Sketch of amphitheater

The Student Government Association (SGA) presented a sketch of the amphitheatre at last night's SGA meeting. The sketch shows the most expensive option for the project. It will cost about $268,000 to build and will seat approximately 200 people.

SGA Executive President Austin Hall said the design can be modified if the proposed project costs too much by removing the paneling or choosing a different brick. Hall said several members of the Board of Trustees have promised they will ensure that UCA receives the "nicest version possible." Hall said later that he "didn't want to see anything less than this design."

In other business:

• SGA questioned Aramark spokesman Jim Nabors about the company's pricing, meal equivalency plans, and why Aramark should be UCA's choice for food as opposed to other vendors. Nabors said that Aramark has a 35-year relationship with the university and has donated a lot of money and time to the school.
• The SGA Technology Improvement Committee discussed creating charging stations around campus where students can charge their laptop or cellphones. The program would provide secure areas where students can charge their electronics while they are in class.
• SGA announced that the campus shuttle service has been extended until 8 p.m.
• Senator Sho Umera resigned as senior class representative, citing time constraints. His position will not be filled because it is too late in the semester to fill his spot.
• Hall reminded seniors that applications for graduation are due Friday.

You can read the minutes of the meeting here.

SGA voted 20-16 against a bylaw amendment that would have expanded the authorized use of the Student Activity Fee Allocation (SAFA) money to pay for events used to recruit students.

"The SAFA fee is for students, not prospective students," said Jack Phillips, SGA's executive vice-president of finance. Expanding the use of the money would mean less money for student organizations, Phillips said.

"If we don't fully fund events, they don't happen," Phillips said.

Senator-at-Large Michael Murphy said he opposed to the the amendment because he was concerned it was "overreaching" because the events are organized by students.

Senior Class President T.J. Beringer supported the amendment.

"It's important for us to keep the money that our students are paying in the hands of our students," Beringer said.

In other business:

• SGA members will meet with Hank Phelps to discuss expansion of the Student Center. SGA Executive President Austin Hall said the Student Center "is not big enough" and that "it's an issue of space."
• SGA added $5 to every students' Bearcard this semester to pay for up to 100 copies in Torreyson Library. SGA conducted a survey last fall and found that free printing was a central concern among students.

"This printing credit is something that students have been asking for and deserve to get," Junior Class President Paige Turner said. "I'm glad that the students can see their demands come to fruition and that SGA had something to do with it."

You can read the minutes of Monday's SGA meeting here.

That question was brought to the Student Government Association (SGA) this week in its final meeting of the semester. The senators were asked to consider eliminating fall break and using those days to make Thanksgiving break a full week.

The idea originally came up because fall break conflicts with a couple of freshman laboratory classes. During the discussion, several senators said they supported trading fall break for a longer Thanksgiving break. One senator said he liked the idea of making Thanksgiving break longer because it would allows students to spend more time with their families, especially for students who live outside the state.

T.J. Beringer, senior class president, said the scheduling conflict wasn't enough reason to change fall break and said he favored keeping the break.

Executive Vice President Spencer Sims agreed.

"I think that this is a tradition of UCA and it is something that the students have grown accustomed to," Sims said. "I think it is a treat to students and it helps students recuperate and come back in full force, and having a week break right before Christmas seems a little excessive."

SGA voted 31-3 in favor of keeping fall break.

SGA will send a formal letter to the football players expressing their appreciation for the team and its 9-3 season and first-round playoff win against Tennessee Tech last weekend. SGA said it wants the team to know that, despite low student attendance at games, they support the team and its accomplishments.

Paige Turner, junior class president, endorsed the idea. She described the Bear's next opponent, the University of Montana Grizzlies, as a "powerhouse" that has been on top of the division for years and that this game means a lot for our university. She said the letter of gratitude to the team would help increase their morale for the game.

T.J. Beringer, senior class president, also spoke in favor of telling the team that "we support and back you."

In other business, SGA changed the wording of the description of the Diversity Committee to broaden the number of students it represents but reduce its responsibilities. The phrase "underrepresented students" was added to the list that previously included international, non-traditional and transfer students. The requirement that the committee "be charged with the task of bridging the social and cultural gap between international students and U.S. students" was removed.

A committee studying designs for the new seal told the Student Government Association (SGA) yesterday that they had narrowed the choices to a final design. In the next few weeks, the design will be reviewed by faculty and staff members, alumni, students and the administration. The committee will consider suggestions before finalizing the design. The new seal becomes official when it is approved by the Board of Trustees, which is expected in February.

The new seal design features a drawing of Main Hall in the center of the seal with the words "University of Central Arkansas" wrapped around the outer edge. It includes that year 1907, the year the university was founded, at the bottom of the seal. The previous university seal was an exact replica of the state seal with the words "University of Central Arkansas" added.

Austin Hall, SGA president and a student representative on the committee, said the committee spent months working on the design.

In other business, SGA approved, by a vote of 20-13, to allocate no more than $65 from SGA's general operations account to provide snacks for Green Week, an upcoming event sponsored by SGA's Green Initiatives Committee.

Some members of the senate objected because they said that giving money to the event could set a precedent for future requests. SGA turned down a request for $800 last month to provide food for a university function not affiliated with SGA.

Jack Phillips, SGA's vice president of finance and the head of the Finance Committee, said SGA has provided money for previous SGA events, including the Safe Walk event last week. Phillips said that SGA had $1,800 in its general operations account and could afford the $65 for food.

This is the actual container

It's called "Green to Go" and the Student Government Association (SGA) announced it at their weekly meeting last night. It's part of  Dining Services' initiative to be more environmentally friendly.

Here's how it works. You go to the cafeteria and buy a membership card for $5 from dining services. Whenever you want to get your food to go, you give the cashier the membership card and the cashier gives you a reusuable container for your food. When you are done with container, you take it to the cafeteria, Starbucks or Einstein Bagels and drop it off. The cashier there will give you a new membership card to use the next time. You don't have to wash the container but they ask that you scrape out all the remaining food.

Dining Services is starting with 300 containers but is prepared to buy more if students like the program. It's also available to faculty and staff.

In other business, SGA narrowed the choices for a new university seal to two designs. They plan to schedule an open forum to discuss the designs before making their final decision. We'll keep you informed.

SGA has scheduled a series of meetings with the heads of the 17 departments on campus that charge student fees. Each administrator must explain what the fees are used for and why they are necessary. SGA has the right to ask the Board of Trustees to revoke any fees that it considers unnecessary.

The meeting began Monday with the athletic department. Athletic Director Brad Teague represented the department in his presentation to SGA's Student Fee Advisory Committee.

Today, five departments were meeting with the committee. Six more meetings are scheduled for Wednesday and five are scheduled for Thursday.

SGA has published all the information they have received from each of the departments on its website. You can review those documents here. The hearings are available live on the Internet. You can watch them  here. Videos of prior meetings are also available here.

Interim President Tom Courtway has said that he supports the review of the fees.

Here is the schedule of the remaining meetings:

Tuesday -

• 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – HPER Fee, Dave Dennis
• 3:30 p.m. -  4 p.m. – Radio Station Fee, Monty Rowell
• 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Student Center Fee, Hank Phelps
• 4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Health Center Fee, Rochelle McFerguson
• 5 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – International Fee, Ashley Pettingill

Wednesday -

• 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Writing Center Fee, Joanna Castner Post
• 3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.  – Fine Arts, Rollin Potter
• 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Library Fee, Art Lichtenstein
• 4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Cooperative Education, Dr. Clayborn
• 5 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Online Fee, Lance Grahn
• 5:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. – Academic Success Center, Julia Winden Fey

Thursday -

• 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  – Farris Fields, David Dennis
• 3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.  — Access and Security Fee, Larry James
• 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. — SAB, Kendra Regehr
• 4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. — Technology, Facilities, and AAGE Fee,  Diane Newton
• 5 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. — SGA/Student Activity Fee, Jack Phillips

Last April, SGA voted unanimously to create the committee because of concerns that student government wasn't meeting the needs of nontradition, international and transfer students. The committee will look for ways to get those students more involved.

The committee has five SGA members and six non-SGA members, which includes two students and four faculty members.

The new student members are Colby Qualls and Mary Walker. The new faculty members are Melanie Gizard, Liz Davis, Amy Fenning and Lawrence Mrozek.

SGA also voted unanimously to pay up to $2,500 for holiday lights to decorate the campus this holiday season, an annual ritual. Last year, SGA used white lights for decoration. However, its Campus Environment Committee suggested they replace some of the white lights with purple LED lights this year. The LEDs will complement the white lights, use less electricity and last longer than the white incandescent lights. The LEDs also are less expensive.

In other business, SGA announced that the meetings with departments that charge student fees will begin next week. SGA is asking every department that charges student fees to justify those fees to its Student Fee Advisory Committee. Interim President Tom Courtway has said that he supports the review of the fees.

Police will block off Bruce Street on Friday and fans and vendors will be able to set up their tents starting Friday night but they can't remain in the area past 8 p.m. Tailgating is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. The extended hours were discussed in a meeting last week, and if tailgating goes well this week, the new hours could apply for all future home games.

The administration asked SGA to help them publicize the new hours by posting information on its Facebook and Twitter pages. SGA also said it would meet with the Student Activities Board and other campus organizations to encourage them to host events in conjunction with the homecoming game.

"They really want to see people out there," said T.J. Beringer, senior class president. "They really want us to be at the game."

In other business, Courtway told SGA members that the 15 departments that charge student fees are scheduling appointment with the SGA student fee advisory committee to explain the fees they collect. SGA is asking each department to meet with them to justify those fees,

"I think that it will be a good project, for all of us to see the fees and for you to know where your money is going," Courtway said. "You're the taxpayers. You're the customers, and I wouldn't have a job here if it wasn't for your attendence of UCA."

SGA joined the staff senate and the faculty senate in passing resolutions supporting Courtway as president. Courtway has said that he would consider accepting the job if he had the support of SGA and both senates but wouldn't keep it more than three years. This is the second time in the past three years that he has been interim president.

The SGA resolution described Courtway as "an inspirational leader of our university" who has "already gained the trust and respect of the UCA community, taxpayers, and the state legislature." SGA said appointing Courtway would provide "stability" during the university's national accreditation process and give the Board of Trustees time to conduct a "thorough and deliberate search" for a permanent president.

"I, personally, am very proud of this resolution," Austin Hall, SGA president, said after the meeting.

In other business SGA rejected by a vote of 29-6 a resolution proposed by senator-at-large Michael Murphy to support the Occupy Wall Street movement that started Sept. 17 in New York by raising awareness of it on campus. Murphy provided statistics supporting the cause and asked that SGA use its resources, such as printing pamphlets, to provide more information to students.

Kelsey Riddle, a primary senator-at-large, spoke against the resolution.

"It is not the place of the SGA promote the movement," Riddle said. "We should not make be making the decisions of the students. This is not the right way to go about this precedent."