a good success over the past couple of years. We hope the trend continues. I’ve been able to meet the Wade family, and they’re an amazing group of people that truly care about keeping Hudson’s story around.”
This year’s beneficiary is the Play for Rex (P4X) foundation, started by Lance Fleming, associate director of athletics for media relations, six years ago after his son passed away from cancer.
Senior class President Matthew Williams proposed C.R. 95.12, petitioning the Taylor County Clerk to allow ACU to serve as an official U.S. elections polling place.
“ACU is well recognized among the Abilene community,” Kelley said. “As a voting site, it would encourage students, faculty and staff to participate in the democratic process. SGA has been looking for opportunities to encourage students to register to vote. We can offer that students change where they are registered to vote – all of that would boost participating in us elections.”
Lastly, a resolution calling for the administration to start fundraising $45,000 for a new LED video screen was proposed by Luke Stevens, junior class treasurer.
Kelley said the current system, seasonal printed vinyl banners, is wasteful. Each banner costs up to $700, and is discarded immediately after use.
“Having this will create more engaging content, including video as opposed to print,” Kelley said.
The LED screen would be installed on the west wall of the Campus Center because it is highly trafficked. The lifespan, according to Kelley, is around 12 years, and the return on investment would occur within five years.
