SGA had its first meeting with new interim president: Here’s what happened

Student senate discusses empty supreme court positions, policy changes, upcoming election in bi-weekly agenda

Claire Powell
SGA met this week for the first time since senators voted to impeach Tim Nguyen March 6. The student government meets every two weeks during the school year.

Claire Powell, Staff Writer
March 22, 2023

  Hayley Prins met with UMKC student senators on March 20 for the first time as SGA interim president in the Student Union Chambers.

  Prins’ confirmation resulted from the student senate’s vote to impeach Tim Nguyen from presidential office.

  Here’s what SGA discussed at Monday’s meeting:

Tiki Taco

Search for Supreme Court Justices

  Six out of the seven SGA supreme court justices were found serving past their end of term, leaving the student government’s court nonfunctioning.

  According to the SGA constitution, a term for an associative supreme court justice lasts one year. The six justices were appointed February 2022, making the end of their term around one month ago.

  One member is no longer a student at UMKC, according to Prins.

  The responsibility to fill the empty seats now rests in the interim president’s hands. During the meeting, Prins said she and her administration will try to find as many qualified nominees as they can before the end of her term.

  Due to the supreme court’s nonfunctioning status, Dean of Students Michele Smith will review any and all student submissions for the time being.

Student Activity Fee Committee Guideline Changes

  In a joint effort with the Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) and UMKC, SGA Comptroller Zach Osmanovic helped revise guidelines regarding the university’s Student Activity Fee. 

  Some new sets of regulations incorporate inflation and allocation information. 

  In response to the impacts of the coronavirus and the destabilization of the world economy, the guidelines would allow the committee to make inflationary changes, if necessary. The change would be reviewed at the end of each SAFC guideline cycle.

  Osmanovic said the Office of Student Involvement has had issues with student organizations and councils underspending. As a result, any council or organization must use at least 95% of its received funding. If the groups do not abide by this rule, they will be penalized the following academic year for the remaining allocated amount.

  The committee’s guideline changes have not come into effect yet.

SGA General Election

  Monday evening marked the beginning of SGA’s general election, with many candidates sitting in during the meeting.

  Students can vote in the election via RooGroups. The polling ends March 23, and winners will be announced the following day.

  The newly elected officials will take office starting May 1.

Other actions from the agenda:

  • Passing of the Environmental Student Council Act — a constitutional amendment to form an environmental student council at UMKC.
  • Rejection of Pay Senators bill — if passed, senators would have been paid a $300 stipend for attending SGA meetings.
  • Passing of Syllabus Bank Resolution — encourages UMKC professors to post their syllabuses before enrollment date.
  • Passing of UMKC Conservatory Renovation Proclamation — a formal declaration for university officials to make the improvement of UMKC Conservatory facilities a top priority.

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