SBU students get first outdoor concert in recent history

On Labor Day, the Undergraduate Student Government will hold its first ever Back to the Brook concert to welcome back students for the fall semester. Ska group Reel Big Fish will headline the show, which will be opened by local band All I Can Say opening. The concert, which starts at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 3, marks the first time that USG has been able to host a concert on the Staller Steps.

Tickets are now on sale and will cost students $5. USG hopes to be able to book the stadium for this year’s end-of-the-year concert.

New PPT elected to USG board

Senator Priya Sohi, a senior biology major, was nominated and unanimously elected

President Pro Tempore (PPT) for USG at Thursday’s meeting. Sohi has been a member of USG for three years. As PPT, she will be responsible for running USG meetings in the absence of the executive vice president.

Responsible Hall Council Funding Act repealed

USG senators drafted and unanimously passed a repeal to the Responsible Hall Council Funding Act of 2011, which had placed more spending power in the hands of the Residence Hall Association. According to the repeal act, the 2011 act has created more work for both the RHA and the USG fiscal agent.

The act’s repeal will make the RHA a direct pay organization, reducing the overall workload for both parties. Almost 200 students signed a petition to repeal the act.

TLT reforms printing at SINC Sites on West Campus

Cover pages will no longer be printed for students at West Campus SINC Sites, according to Diana Voss, the manager of instructional technology support at Teaching and Learning Technology.

TLT changed their pricing policy after reviewing a recent student survey in which students overwhelmingly said that the cover pages were wasteful. In addition to the elimination of cover pages, students will now receive a flat-rate balance of 280 pages, or $14 a week for printing, which will begin on Mondays and end on Sunday evenings. Students can use their printing quota by swiping their student ID cards at any West Campus SINC Site printing station.

“We adjusted the student survey and actually did something about what the students [complained] about,” Voss said.

TLT is currently working to unify the printing process on both campuses. The senate voted to postpone any further decisions on the new printing quota until more information was available.

Special Services Council Bylaws are passed

USG Treasurer Allen Abraham outlined the features of the proposed Special Services Council Bylaws, which aim to properly manage the amount of money given to student-run clubs.

Under the new bylaws, new student clubs who apply for USG funding are placed on a one-year probationary period before they are able to receive minimal funding from USG. After clubs have completed the mandatory waiting period, they are then eligible for funding.

The proposed bylaws were met with moderate criticism from several USG senators, many of which felt that the new process was unfair.

“My goal is not to make clubs fail,” Abraham said. “My goal is to make sure the ones that put in the time and effort succeed.”

After a long debate, the senators voted to pass the new bylaws by a vote of 17-5.

“USG is not a piggybank,” Abraham said. “We have a limited amount of money. We have to draw the line at some point.”

According to Abraham, clubs who have already completed the previous SSC requirements will be grandfathered in so as to avoid the new club probationary period.