The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government 11th assembly met Tuesday evening to discuss a resolution to expand skateboard infrastructure on campus and reallocate funds for the Student Organization Funding Committee.
Four resolutions passed with no objections. One of the resolutions creates new procedures that allow student organizations to receive funding awarded by the Student Organization Funding Committee (SOFC) prior to submitting proof of payment. Other resolutions passed include codifying the CSG Test Prep Program as well as urging the Board of Regents to meet with the School of Social Work’s chapter of Payment for Placement. New funding procedures were also approved for the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Survivor Empowerment Commission (SMPSEC).
LSA senior Vincent Pinti, CSG representative and resolutions chair, requested the addition of AR 11-067 to the agenda and for it to be voted on by the assembly. The resolution requests that the Board of Regents allocate additional funding for outdoor activities on campus and to lessen restrictions for skateboarders.
“There was an organization on campus that aimed to promote skateboarding (that) reached out to ask if we could increase recreational opportunities for skating,” Pinti said. “It’s something that they’re particularly passionate about, so I thought, ‘Why not advocate for having more spaces where people can skateboard or participate in other similar recreational activities like rollerblading or things like that around campus?’”
The resolution passed unanimously. Following the vote, Rackham student Hayden Jackson, Student Organization Committee director, had two minutes to discuss a resolution proposing the reallocation of funds from the Wolverine Consulting Group, which offers consulting and start-up funds for on-campus student organizations.
“I know that the assembly wants to hang on to some of the money, to respond to things, (for) its own priorities,” Jackson said. “But we have a serious need within SOFC for additional funding… We are continuously running out of funding. Before we had to cut about $11,000 in money that we felt was deserved to organizations. So, we respectfully request your approval.”
LSA sophomore and assembly member Bharat Koripella said the reasoning behind the request was to increase student fee allocation, which CSG uses to spend on students each semester.
“We’re looking at exploring the possibility of increasing our student fee allocation from $9.19,” Koripella said. “In order to do so we need an affirmative vote from the student body … We’re getting back to more in-person programming, and we have a higher need for student organization funding, we think this would be a good time to increase our student fee allocation. This proposal can request no more than $4.75 per student as an increase.”
CSG voted to pass the motion with unanimous consent. U-M students will then have the opportunity to vote on whether to raise the fee CSG receives from students every semester in the upcoming CSG election, according to CSG speaker of the assembly Annie Mintun, LSA senior.
CSG also discussed the positive community feedback after the governing body provided free subscriptions to New York Times Games to all students.
The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government 11th assembly met Tuesday evening to discuss a resolution to expand skateboard infrastructure on campus and reallocate funds for the Student Organization Funding Committee.
Four resolutions passed with no objections. One of the resolutions creates new procedures that allow student organizations to receive funding awarded by the Student Organization Funding Committee (SOFC) prior to submitting proof of payment. Other resolutions passed include codifying the CSG Test Prep Program as well as urging the Board of Regents to meet with the School of Social Work’s chapter of Payment for Placement. New funding procedures were also approved for the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Survivor Empowerment Commission (SMPSEC).
LSA senior Vincent Pinti, CSG representative and resolutions chair, requested the addition of AR 11-067 to the agenda and for it to be voted on by the assembly. The resolution requests that the Board of Regents allocate additional funding for outdoor activities on campus and to lessen restrictions for skateboarders.
“There was an organization on campus that aimed to promote skateboarding (that) reached out to ask if we could increase recreational opportunities for skating,” Pinti said. “It’s something that they’re particularly passionate about, so I thought, ‘Why not advocate for having more spaces where people can skateboard or participate in other similar recreational activities like rollerblading or things like that around campus?’”
The resolution passed unanimously. Following the vote, Rackham student Hayden Jackson, Student Organization Committee director, had two minutes to discuss a resolution proposing the reallocation of funds from the Wolverine Consulting Group, which offers consulting and start-up funds for on-campus student organizations.
“I know that the assembly wants to hang on to some of the money, to respond to things, (for) its own priorities,” Jackson said. “But we have a serious need within SOFC for additional funding… We are continuously running out of funding. Before we had to cut about $11,000 in money that we felt was deserved to organizations. So, we respectfully request your approval.”
LSA sophomore and assembly member Bharat Koripella said the reasoning behind the request was to increase student fee allocation, which CSG uses to spend on students each semester.
“We’re looking at exploring the possibility of increasing our student fee allocation from $9.19,” Koripella said. “In order to do so we need an affirmative vote from the student body … We’re getting back to more in-person programming, and we have a higher need for student organization funding, we think this would be a good time to increase our student fee allocation. This proposal can request no more than $4.75 per student as an increase.”
CSG voted to pass the motion with unanimous consent. U-M students will then have the opportunity to vote on whether to raise the fee CSG receives from students every semester in the upcoming CSG election, according to CSG speaker of the assembly Annie Mintun, LSA senior.
CSG also discussed the positive community feedback after the governing body provided free subscriptions to New York Times Games to all students.
“This is a significant financial investment for us,” Jackson said. “Cooking was a smashing success. Games is even more successful. We already have 1,500 signups (and) we launched less than a month ago. Students are really thankful for these subscriptions. I get requests for other subscriptions all the time. Unfortunately, we don’t have the financial resources for them, but maybe we will in the future.”
Daily Staff Reporter Marlee Sacksner can be reached at marleeis@umich.edu.