Student Government Board discussed changes to the current winter weather policy, an initiative for Pitt\u2019s ENS system to include alerts of potential ICE presence on campus, and a proposed increase to the Student Activity Fee at its weekly meeting Tuesday night at Nordy\u2019s Place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Board member Siya Saraswat, who has been advocating for improvements to Pitt\u2019s current winter weather policy<\/a> to ensure student safety and clear communication between faculty and students during weather emergencies, said Pitt is starting to \u201cput together a team to work on the new policy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe [SGB] is talking to them to add better lines of communication between students and administrators if students cannot make it to class,\u201d Saraswat said.<\/p>\n Saraswat said the policy was written in 2019 and has not been updated since. Currently, the policy only addresses situations in which classes are cancelled or the University closes for a full or partial day. The policy does not include procedures for professors or students if classes are held virtually.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe current policy is kind of all-or-nothing,\u201d Saraswat said. \u201cWe would like to add an in-between option that allows for Zoom classes.\u201d<\/p>\n Amid recent concerns<\/a> about ICE operations in Pittsburgh<\/a>, board member Kylie Baker mentioned she will soon meet with the Office of Public Safety<\/a> and Pitt police<\/a> about using ENS to notify students and campus employees in case of a potential ICE presence in Oakland. She said this change would reduce student reliance on social media for safety updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe best way to alert as many students as possible, as well as faculty and staff, to any present dangers on campus, is through ENS,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIf everyone on campus is signed up for [ENS alerts], these notifications work in a way that social media cannot in getting all the information out, especially if ICE is on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Baker also said she is working on creating a religious observational space on campus by adding a new prayer room to the Hillman Library<\/a>. The Muslim Student Association<\/a> and the Catholic Newman Club<\/a> worked with Baker and Hillman leadership on this initiative.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Muslim Student Association, Catholic Newman Club and I met with Hillman leadership, and we made a very big headway with a very exciting announcement that Hillman is looking to add a full time prayer and reflection room to Hillman Library,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n Baker said she believes this is a big step towards Pitt students having a designated religious space on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been something the Muslim Student Association worked on for years,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThis is huge kudos to [MSA] for getting to see their hard work pay off in the future so that students have the right to observe religious freedom benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n Vice President Olivia Budike brought up SGB\u2019s concern about the lack of financing towards the Student Activities Fund<\/a> \u2014 money SGB allocates to student organizations from a $100 fee paid by every Pitt undergraduate student, except those within the College of General Studies, per semester. After observing allocations, Budike said, the current fee is not generating the necessary amount of funding for student organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter an auditing investigation of different formula percentage groups, and, overall, just being able to analyze what money is being allocated, we have seen that it is currently not meeting the budget,\u201d Budike said.<\/p>\n Budike said SGB is advocating to increase the fee by \u201ca number no higher than $25 per semester.\u201d She added that this is a major concern for the funding of Pitt organizations and stated that SGB will answer any questions from students affected by the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[The fee] is currently not meeting the needs of a lot of different student organizations and different student programming initiatives,\u201d Budike said. \u201cThis is not a decision or consideration that SGB has taken lightly, and so we\u2019d be happy to answer questions of anyone in the student body that would be concerned over this.\u201d<\/p>\n Allocations\n<\/p>\n Club Climbing Team at Pitt<\/a> requested $6,317.50 for a competition. The board approved this request in full.\u00a0<\/p>\n