During the April 4 South Dakota State University Students’ Association meeting, senators were addressed by the vice president for finance and budget Michael Holbeck, approved a constitution, awarded faculty, passed an amendment and approved the fiscal year 2023 general budget.

Holbeck:

According to Holbeck, SDSU has an operating authority of about $308 million, which is broken up into three separate agencies. The university proper’s operating authority is about $249.2 million, while the Ag Experiment Station is $40.4 million and SDSU Extension at $18.5 million.

In 2011, SDSU began taking general activity fee (GAF) replacement from online students to replace lost GAF money as more students began transitioning from campus to online. Last year, the combined total of GAF and replacement GAF was about $12.2 million overall. The GAF is based on the prior year’s allocation plus price inflation and specific increases, like for the expanded Wellness Center services.

“We’re getting close to that first Wellness Center payoff” in 2026 or 2027, Holbeck said. “We went a lot of years without big investments in bonds, both in residential life and in our auxiliaries.”

Holbeck said his office tries to operate the bonds as efficiently as possible.

“If we’re able to get a lower interest rate and refinance those, that’s what we do,” Holbeck said.

 Global Studies Club:

Molly Enz, the Global Studies Club adviser, spoke on behalf of the club’s president, who was ill. Enz said the club discovered earlier this year they were not listed on Jacks Club Hub and weren’t sure why. This semester, the club is hosting the World Languages and Cultures Film Festival along with other student organizations.

“We have been active,” Enz said. “We just didn’t realize we needed to update our constitution.”

The Senate approved the Global Studies Club constitution unanimously.

 Awards:

The Students Association presented awards to two faculty members. Erica Quam, a professional adviser from the School of Communication and Journalism, and Gerald Wang, a professor from the Ness School of Management and Economics, were each given the Campus Partner of the Year Award. Two faculty members unable to attend, Lisa Hager and Angie Courteau, will be presented their awards at a later SA meeting.

Other:

The Senate unanimously approved the fiscal year 2023 budget. Finance Chair Kordell Feldhaus said the goal was to keep 70% of the SA’s yearly allocation in reserve. Senator Michael Garofalo thanked Feldhaus for keeping the needs of performing arts students in mind during budgeting.

The Senate also unanimously passed Amendment 21-10-A. The amendment revises SA signature requirements needed to be added to an election ballot. Previous rules required senators to collect either 50 signatures or signatures from 5% of their college’s students. The new amendment changed the 5% threshold to 3.5%.