By Alyssa Sanford
Web Editor
Student Government cabinet and general body members debated the passage of a bill that would redefine what it means to be a general member on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The bill in question, B-F2015- 06, will hold general members “accountable,” according to Vice President of Governmental Affairs Ceili Boles, who introduced the bill.
At present, the process to become a general member is simple: prospective members send an email to the Student Government account and are assigned to an internal committee. Under the new bill, general members would have to attend either general body meetings or internal committee meetings in order to earn five "positive points" that would grant them full general membership status, according to cabinet members.
With the passage of the bill, which would take effect at the beginning of spring semester, general members would have more responsibilities.
“They would not be able to vote in general body (meetings), but they’d be able to vote in committee meetings,” President Casey Dowling said.
Boles referred to the bill as a “clean slate,” as it would change protocol for general membership next semester.
Ultimately, the bill was tabled indefinitely so that unclear sections could be clarified. The four bills tabled for later discussion at the previous general body meeting were also tabled for another week so that SG members could meet with their constituents and vote with their interests in mind, Dowling said.
Next, Executive Vice President Javier Nicasio discussed the funding for Homecoming 2015, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, in Lot 4. The $8,385 that SFB allotted to SG will go toward a breakfast in the tailgating section, water bottles for students, speakers and other professional sound equipment and three disc jockeys.
“We’ll be able to hear everything,” Nicasio said of the improved sound equipment.
Tyler Holzer, vice president of Finance, mentioned an “exciting meeting” with the College’s Vice President of Administration Curt Heuring that dealt with paving the loop around campus.
While Holzer previously announced that efforts to pave the two-mile loop in order to keep walkers and joggers out of the road would not be possible, he cited two reasons that the College couldn't take on the project: first, because it would be “very expensive,” and also because the area behind Decker Hall belongs to New Jersey’s wetlands and therefore the College can’t build a path for joggers through that area.
“The best solution is to cut through the campus,” Holzer said.
He spoke to Heuring about creating a “bike lane” with painted markers that would allow bikers, joggers and walkers to exercise on campus without risking their safety.
Holzer and Heuring will organize a committee with members of SG, the Bonner Institute, cross country athletes and faculty and staff at the College to address these issues. The committee will draft a proposal for construction at an undetermined date since the project is in early planning stages.
“The sharp turns around the loop are unsafe,” Holzer said. “We’re going to be revisiting the loop and how TCNJ thinks about it.”
Boles, of Governmental Affairs, announced that her committee will stream the next presidential debate for the campus community since the GOP’s second debate on CNN attracted a large audience. The next debate, which will focus on the Democratic Party’s candidates, will be on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Later, senior class President Emily Montagna announced that the class will hold a food truck festival on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Mercer County Park that is only open to seniors.
Additionally, senators for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences said that Dean John Sisko is open to the idea of introducing advisor evaluations so that students who are dissatisfied with their advisement experience have a platform for expressing their concerns.
