USG creates representation and student services committee

Last week's meeting opened with a report by Vice President Jamil. Jamil announced a successful meeting with Student Centers Interim Director Booker Suggs. The agenda for the meeting was USG's Gum Removal Campaign. USG has considered the amount of gum stuck to university property rather distressing and has brought it to the attention of the Student Centers Administration. Suggs has assured USG that it is working on the sticky problem.

Questions over whether USG will host RECESS this spring have arisen because of the excessive cost of the event. RECESS is a semi-annual event managed and hosted by USG. It is an opportunity to give students a break from their busy week of studying, classes, and working and enjoy some fun while on campus. Because RECESS can cost upwards of about $13,000 Jamil has considered postponing the event in order to find a less costly alternative or canceling the event. Money, or rather the lack thereof, seems to be a continuing theme for USG this semester due to the budget crisis.

Jamil also announced that he would be establishing a delegation of USG members to plan the Town Hall Meeting. The purpose of the meeting and the focus of the discussion have yet to be decided. Assembly members Kaufman and Thomas objected to not including issues in the meeting such as Sodexho catering, campus wide voter registration, Metra train pass benefits, and cutting administrative personnel in BSB. Other members have argued that the focus of the meeting should be the budget crisis because it is the most important and pressing issue affecting students.

When, where, and how the meeting will take place are still questions USG has yet to answer. What exactly will be the agenda and the issues to be discussed during the meeting remain unanswered. Discussions concerning the logistics as well as the content of the Town Hall Meeting were tossed back and forth with no final decision or direction being taken. Jamil hopes the delegation will avoid spending the entire semester planning the meeting without tangible results as was the case during the meeting last Thursday.

USG voted in Sean Murray as head of the Representation and Student Services Committee. Assembly member Sean Murray and Kenneth Thomas were nominated for the position. Both candidates had an opportunity to present their agendas and plans for the Representation and Student Services Committee. Thomas advocated UIC student voter registration, Metra train discounts for students, and better on campus student services, such as better catering. Thomas wanted to show students what services USG could provide them with. Murray's agenda seemed focused on student representation. Murray's agenda spoke to what USG considered the more pressing concern of budget cuts and tuition increases. Murray has promised to use the office of Chairperson of the Representation and Student Services Committee to continue his efforts to connect with the campus. Hopefully the next few meetings will shed some light on how he hopes to achieve this.