This week in SGA, a guest speaker from the department of athletics, Matt Phillips, assistant director of athletics, spoke to the Senate about improving student attendance at athletic events.
Highlighting ideas that he would like to see implemented, he talked about setting up organizational booths and inviting outside companies to come in and set up stands at tailgate parties. He also wants to hire bands for entertainment.
In speaking to the Senate, he requested their help in setting up these events and in disseminating the information about them.
“I’m here to ask for your help, and to let you tell me what we need to do to increase attendance,” Phillips said.
He was also adamant about his desire that everything be free. “I don’t want the students to have to pay for anything [at these events],” Phillips stated.
After he concluded, the SGA moved on to talk about two bills tabled from the previous week. The first bill, sponsored by Sen. David Lane, was a constitutional amendment to formally establish term limits for the executive branch, and it passed without opposition.
The second bill, which was a resolution called for support of the Read ETSU program, passed after a debate concerning possible funding issues.
Read ETSU, a program started in library, allows students to donate old books or trade them for other ones. Students do not have to check anything out, and the program is totally free to the students.
Last semester, the library asked SGA to help buy a rack so books could also be left in the Culp Center. The resolution, proposed by Sen. James Heck, called for SGA to support the program and to try to find a way to get the $550 needed to buy a rack.
Sen. Christopher Ziegler, 606 committee chair, stated that past present has said that SGA funds only student activities and not the purchase of equipment. “The senate has turned down other student organizations in the past,” Zeigler said.
While the resolution does not grant funding immediately, it does allow the president of SGA to apply to the senate for the funds through the 606 process, or find another way of funding the project if possible.
Ziegler stated that he supported the program and his only opposition to funding out of 606 funds was the change in precedent, which while legal, is, according to him, also large. “This is a big change from what we’ve been doing in the past,” Ziegler said.
The resolution passed unanimously after the conclusion of the debate.

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