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The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

No Confidence vote discussed by SGA

A potential vote of no confidence against Vice President for Academic Affairs Manoj Patankar was brought up by multiple speakers during the open forum of Wednesday’s Student Government Association meeting. Senator Becky Killian recommended that all senators read the bill of no confidence made against President Lawrence Biondi by SGA from 1999. She and Senator Andrew McLaughlin offered to collect grievances from the student body concerning Patankar and the the university’s administrative plans.

The bill tabled from last week concerning the ability for Senate to react to a pocket veto power currently held by the SGA president was brought up again. An amendment was proposed to reword the bill. Senators wanted to ensure the bill did not take power from the president and didn’t create any new issues with loop holes and unnecessary details. The bill was tabled.

A resolution to accept the SGA directives for spot funding was proposed. The only addition to last year’s directives was a note, stating explicitly that “failure to properly transition executive boards does not justify a spot funding request.”

Debate ensued about the local transportation limitations on spot funding, with some senators challenging that the current directives did not operate well with groups that were based on travel. Vice President of Finance Vidur Sharma defended the directives, stating that allowing exceptions is bad practice and that altering the transportation directive would incur significant cost to the Activity Fee.

“This finance committee… will be fair, just and consistent in all our allocation with every student group regardless of what they are or who they are,” said Sharma.

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There was concern about the inability for the directives to cater to disabled students who joined CSOs late and required special transportation. Sharma stated that he had never heard of the issue, but should it come up he would refer first to precedence and then to open discussion. The resolution passed.

The meeting concluded with the passage of two spot funding bills to Phases of Motion and the SLU Italian Club. The budgets of both groups were lost in the inbox of last year’s assembly.

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