Student Government Notes
All Notes Courtesy of Cyndi Powell
Current Notes
- Habitat has now attended three out of six SGA meetings.
There is one more on December 5, 2007.
- The major discussion in the last meeting pertained primarily to SGA Reps attendance. The clubs which have not been attending the SGA meetings on a regular basis were upset because of the requirement to attend three of the six meetings in order to receive funding from the college. There was a counter plan submitted to the student body which operated on the premise of a point system. It was essentially the same system we have now only it would be measured by points and it would take funding away from smaller organizations and give it to larger organizations. There was discussion over both the current requirement and the proposed point system plan.
- Joseph has now sent an email stating the attendance requirements of the SGA Reps have now been rescinded.
- SGA meeting on December 5th will include a Christmas party. Anyone who attends should bring a "white-elephant" gift. There will be a prize for the worst gift!
November 7, 2007
There were several important topics discussed during this week’s Student Government meeting.
- In the prior SGA meeting, a safety committee was formed.
(Tabina is co-chair of this committee, if you are interested in joining, you may contact her.)
It was discussed how not everyone on this committee received email pertaining to the committee, so in addition to email addresses, phone numbers were requested as a backup method of communication.
It was decided to form three new committees representing:
1) Disk Golf (Frisbee Golf)
2) Construction of a basketball gym
3) Creating a free speech zone.
A vote was taken: 19 approved, 0 against, and 1 abstained.
- A signup sheet was passed around for SGR participation in the newly formed committees. David Daniel addressed the group. He publically apologized for not being a good leader. His response to the situation pertaining to student groups possibly loosing funding for not attending SGA meetings was to offer a new solution. Instead of requiring SGRs to attend three of the six meetings in order to receive funding, he is proposing a new system to encourage participation which would be based on incentives in the form of points. The meeting was pressed for time and no detail was presented and no vote was taken.
- Joseph broadcasted an email in which it was explained that our “sister” college has even stricter requirements for SGA attendance than Lone Star College–Montgomery. The idea is the student body gives back to the college in return for the financial support the college gives to the student groups. It also gives the student body a chance to participate in the governance of the college. An additional SGA meeting was added to the agenda in order for the groups who have not been attending SGA meetings to have an opportunity to attend at least three meetings.
- Habitat has attended a total of two SGA meetings to date. We will be represented at the next two meetings bringing our total participation to 4 of the 6 meetings.
- There was an Administrative Report presented by Dr. Butler pertaining to a proposed bond election tentatively projected for May 2008. If approved, the proposed bonds would provide money for Lone Star College–Montgomery to be able to borrow to finance a greatly needed series of new buildings and parking areas. There are 5 colleges in the Lone Star College system with over 50,000 registered students. Lone Star College–Montgomery has over 9,000 students this semester. This figure is expected to continue to rise steadily each semester. Dr. Butler stated the situation is escalating and it could be each student will only be able to attend 3 classes per semester instead of a full schedule of 4 to five classes per semester. He stated he did not want to have to turn any student away. In order to not turn students away, schedules would have to be limited in order to accommodate the growing student population. The community loves the idea of Lone Star College–Montgomery. It provides for a healthy community. The community needs to be made aware of the lack of availability to accommodate students and provide expanded courses (such as science) at Lone Star College–Montgomery. Dr. Butler stated in the prior bond election very few students actually voted. [He did not state which study these facts were based upon.] He presented to the Student Government Reps and Sponsors that he would like to encourage the student body to register and vote. He suggested as SGRs, we need to push to educate the student body how important these issues are to Lone Star College–Montgomery and encourage them to vote. He suggested a student awareness campaign within Lone Star College–Montgomery. One idea was to actually register students to vote here on the campus. Another idea was student participation in the form of putting out signs. An idea was introduced about a table in the A building to hand out fliers. It was also suggested due to student flexibility in schedules it would be easier for them to work the voting polls, and to actively campaign. There was discussion pertaining to how students could not use state (i.e. college) resources to promote election. This would include not being able to use school computers to broadcast email, or use of copiers for fliers or materials, etc. Student government representatives from each of the sister campuses will meet to discuss strategy. Once the Board of Trustees determines the bond issue can be placed on the ballot in May 2008. The Board of Trustees will convene in December 2007 to determine if and when the bond issue may be placed on the ballot. It is required by law that Dr. Butler remain neutral the moment the Board of Trustees determine the bond issue will be on the ballot. Dr. Butler will no longer be able to promote or speak about the bonds. The student body will have to carry the campaign.
Dr.Butler explained the proposed projects:
1) A new building the size of Building B, three stories for health and science
2) Another smaller building, the size of Building E for performing and visual arts
3) An expanded wellness center.