During the South Dakota State University Students’ Association meeting Nov. 29, Senators were addressed by the director of the Wintrode Student Success Center, Jody Owen, as well as the Little International and Formula SAE clubs. The Senate also passed three new amendments and tabled another amendment until the Dec. 6 meeting.

Wintrode:

Jody Owen, director of the Wintrode Student Success Center and coordinator for undergraduate academic advising, spoke to the Senate Monday about the efficacy of the center.

“We served more than 4,300 unique students at SDSU, which is about 43% of the undergraduate population, and had about 28,000 visits,” Owen said about the 2020 to 2021 school year.

The Wintrode tutoring program offers in-person and virtual options to accommodate most students. According to Owen, students may earn between half a letter grade and a full letter grade higher when they regularly participate in supplemental instruction.

The center also offers early-alerts for grades. 93 percent of students who receive the alert will take steps to improve in the class, Owen said.

Little International:

The 99th Little I will be a two-day event held April 1 -2. The 98th Little I was held March 26 -27, 2021 and marked a return to in-person events after the 97th was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The club expects a high turnout this year despite continued pandemic concerns in some localities.

“We’re looking at ramping up the fundraising and sponsorships and getting the word out to as many people as possible,” Dalton Howe, the club’s treasurer, said.

Last year, the club received $8,000 from the Students’ Association.

Formula SAE:

In the Formula SAE club, students build formula-style race cars. The club has about a year to design and build the car. From there, the car will have to pass a series of tests to go on to the convention. At the convention, SDSU will compete with colleges from around the world.

This year, the team of about 40 active students are trying to transition to a new engine to fare better in the competition. 

Amendments:

The Senate passed three new amendments Monday and tabled another. The first amendment was 21-7-A, which provided clarity on how QR codes are to be used on Students’ Association campaign material. The amendment requires QR codes to be correctly labeled on materials. The Senate recognizes QR codes as a way to help increase voter turnout, which was less than 20% in 2021.

The second amendment passed Monday, 21-8-A, will require future SA campaign posters to include “Sponsored by the Students’ Association,” rather than “sponsored by the Office of Student Activities.”

The third amendment passed recognizes November as Native American Heritage Month.

“This month is focused on celebrating Native American people by highlighting contributions of Native people and also, highlighting different indigenous stories and culture,” 21-13-R reads.

All three amendments passed unanimously.

A fourth amendment that was set to be voted on was tabled. 21-12-R is a move to reverse a South Dakota Board of Regents policy that “restricts alcoholic beverages at athletic events by only allowing alcohol sales in ‘box suites and lounge areas.’”

“[UPD] sees tailgating as a problem. People will feel like they need to get drunk and will drink too much before the game,” Senator Jonathon Sundet said about the SDBOR policy.

Sundet asked the Senate to postpone the vote to allow more time for revision.