SGA positions itself against Amendment One

By Jason Puckett

With a vote of 25-1-12, Elon’s Student Government Association passed a resolution to officially oppose Amendment One, which would define marriage within North Carolina’s Constitution.

The proposal, written by Elon Spectrum’s advocacy and education chair Lauren Clapp, is based off of Elon’s Non-Discrimination policy, which reads:

“The university does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, creed, sex, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran’s status in the recruitment and admission of students, the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff or the operation of any of its programs.”

“We have an institutional commitment to diversity,” Clapp said, while speaking Thursday night. “What sort of message would we be sending if we don’t pass a resolution saying that Amendment One is discriminatory?”

Freshman Austin Faur, who also spoke at the meeting and is in support of the amendment, said that Amendment One is meant to protect the future of the State.

“Before you cast your vote,” he said, “please ask yourself the question, ‘What is Marriage?’ and realize that Amendment One is not, and never was meant to be, discriminatory. It is purely meant to protect the future of this wonderful State.”

The SGA senate held a fifteen-minute discussion during which senators expressed their concerns over taking a stance on a politically charged issue and whether it would represent the full student body.

“We’re here not to represent what we personally believe,” said junior class Senator Ryan Budden. “I have talked to people who oppose this, and passing this makes it sound like everyone approves.”

After deliberation, the proposal received the necessary majority vote and was passed. SGA President Darien Flowers said that the next step in carrying out this legislation is contacting Senator Rick Gunn and Representative Dan Ingle to express Elon’s position on Amendment One.

SGA Update: Budget for organizations tops half a million

Phoenix14News sent reporter Jason Puckett to Thursday’s SGA meeting. Here is a recap of what occurred:

Housing Selection: Resident Director of the Colonnades and Housing Operations Manager Tal Fish reminded senators of the upcoming deadlines in the Housing process. Fish also reviewed the upcoming demolition of  North area dorms and the opening of the new Colonnades living areas this fall.

Fish talked about a barely-mentioned “student-initiated themed housing”, which allows students to live with other students in a Danieley flat based off of chosen theme. These flats will be gender neutral, and each “theme group” will get a $500 spending budget for the year.

SGA Budget Hearing: After more than 60 meetings and 68 proposed budgets, the Budget Committee presented the finalized budget plan for approval. Funding almost every organization on campus and dealing with over a half-million dollars, the budget was approved with a vote of 31-0-0.

SGA Executive Treasurer Matt Campbell presented the budget and said they tried to give each group as much money as possible. Campbell also said that many organizations requested unusually large sums of money for special projects in the upcoming year. While SGA says they would love to support these projects, they don’t have the money necessary to do.

The committee used a set of standards to make sure every organization is measured on the same playing field and to avoid giving any one group an advantage. They also managed to avoid increasing student activity fees.

Special allocation: Executive Treasurer Matt Campbell also proposed a special allocation of money for the Service Learning Trip to the Dominican Republic. The proposal was approved by a vote of 28-0-2, and will grant the trip a $3350 grant towards the overall cost.

Campbell said that the trip was very costly, and the allocation would help students who already have a large tuition cost be able to attend.

SGA candidates prepare to face off in next week’s elections

Elections for next year’s Student Government Association officers will be held on February 22-23.  Voting begins at 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 22 and closes at 5:00 p.m. on Feb 23.  Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be able to vote for Executive officers and their respective class officers.  Seniors will be able to vote for Executive officers.

Phoenix14News will cover candidates speeches and a debate between the candidates for Executive President live this Thursday night starting at 7:30.

Results of the election will be announced on Feb. 23 at 6:00 p.m. in Fireside Lounge.  Phoenix14News will bring you complete coverage of the results.

Here is a list of candidates running for each position as provided to Phoenix14News:

Executive President: Matthew Campbell, Samuel Warren

Executive Vice President: Rachel Long

Executive Secretary: Brielle Giordano, Joseph Ross Garner

Executive Treasurer: Nicholas Livengood, Evan Glover

Senior Class President: Andrew Springs, Taylor Martin

Senior Class Senator: Patrick Reynolds

*No candidates filed for VP, Secretary or Treasurer

Junior Class President: David Brown

Junior Class Senator: Alexandra Cerussi, Darien Flowers

*No candidates filed for VP, Secretary or Treasurer

Sophomore Class President: Ryan Budden

Sophomore Class Vice President: Alice Smith, Connor O’Donnell, Gregory Zitelli

Sophomore Class Secretary: Kyrstin Wallach, Ellen Fraser

Sophomore Class Senator: Patrick Brown II, Katherine Andrew, Danyelle Simmons, Alexandra Briggs

*No candidate filed for Treasurer

SGA Update: Greek Life reviewed at Elon, New guidelines set for Judicial Committee

Phoenix14News sent reporters Nick Ochsner and Jason Puckett to Thursday’s SGA meeting. Here’s a review of what went on.

-Greek Life Assessment: Executive President Taylor Martin and SGA Adviser Jana Lynn Patterson briefed senators on the Greek Life Summit that was held last weekend. The summit focused on Greek Life at Elon and allowed leaders to focus on achievements and areas that need improvement. Martin was part of a Blue Ribbon Panel that formed last fall to evaluate Greek Life on campus. The full, 21-page report is due out in a few weeks.

2011 Greek Life Assessment SummaryA five-page executive summary was issued for last weekend’s summit. It includes some harsh language for Greek Life:

“Our organizations have strayed from their founding principles. Recent incidents have attracted a discerning eye on the health of our Greek organizations and questions have emerged if they are functioning in alignment with the university’s goal to be an institution of excellence. “

The summary also found that students in Greek organizations on campus have, on average, higher GPAs than non-affiliated students and take leadership roles in other campus organizations, too.

-New SGA Judicial Committee Packet: The Senate spent the majority of Thursday night’s meeting debating a new Judicial Committee packet. This new packet will eventually replace the old guidelines previously set forth in the SGA Constitution. Those guidelines were removed last week in a slue of changes made to the Constitution. Former Executive Vice President Joe Slocum was allowed to present the new packet under a suspension of the rules since he drafted most of the new packet.

-SGA Budget Hearings: Executive Treasurer Matt Campbell told Senators that budget hearings will begin in a few weeks. Campbell said that student organization presidents should expect an email from Janis Baughman in the next few days outlining the process. Budget Committee hearings will be held February 27 – March 2. This year, organizations that are requesting $300.00 or less only have to submit their budget request but do not have to attend a hearing.

-Downtown Elon Construction: SGA Adviser Jana Lynn Patterson addressed the construction that has begun on the site where The Pendulum building formerly stood. “If there was [something we could do] we would’ve already done it,” Patterson said in regards to reducing inconvenience for students and other pedestrians. “It’s a temporary inconvenience for a long-term gain,” she said.