Hoey Hall Update

Hello Mountaineers!

Just thought I would give you an update on what has been going on and what I have been up to.  Currently, I am helping work on a bill concerning club sports and the money they are allotted each year.  Over the past couple of years, the number of club sports teams has increased, but the amount of money allotted to them has not increased.  We see this as a problem.  Whenever the club sports teams do not have enough money, that makes the club dues increase which causes fewer people to join club sports because of money problems.  To resolve this issue, we are putting together a piece of legislation that will increase the budget for club sports therefore causing the initial dues to decreases causing more students to become involved in club sports.  The more people involved the better it will be.  That’s about all I have for now.  If you have any ideas for legislation please shoot me a quick email at annascn@appstate.edu.  Thanks for your support!

Cameron Annas
Hoey Hall Senator
Student Government Association

Winkler Update

12 November 2009
Your Senator’s Voice

Dear Winkler Hall Constituents,

Greetings to you all! I am very excited how this semester is going for Appalachian State University and I want to see that all those living in Winkler Hall get to know what is going on.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who voted in the local election which polls closed for 3 November 2009. I strongly believe that the students’ voice will be heard, as it should be, in this local election, which every vote truly counts. On other news:
Please:
•    Bring goods that can be sent to ASU students who are serving in the armed forces overseas.
Where: SGA Office

From the Senate Floor:
•    Senate Bill 043-001 has been passed by Senate 27 October 2009.
Long Title: A Resolution to be Entitled an act to Support the Sustainable Development of More Perpetually Green Areas About the Campus of Appalachian State University
Resolved Clause: “RESOLVED, that the Student Government Association of the Appalachian State University supports the sustainable endeavors of the Physical Plant in creating new perpetually green areas about campus.”
•    Senate Bill 043-002 has been passed by Senate 3 November 2009.
Long Title: A Resolution to be Entitled an act to Establish the Dates for the 2010 Student Body Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections
Resolved Clause: “RESOLVED, that the Student Government Association of Appalachian State University establishes the following dates for the 2010 Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections: the period of declaration shall begin on 8 February at 8 am and shall last until 12 February at 5 pm. After this period, a mandatory meeting for all tickets shall be held within three school days of the end of the period of declaration in accordance with Section 3.2 of the Student Government Association Election By-Laws., and the time of the meeting shall be decided by the Elections Chairperson.

The conclusion of the period of declaration begins the period of non-campaigning, which shall last from 12 February at 5 pm until 14 March at 11:59 pm. The period of campaigning shall begin 15 March at 12:00 am and shall last until 26 March. Students will be allowed to vote for the candidates through their Appalnet accounts beginning 23 March at 8 am through 26 March at 8 am. The results shall be announced by 5 pm on Friday, 26 March. In the event that no ticket receives a majority of the vote and second place ticket makes the request, a runoff election will begin 29 March at 8 am and shall end on 2 April at 8 am. The winners shall then be announced by the Elections Chairperson by no later than 5 pm on Friday, 2 April.

Know that the student body’s voice is being heard. I am seeing new legislation worked on constantly by Senators and am glad to see such an active campus. If there are any questions about the passed legislation or about creating legislation of your own ideas I am here for the Winkler Hall Constituents. I look forward to seeing many of you 18 November in the main lobby as I hear any concerns you might have that your voice may be heard.

Multiple concerns that arose at the last meeting I had with you all came down to one main subject: the Winkler Hall Budget. I have set a meeting with the Director of Housing and Residence Life Dr. Tom Kane. We will be discussing the Winkler Hall budget in the multiple facets that concerned those who talked with me during the 21 October lobby meeting.

On a final note, with reference to Housing and Residence Life, as of 2 November 2009 it was announced to me that there will not be eight residences to an apartment within Winkler Hall for Academic year 2010-2011. There was not enough support for such a change. So way to go Winkler Hall on letting your voice be heard!
Sincerely,

Brian Kelly
Senator, Winkler Hall
Kellybm@appstate.edu

Off-Campus Update

Hello!

This is Ivette Gonzalez and as an off-campus senator for yet another year I can thankfully say, “Phew!” The hard work dedicated to Homecoming from a lot of us in the Student Government Association, especially on the External Affairs Committee, turned out to be beyond worth it.

Despite new and unfamiliar circumstances, events, Boone’s infamous weather patterns and ideas that came along with the 2009-2010 Homecoming, I believe we did pretty darn well. We did have a wonderful turnout of creative floats, kazoo bands and walking groups. The town of Boone loved the parade, the students enjoyed being a huge success in the parade and the students gave Appalachian an amazing win that day.  I just want to take this opportunity to recognize everyone that made this homecoming a great success- THANK YOU!

Nonetheless, External Affairs still has many many events planned for the rest of the semester as well as for the rest of the year. So, please be on the lookout for those! I am a member of the Community Service Subcommittee and would love any ideas from ASU for service projects you guys would be interested in being involved in so we can make it happen! I’m sure all of us will be more than happy to answer any of your questions, comments or concerns—also, make sure to contact your friendly neighborhood senator because they too would be happy to meet you!

Remember, we are located on the 2^nd floor of the Plemmons Student Union!

External Affairs Community Service Liasons Update

Hey it’s Robert Bender with the first External Affairs Community Service liaisons update. Thanks for all of your hard work already done this year!

As community service liaisons, we have many great ideas in store for this coming semester and year. We are currently working on some legislation that would allow senators to participate in upcoming service events in place of their office hour.  Who says community service can’t be fun? Some ideas include:

• Adopt a Family for a Thanksgiving Meal
• Heroes Luncheon
• Volunteering at Operation Christmas Child sorting shoeboxes

These ideas, along with many others we look forward to planning, are part of our goals to better our community here in Boone. We also look forward to participating and helping out with the A.C.T.S. office with their upcoming events which include a Service Day at Mountain Mission Farms Oct 31 from 9:30- 3:30, an upcoming info session for the 2009 Dance Marathon, and MLK challenge in January. Also, if anyone is interested in participating in hands on community service throughout the year with the Acts office contact Megan Robertson at robertsonme@appstate.edu.

So as you can see there are many ideas and projects in the works. We look forward to working with each and every one of you, as well as seeing what you guys are interested in doing for the community. Any personal ideas you guys have would be appreciated greatly. You can email me at benderrt@appstate.edu or Orlando Dobbin at dobbinoc@appstate.edu. Thanks for your consideration and look for future updates or email us with any questions you might have.

Coltrane Hall Update

Good afternoon student body,

This is Jacob Nall reporting from Coltrane Hall (unintentional rhyme) on the recent happenings here in student senate. This past week was homecoming and the spirit was alive here on the mountain. We started off the week by exceeding our goal in the 3^rd annual ASU blood drive with 1,003 pints! Thursday was the kick off of Black and Gold Thursday, where students filled the halls with their Appalachian attire. The pep rally on Friday night went well with the lip sync finals, bonfire, fireworks, and even an appearance by the marching Mountaineers, cheerleaders, Yosef and the Mountaineer football team. SGA sponsored the homecoming parade on Saturday morning, setting the mood for our victory over North Carolina Central.

Last Week in the PR/Outreach committee we worked on setting up the kiosks around campus so we can get the word out effectively. We have also been working on setting up suggestion boxes to place your concerns. I am excited about the work being done on the Bring Your Own Cup campaign that will offer students who bring their own mugs to different places on campus a discount. This act will help limit the use of paper materials and save ASU money as a whole. We are also looking into some possibilities for a senate highlights reel to help keep you informed.

As this week begins, don’t forget to talk to the representative from your hall about what you want to see happen. There are still a few senate seats open, so if you are interested come by the SGA office in the student union and grab a petition. We currently have the largest senate ASU has ever had, and if we fill these remaining spots we can have a full quorum! Also, remember to wear your black and gold on Thursday (even if you’re at home) so we can keep the tradition going.

Have a marvelous fall break!

Jacob Nall

Coltrane Hall

Hoey Hall Update

Hoey Hall

Hello Mountaineers, I, Cameron Annas, have just recently joined the SGA Senate within the last two weeks so I am new to this whole process. I am currently representing Hoey Hall, and am on the Student Outreach Committee which I am excited about getting the word of SGA out to fellow students.

Although I am new, I have been learning a lot through the Senate by going to all of the meetings. For anyone who is not involved in Senate, please join because there is so much more going on around campus than anyone is aware of.  Many new pieces of legislation are talked about and it would be helpful to have as many minds to contribute to these ideas as possible. During the past Student Outreach Committee meeting, we talked about several pieces of legislation that needed to be addressed. The first piece of legislation was what to do with the APH area where there used to be a pool. The pool was shut down due to risk management issues and the space is not being used for anything.  Some of the possible ideas for use of this area were as follows: a solarium, a lounge, a gym, and much more. If anyone else knows of any ideas please let us know.  Leave a comment or email us at sga@appstate.edu!

The second piece of legislation we talked about was Bring Your Own Cup. This is a piece of legislation that I am starting to work on where students purchase a cup from food services and are then able to bring the cup to the cafeteria or coffee shop and get a reduced price for drinks. The piece of legislation will cut down on the number of paper cups used and will conserve land field space. This is in effort to contribute to Appalachian’s “green” contribution. We have another meeting soon, so we will be discussing future legislation and I will be getting back to you guys on what we talked about!

I’m looking forward to contributing to make Appalachian a much better place and getting to know my constituents.

Cameron Annas
Hoey Hall Senator

Frank Hall Update

Hey Mountaineers,

Jake Campos here, bringing you your first Senator blog! It’s been a busy few weeks getting my foot in the door here at SGA; committees and meetings and all sorts of things to attend. Usually I would love the escape from the dorm drama but the weather has been just as scary. Does anyone remember it getting this cold this early in the season last year? I had to plan a special trip back home just to collect some jackets and pants. Not all bad though, the football team won (as if you didn’t know) and we have had a lot of great events on campus this week.

Anyway, as a Senator for Frank Hall I have joined both Campus Outreach and Rules Committee, and I am excited to be thoroughly involved in as many aspects of SGA as I can. You should be excited too because this means that your voices can be heard through me in as many people’s ears as possible. If you aren’t from Frank Hall that’s okay too because as you know, you have elected Senators representing your voice as well! I encourage you to find your Senator, or any Senator and share with them your concerns or ideas for our campus.

This week in Rules Committee we will be interviewing each member of the legislative cabinet, and in outreach we are planning some fun ways to get the word out there that you have a voice in SGA. I look forward to working with many of you on legislation this year, and remember to get to know your Senator!

Jake Campos
Frank Hall Senator