South Dakota State University’s Students’ Association approved the constitution of the Medical Anatomy and Surgery Club and introduced new businesses Monday via Zoom meeting.
SA weekly Monday meetings are held in the University Student Union in the Lewis and Clark room. However, due to the winter storm, campus was shut down.
Open Forum
Senators approved the constitution of the Medical Anatomy and Surgery Club.
The Medical Anatomy and Surgery Club offers students the opportunity to develop procedural skills to apply in students’ future medical careers, gain hands-on skills by practicing the basics of surgery.
The club also aims to advance the healthcare profession by creating networking opportunities and empowering students to achieve both their professional and personal goals.
Sen. Rylee Sabo for College of Nursing supported the approval of the club and spoke in favor.
“I think this is a really nice club to have, especially to get people more involved with anatomy and all those things that you might be able to go seek out yourself,” Sabo said. “I’m sure the club will help to be the bridge and make those connections and will be useful for a lot of students on campus.”
Committee and Staff Reports
Government Affairs Chair Michael Garofalo presented the 2024 bill tracker consisting of House Bills (HB), Tuition Freeze and Senate Bills (SB). House bills consisted of HB 1022, HB 1049, HB 1113 and HB 1178, while senate bills consisted of SB 1, SB 29, SB 45, SB 136 and SB 150.
Garofalo informed the Senate that all the bills had been signed by Gov. Kristi Noem except HB 1113, which did not make it through the 41st day and SB 150 being withdrawn.
“Overall, we did pretty well,” Garofalo said. “So, tuition will stay flat for another year in South Dakota, which is great. Otherwise, it was a quiet session for us.”
Garofalo also spoke about the Campus Planning and Sustainability Committee’s plan of covering the upcoming construction project of summer 2024, which would include completion of 22nd St., the road that leads the back of campus from the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center (PAC).
Sabo made senators aware of the Student Union Advisory Committee’s plan of changing room rates to hourly basis instead of the current daily charges. She also emphasized the ‘Student Union Survey,’ which would be sent out next week to those who rent out rooms in the Student Union. The survey can be taken through QR codes posted throughout the building.
Sen. Grant Sternhagen for Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering briefed the Senate of the Parking and Trafficking Committee’s discussion of adding new tickets that would be subjected to the fine escalation policy. The addition of new tickets would impact those who park vehicles overnight in spaces allotted for daytime parking.
Unfinished Business
Senators voted on Amendment 23-14-A. The amendment revised which employees could qualify as candidates for SA Advisers. The amendment was taken to a roll call and approved.
Senators also voted on Commemoration 23-9-C. The SA commemorated Sen. Tim Reed, and Representatives Roger DeGroot Melissa Heerman for their service to District 7 and SDSU in the South Dakota Legislature.
Senators voted on the MOU of the School of Performing Arts. The memorandum states the guidelines and commitments related to the line-item creation for student music ensembles and theater activities on the General Activity Fee (GAF) budget. The memorandum was taken to a roll call and approved.
Senators also voted on the General Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Discussions took place regarding Unit 3 budget of FY 2025 for General Budget, which consists of 17 clubs, the Speaker Fund, Special Allocation Fund and New Venture Fund.
Currently, the General Budget allocation for FY 2024 is $462,480 while the request for budget of FY 2025 is $501,097 as compared to FY 2025 SA Finance Committee’s recommendation of $454,391.
“The finance committee did a really great job during the budgeting marathon, making the tough decisions and cutting money where it needed to be cut,” Finance Chair Katie Neuhaus said.
New Business
The Senate added Amendment 23-15-A to introduce a new campaign finance standard. The amendment is scheduled to be voted on at the next meeting.
Resolution 23-11-R was introduced to show SA’s potential support of the Title IX office moving from Morrill Hall to the Miller Wellness Center to increase awareness, comfortability and accessibility of reporting resources. Resolution 23-12-R was also introduced to affirm the right of free speech and free expression for student organizations and asks the South Dakota Legislature to affirm rights of free speech and free expression for student organizations as well.
Both Resolution 23-11-R and 23-12-R are scheduled to be voted on at the next meeting.
The Senate also introduced Commemoration 23-10-C to commemorate the 2023-2024 Student Promotion Fund Committee. Commemoration 23-11-C was introduced as SA commemorates 2024 senior members for their work and dedication to the students of SDSU.
Commemoration 23-12-C, 23-13-C and 23-14-C were introduced as SA commemorates and thanks Dr. Kimberly Grieve, interim associate vice president for Student Services and Enrollment Management for her service to students of SDSU, and Charlene Wolf-Hall, dean for College of Natural Sciences, and Lynn Sargeant, dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS).
The Senate introduced Commemoration 23-15-C to commemorate March 2024 as Women’s History Month and encourage students to participate and engage with events related to the same.
Commemorations 23-10-C through 23-15-C are scheduled to be voted on at the next meeting.
The SA Executive Team later proceeded to conduct its executive session.