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Entertainment Committee and SGA part ways

On Sunday, Feb. 11, the Student Government Association (SGA) passed Resolution S-18S-004 Spinoff Entertainment Committee Act (SECA) which struck Section 7.10 The Entertainment Committee (EC) from the SGA bylaws. According to Lisa Mengotto, the Senior Senator who proposed the resolution, Entertainment Committee is not similar to the other standing committees of the SGA. There is little overlap between SGA senators and Entertainment Committee members, and many other colleges have a “campus activities board” separate from their student government. “I don’t think the SGA should be running events,” stated Mengotto.

One of the SGA’s prominent responsibilities was to provide funding to EC. In the Bylaws, The Entertainment Committee was guaranteed a minimum of 16% of the Student Activity Fee (SAF) as a line item, and therefore EC did not have to budget in the same manner as Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). In order to move funds to different items in their budget, RSOs have to submit a reallocation request to the the SGA, which may be approved or denied by the budget committee of the SGA, whereas EC moves all of its funds internally from event to event. With the removal of Section 7.10 from the bylaws, the Entertainment Committee is no longer guaranteed their funding by the SGA and will instead receive 16% of the SAF via an off-the-top request from Student Life.

According to Greg Klesaris, President of EC, former senator, and sponsor of the resolution, oversight powers would be more appropriately held by the Office of Student Life. Klesaris said, “In my eyes, EC oversight needs to be able to do two main things. 1. Step in during an emergency or in the event that an officer cannot perform their duties and 2. Be qualified in providing event planning knowledge and resources. Student Life fulfills both of these qualifications, whereas SGA does not.”

Klesaris gave the EC ski trip last Sunday as an example. At this off-campus event, Student Life would be held liable in the event of an emergency, while the SGA would not. “Throughout the whole ski trip, we were in constant communication with Student Life, worrying about students’ whereabouts, financial transactions, and student safety. All three of those concerns could not have been fulfilled by SGA oversight.”

A majority of SGA senators supported the resolution removing Section 7.10 The Entertainment Committee from the bylaws, but some are concerned that the bill was preemptive. Matthew Cunningham, a Freshman Senator, is among those who abstained from voting on the bill and later opposed it. “This change seemed very preemptive,” says Cunningham. He added, “The SGA definitely needs to restructure some of the organizations and committees underneath it, including Entertainment Committee. But the Senate should have seen a finalized plan delineating the future relationship between SGA and EC before they divorced from us. Right now the answer is not a cut-off, so this conversation is worth revisiting.”

Despite the passage of SECA, Entertainment Committee is looking forward to effective collaboration with the Student Government Association as a separate entity. However, this may be short-lived. On the docket for the Feb. 19, 2018 SGA meeting, there is a motion to rescind approval for SECA that would potentially re-establish Entertainment Committee as a standing committee of the SGA.

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