The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) held their weekly meeting on Wednesday Jan. 28 in the MUB Alumni Lounge. At the meeting, a motion to grant Huskies Pep Band Special Budgetary Group (SBG) status and maintain the status of other SBGs passed with a vote of 21-0-5. USG President Ford Schoonover welcomed Pep Band to the SBG council, stating that he “is interested to see how they will further contribute to the campus community as a whole.” Mont Ripley Ski Patrol petitioned to be added into the motion, but was denied with a vote of 6-10-10. After the outcome, Bryce Tapert, the Vice President of the Mont Ripley Ski Patrol, said that “I was kind of bummed they didn’t accept us.” and he stated that he “felt that they didn’t give good feedback, but I think the issue is that [USG] believe that Ski Patrol doesn’t impact the entire student body.”
Historically, there have been a total of six SBGs on campus which include: USG, MUB Board, Sound and Lighting Services, The Lode, Film Board, and WMTU 91.9FM. These organizations have large student impacts and require a special budget process and policy that falls outside of the regular Registered Student Organization (RSO) budget process. As per USG bylaws, review of SBG status is held every two years at the start of the spring semester, where all current SBGs are reviewed and all RSOs have the opportunity to apply for SBG status. That is what brought the Huskies Pep Band and the Mont Ripley Ski Patrol to Wednesday’s meeting.
A representative from the Mont Ripley Ski Patrol gave a short presentation on what their impact is on campus, how their organization uses funds, and how SBG status would benefit their organization. They stated that each of the student volunteers that work on Ski Patrol are required to pay annual dues of $130, purchase some of their own medical supplies, and continue attending training seminars that qualify them to be a ski patroller. Some of these funds are provided by Mont Ripley and the student organization, but they often fall short, leaving students to pay out of pocket. After the presentation, the floor was opened up to debate whether or not Ski Patrol should be included in the vote for SBG status. At the end of the debate and before deliberation, USG Residential Representation Nolan Dziewit stated, “There is a reason why the SBG committee recommended no, regardless of how we feel about how they are being treated by the university. The funds are still coming out of the [Student Activity Fee].”
As for the WAM recommendations that were voted on during the meeting, the Women’s Volleyball Club requested a total of $782 to attend a tournament in Oshkosh, WI. After a short deliberation, a vote was taken and the recommendation was approved 25-0-1. There was also a vote on the recommendation of $0 to Furries at Michigan Tech. The organization was originally requesting $600 to help organize Spring Flare, Festival of Arts Love and Empowerment, with other groups such as the Keweenaw Socialists. There was an attempt to amend the recommendation from $0 to $600, but the motion failed with a vote of 3-13-10. The recommendation of $0 to Furries at Michigan Tech passed with a vote of 18-1-7.
The meeting also included the swearing in of Patton Nyquist as the Residential Advocate. Nyquist is a first-year student from Escanaba and has been interested in USG since he enrolled last fall. During his enrollment, Nyquist said, “I am the president of my hall, so I joined IRHC and I am excited to be here.”
For more information and access to USG’s meeting minutes, visit their website at usg.mtu.edu.
