Key takeaways from SGA Senate

By ASHLEE THOMPSON The Breeze

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate approved funding for the Asian Student Union (ASU) and JMU acapella groups Low Key and Unaccompanied, as well as the budget for University Program Board (UPB), and heard a presentation from JMU Dining Services during Tuesday’s meeting.

SGA approves UPB budget

The Senate unanimously approved UPB’s budget during Tuesday’s meeting. Mahek Shroff, junior finance liaison, presented the budget to the Senate. This is a part of the ongoing front-end budgeting (FEB) approval process that began last week.

FEB groups are organizations JMU deems important, according to SGA’s website. These groups get prioritized front-end budgeting to fund their missions, rather than through fundraising. All FEB groups are funded by student fees.

UPB’s budget totaled $400,771.20, which was divided into each committee: Media and Culture, Amplify, Spirit and Traditions, and Special Events.

Amplify had the highest budget of $202,000, most of which went toward the fall 2022 Homecoming Concert featuring Armani White and Flo Milli. Special Events had a budget of $65,000, Media and Culture $35,000 and Spirit and Traditions $30,000.

Outside of the committees, $16,500 went to marketing, $15,000 went to Weeks of Welcome, administration had a budget of $1,900 and there were $17,000 of stipends.

Representative Haley Szramoski, a senior, commended UPB on its reach to the whole campus, saying it put on many events for the general student body.

Junior SGA representative Matt Haynicz initially called the UPB budget “complicated and hard to understand.” The $17,000 stipend budget, which Haynicz called a “red flag,” comes close to some campus clubs’ entire budget, Haynicz said.

He later voiced his support of UPB, saying that it “did a great job this year” and turned around many of its problems.

“UPB does a great job of putting on events for everyone,” Reagan Polarek, class of 2026 president, said. “Late Night Breakfasts provide a sense of community, and a lot of my class talk about loving going to UPB events.”

SGA approves contingency funds

The Senate unanimously passed contingency funds for ASU, Low Key and Unaccompanied.

Contingency funds come from student fees that are given to organizations on campus to hold events, conferences and other activities, according to SGA’s website. Program grants serve as grant funding to any non Front End Budgeting (FEB) student organization for a specific event that has a campus-wide impact.

ASU requested $1,200 in contingency funds for its annual semiformal April 29. Sophomore Marvin Fuentes, ASU’s treasurer, said the funds will go to supplies for the formal and a photo booth, costing $500 and $700, respectively.

Sophomore Catalina Hidayat, ASU’s president, said the event serves as a way to honor the graduating seniors while also inviting other Asian organizations on campus to come together.

Shroff said ASU always puts up really good events and thought the funds would be a great “boost” for the organization.

Low Key requested $2,610 for its April 29 album release concert in Memorial Hall. The new album will be released this spring, according to its Instagram, and it’s the acapella group’s first album since 2018.

Junior Elizabeth Bird, president of Low Key, and freshman treasurer Aubrey Price represented the acapella group. Bird told the Senate she hopes the two-hour concert will bring 100-150 attendees to the concert, which will be free.

“Since this is such a large accomplishment for us,” Bird said, “we feel like we deserve to have a large celebration to celebrate this music.”

Szramoski started the debate with a pro, saying Low Key worked hard to release an album and is one of the more diverse acapella groups on campus.

JMU Unaccompanied, which presented to the Senate on Feb. 28, was approved for $5,000 in contingency funds for its April 30 concert in Memorial Hall. The group previously requested program grants, but the resolution was converted to contingency.

Shroff, after last week’s meeting, said SGA has stopped processing program grants for this year and is currently converting all of the previous requests into contingency due to the long approval process of program grants.

“This is another wonderful acapella group on campus,” Szramoski said. “We should support their efforts.”

JMU Dining quick hits

JMU Dining presented to SGA for the third time this semester, following up from its Feb. 7 and March 7 presentations. Jenna Gray, director of student engagement, represented JMU Dining to highlight new events and share input it received from students at its March 8 JMU Dining roundtable.

Students have until May 13 to use their dining dollars, as they don’t roll over into the fall semester. Gray said various pop-ups will open around different dining locations so students can more quickly zero their dining dollars balance.

Early meal plan sign ups are available starting April 10 and last until April 29. Gray said students can find JMU Dining representatives at various dining locations around campus during the three-week period if they wish to sign up in person. Those who successfully refer a friend to sign up for a meal plan are entered into a raffle to win a free campus parking pass.

Gray said the JMU Dining roundtable gave the dining services an insight into what students want at the dining locations. Gray said they plan to work on increasing vegan and Halal foods available to students, grab-and-go options at Festival Food Court and Market 64 and creating more “nutrient-dense” recipes, following student requests at the roundtable. Furthermore, JMU Dining will focus on educating employees about Halal food options and other cultural foods in order to make meals more “authentic,” Gray said.

In celebration of JMU Dining’s Employee Appreciation Week that began on April 3, “Thank You” cards have been placed around different dining locations so students and faculty can share their appreciation for the dining staff.

CONTACT Ashlee Thompson at thomp6ab@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.