On Wednesday, Jan. 24, on the heels of President George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address, Student Government Association President Evan Krauss delivered a big speech of his own. Senators took in Krauss’ annual State of the Association Address, which articulated his goals for the rest of the semester and vision for the future of Saint Louis University. The senate also voted to allot spot funding to the Minority Association of Premedical Students and SLU Solidarity with Palestine, although they denied KSLU’s request for additional funding.

Although he mentioned the recent completion of the expansion of the Simon Recreation Center, Krauss’ speech mostly ignored SGA’s accomplishments so far this year. Krauss focused instead on areas where he believes SLU needs improvement.

Krauss said that SLU must confront the problem of increasing tuition and the need for greater financial assistance. Krauss fears that an education at SLU may be slipping out of the reach of low-income students and straying from its Jesuit mission. He called on the administration to strike a balance between economic needs and the University’s goal of “educating the whole person.”

Krauss also asked senators to demand a high-quality education from the University.

“My fellow students, I must ask, do you feel as if your professors are preparing you to meet the status quo, or are they challenging you to excel? If your answer is the former, I must ask why . are our professors too caught up in their research and less engaged with the student body?” Krauss said.

Other topics in the State of the Association Address included the need for responsible alcohol use, a call to further integrate service into the curriculum and to improve efforts toward diversity awareness and social justice. Krauss also said he hoped to enrich the experience of international students and suggested the University build a regulation intramural field.

After Krauss’ speech, SGA got down to business of debating legislation. Senators passed a bill to grant $5,215 in spot funding to help send 10 members of the Minority Association of Premedical Students to a conference in San Francisco.

The senate also passed a bill to allot $395 in spot funding to SLU Solidarity with Palestine. Together with a $750 contribution from the Great Issues Committee, Solidarity with Palestine will use the money to provide lodgings, dinner and an honorarium for Norman Finkelstein, Ph.D. Finkelstein, a professor from DePaul University, will give a lecture next Tuesday for Palestine Awareness Week.

KSLU came away from the meeting empty handed. After extensive debate, the senate chose to deny their request for almost $3,000 in spot funding. KSLU would have used most of the money to pay for previous repairs to the student radio station’s soundboard. Senators considered this a violation of an SGA policy against reimbursements and opted to penalize KSLU General Manager Bart Lissner for his breach of standard CSO financing procedure.

Administrative Vice President Anne Nickson, a senior in the College of Public Service, announced that there are eight vacancies in the senate. Legislators are needed to represent the Doisy College of Health Science, DeMattias Hall, the Master’s of Business Administration program, the Master’s of Social Work program and commuter students. There are also three openings to represent the graduate school. Applications for the open seats are available at the SGA office, Room 243 in the Busch Student Center, and are due by Wednesday, Jan. 31.