SGA members left out of tuition decision
(See related story Tuition Increase Approved)
By Al Steinz
On Feb. 17, 1999, the college Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition and fees without the advisory vote of Chris Smith, student trustee on the board, because the Student Government Association had not had time to discuss the proposed increase.
At the January meeting, Board members had voted to give the student trustee, formerly a non-voting member of the Board, an advisory vote.
Smith said, "the advisory vote is based on the input of the SGA members and the students at IVCC. Though it is not considered an official board vote, it lets the trustees know about the issues that IVCC students are most concerned about."
Dr. Robert Marshall, vice president of student services, attended a Feb. 11 SGA meeting to inform them of the proposed increase. Marshall said he thought the Board would decide on an increase at their March meeting.
SGA members put the potential increase on their agenda for a meeting scheduled Feb. 28, early enough for Smith to report their views to the Board.
The day after the Feb. 11 SGA meeting, Dr. Marshall discovered that tuition was on the Board agenda for their Feb. 17 meeting, and he notified SGA advisor Cory Tomasson.
Tomasson contacted SGA members, who agreed there was not enough time for them to meet before the Board meeting.
"I wish the SGA was informed earlier of this, but it was not intentionally done," Tomasson said.
SGA members also agreed to send a letter to the Board members voicing their concerns about the increase, but by press time, a letter had not been authored. When asked for specifics about what the letter might contain, SGA members had no comment.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Upcoming SGA-sponsored events include:
The High Energy Game show will include a Cash Cube. Winners of the game show will have a chance to enter the cube and try to snatch as much money as they can in a set time limit.
The elections will be for all officers positions: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, student trustee, sophomore representative and two sophomore programming board members. Terms will be for one year.
Petitions will be available in the Student Service Office, C-218, from March 22 through March 29. Qualifications for the SGA include a gpa at 2.0 or higher, full-time status, and meeting the guidelines of petition submission.
The Soberfest is being planned in cooperation with the Illinois State Police. The event will feature guest speakers from the police and a chance for everyone to see what it is like to drive while impaired by alcohol.
Each participant will wear a special pair of goggles that simulate the vision of an alcohol-impaired person. They will then drive a golf care through an obstacle course with the guidance of a police officer.
All activities are free of charge.
March 15, 1999 the Apache