5 November 2019
Cambrea Hall
The Student Government Association (SGA) senate met on Halloween for a lengthy senate meeting, where they approved the passage of two bills totaling $9815. The senators also received presentations from Robin Margolin, executive director of auxiliary services, and Paul Deniston, director of retail services.
Senate Bill-13 Equestrian Club — Approved 11-1 for $4,513.60
The Equestrian Club placed No. 2 in their region out of 10 teams at their first competition, with two riders qualifying for Regional Finals in March. Only seven members competed.
The Equestrian Club is a competitive English riding team and they compete through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. They are set to compete against 10 other colleges.
Members are expected to pay $300 a year to go to apparel, as well as $45 fee to join. Members are also expected to pay for private lessons at least once a week which range between $40-75.
The Equestrian Club has budgeted their $3,000 from the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) to go to team travel and equipment. The club originally requested $6, 336.40 to cover show and class fees for eight shows, but they amended the amount to cover home shows only, bringing their requested amount down to $4,513.60.
The club’s fundraising efforts include Clyde’s Crowdfunding, concessions stand at two shows and two restaurant fundraisers. All proceeds go to class and show fees needed to compete at regionals, zone and national shows. Senate Bill-11 Journey to Africa by African Student Association — Approved 12-0 for $5,302.22
The African Student Association will host their 3rd annual Journey to Africa event. The event showcases the continent of Africa with authentic food and cultural performances.
The African Student Association provided the senators a copy of the invoice of their projected expenses and there was debate regarding the numbers on the invoice and the numbers presented on the bill, as they did not match.
Senators eventually amended the total amount to $5,302.22 with a majority placard vote.
Journey to Africa promotes large community engagement. The African Student Association stated that the event has grown each year, over 500 people attended last year’s event, and they expect more than 600 attendees this year.
The Journey to Africa event received the ROAR Award Program of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
From the BAC, the club will request $2,000 for MC and $1,000 for food and equipment.
The original Senate Bill-11 requested $7,595 to cover food and decorations for the Journey to Africa event.
Robin Margolin, executive director of auxiliary services
Margolin, who oversees Dining and Hospitality, the UCCS bookstore, copy center, the farm and campus vending presented a breakdown of auxiliary services’ budget.
Auxiliary Services is self-generating: no student fees go to auxiliary services. Auxiliary services gave $16,000 a year to student organizations.
“Since fiscal year 2018, we’ve had changes in budget. I came in 2018 and what we started to do was look at what was being spent — how we are self-operating. And we started trimming the fat knowing that enrollment was down and was going to be down,” Margolin said. “We looked at our student labor and hired differently.”
Margolin clarified that they do not let anyone go. “When someone leaves, we look at that position and ask if that is a position we need now,” she said.
Regarding cost of meals, Margolin said, “We always look at our food cost. We want to give a fair price and give students the best deal. We’ve changed how we’re buying. We hired a purchasing manager. We’ve changed some of our processes.”
Goals:
- Increase revenue by selling more meal plans (addition of the faculty/staff meal plan)
- Bring more technology to increase convenience to the students (new card system)
- Interest in bringing back a Dining Services advisory board
Paul Deniston Director of Retail Services
“Retail Services facilitates over 16 programs to reduce course material costs to students, including marketing sourcing, which enables us to match prices and competitors, and in some cases beat it,” Deniston said.
Deniston spoke on the advantages of Day One course materials. Day One allows students access to course materials, digitally, on or before the first day of class at a bulk rate. Courses that use the Day One program are specifically marked, according to the bookstore’s website, and students are charged automatically for the services in their tuition, and they mostly involve courses that use McGraw-Hill’s Connect or other online access codes.
According to Deniston, studies have shown that students who have early access to course material show improved class success. Day One course materials also come at a significantly lower cost.
“For example, a chemistry textbook was $200 but $35 through Day One,” explained Deniston. “We’re here for you. We aren’t here to drive revenue for some other company. It all goes back to the university.”
Deniston says that they are trying to increase the number of Day One course materials to give students this advantage.