SGA held two emergency meetings since its last meeting in October in an effort to pass multiple bills for events. The bills totaled to about $12,000, and one increased the Student Activities Fee.
Prior to the regularly scheduled meeting that was held on Nov. 14, SGA’s last in-person meeting was on Oct. 17. Across the emergency meetings on Oct. 30 and Nov. 13, SGA unanimously approved three bills and denied one.
Friendsgiving Bash bill
At the virtual SGA meeting on Nov. 13, the senate unanimously approved the Friendsgiving Bash bill, allocating $11,446.35 for the event including GAR. This will mark the third year SGA has hosted this event.
The Friendsgiving Bash bill, presented by Senator of Letters, Arts and Sciences Samrawit Kopessa, funds the Friendsgiving Bash on Nov. 21 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The bill allocated $5,967.50 for catering, $3,540 for UCCS-branded socks and scarves, $867.32 for prizes that can be won at bingo and $126.42 for decorations.
The top ticket item bingo is a pair of Airpods Max, which account for over half of the prize budget. Other prizes include a Kodak Pixpro Fz44, an electric blanket and a Northface backpack.
“The holiday can be tough for students who don’t have families to go home to. This event encourages students to get to know each other and celebrate together,” Kopessa said.
SAF Inflationary Increase bill
At the virtual meeting on Oct. 30, the senate unanimously voted to increase the Student Activities Fee by 2.5% to keep up with the rate of inflation determined by the August 2024 CPI index, making the fee $31.16 for fall and springs semesters and $15.58 for summer semesters.
This bill was passed in accordance with the Student Fees Inflationary Adjustments referendum that was passed by UCCS students in spring of 2022. It allows student fees to be increased with the rate of inflation.
This fee increase is being implemented starting this semester, meaning that it will need to be retroactively paid for this semester since students have already paid for tuition. Director of Student Life, Leadership and Assessment Brad Bayer is not sure how this increase will be implemented yet.
Unleash the Power Within bill
The second bill presented at the Nov. 13 meeting was the Unleash the Power Within Bill, which was authored by Senator of Business Bridget Guererro. This bill requested $2,106.75, including GAR, for an event that began the next day. The bill was shot down by a majority of senators, making it the first bill to be denied since the start of the academic year.
The Unleash the Power Within event was a four-day event hosted by Guererro’s non-profit organization One World Quest. OWQ bought a link to stream motivational speaker Tony Robbin’s live event in New York City. The first two days were hosted at the UCCS Garage and the other two were hosted at One World Quest’s headquarters at the downtown UCCS campus.
With 45 expenses on the bill, Senator Guererro planned on SGA feeding the entire event.
Senators expressed concern over the prices seeming unreasonable, like the $156.70 allocated for orange juice, and the event not being marketed to all students.
Guererro said that the event could accommodate 40 people, and she was preparing to feed that many people three meals a day for four days. She said she would open up the event to UCCS students if the bill passed, but that registration would close by midnight of that same day.
“We’re not going to allow all UCCS students to register. [The bill] essentially pays for UCCS students who are associated with One World Quest … We have about 12 students who have showed interest,” Guererro said.
Halloween Bash Photobooth bill
The second bill that was presented at the Oct. 30 meeting was the Halloween Bash Photobooth bill presented by Speaker of the Senate Greg Abukar-Duru. The bill requested $525 to rent a photobooth for the University Center Halloween Bash being hosted the following day, Oct. 31.
Graphic from Scribe archives.