Jill Fier

The Student Association unanimously voted to grant the Little I a $7,000 special allocation of student activity fees at last night’s SA meeting.

About 150 students participate in the student-run event that runs for two days next week.

The budget for the annual event is over $20,000, and much of the money comes from student fundraising.

Expenses for the group includes compensating judges for attending the event, paying emcees and renting a sound system, and paying for wood chips and other office supplies.

A motion to make a nursing student who had already recieved a bachelor’s degree run for an SA senate seat for the graduate school passed.

Some senators said the students would relate to the needs of graduate students because they were no longer paying the same amount of money per credit hour that undergraduate students do. Other senators said the amendment was not needed because the nursing students have little contact with other graduate students.

SA president Eric Erickson and vice president Justin Larson reported on their day spent in Pierre last Monday, talking with state senators and the Board of Regents about issues important to students, like residence halls, the No Child Left Behind Act and tuition increases.