I. Call to order 5:33
II. Roll Call
A. Present:
1) Speaker Gabe Rettaliata
2) Assistant Speaker Jen Kent
3) Sunaina Khandelwal
4) Whitney Torchia
5) Neketa Kakar
6) Brian Frazee
7) Aditi Srivastav
8) Amber Spry
9) Tasha Ebhomielen
10) Rahilla Tarfa
11) Chiddy Ukonne
12) FYA Toby Le
13) FYA Matthew McNey
14) FYA Simmi Singh
III. Approval of Minutes
A. Brian: Change “3 finance board members” to “three executive members” for the legislative committee discussion
IV. Special Guest- Mr. Bob Somers- Director of the Bookstore
A. Bob: First of all thank you for having us here, we would love to figure out a more regular way to meet in such a context, such that as things would happen we could progress on issues together. We are here because of the students and we want to do the best we can for the students. Tonight with us is Lisa Kakabasa our textbook manager, who was a student at UMBC and now works full-time with the store. As for now we are beginning to sell the athletic merchandise, thanks to Terry Cook who met with Charlie Brown and worked out a deal to do so. This benefits students on campus as it offers them opportunity for students to purchase athletics merchandise outside the RAC. It is going to be moved from its current location to where the computer department is, which in turn will be moved downstairs. The basketball teams success has become very successful and thus sports material on campus has become even more popular than it already is. Lisa and I are going to college park to the Textbook Affordability Summit where we will meet with a group of other USM universities, the chancellor’s office and MD senators to discuss the high cost of textbooks. Hence, this meeting will determine what legislation must be made or reviewed in order to allow for ISBN numbers to be released and hence allow for students to buy books online. Compared to online, the bookstore has the advantage as it offers exchanges and returns for the first 2 weeks and we have great service and you get the books on the spot. When it comes to teachers turning in their list of books that they teach from, it makes a difference what a teacher teaches and what textbooks they are going to use in determining how late it comes in. This factors into the price that a student gets for his book when he returns it to the bookstore because the teacher probably hasn’t turned in their list of books used for the following semester and hence the books are bought back at a lower price because it isn’t known if it is going to be used again at the University. Not only students are going to get less money for returning their books but the bookstore is making less as well. By motivating teachers to send in their orders early, students can sell back their books for the price they deserve. Students are able to motivate their professors to do so earlier better than the bookstore is able to. Hopefully with the digitalization of the process coming up the process will become a lot easier and faster allowing for that to happen, however full digitalization is not going to happen for a while for logistical reasons. Bookswap, however, is not connected to the bookstore. Something new is that enrollment is going to be online for the bookstore so that Lisa can figure out order changes with class enrollment numbers. The unique thing about the bookstore is that it retrieves the more obscure books that are difficult to find elsewhere which leads to the essentiality of the bookstore. The yum shoppe offers low prices with high quality. Also if a student goes to the yum shoppe and asks them to get more of a product then they will get more, a service that you will not find anywhere else. Compared to Barnes and Nobles who buy at less expensive prices and sell at high price, we don’t. Black and gold Friday is still happening,
B. Aditi: Is it a 10% discount?
1) Bob Somers: yes it is.
C. Bob Somers: We really believe that we are taking massive steps to ensure that we are not buying from companies that are using underage workers and things of that nature. This is not the way the bookstore operates. The bookstore cares about the students and wants to work to help them. Eventually, if books begin to be sold in a digital format then maybe there will be a change of space, but the bookstore will not be moving to the UC or anything of the such as utility costs prohibit them of doing such. We will be meeting with GSA as they are looking at getting a customized cap and gown for graduate students; they are trying to get it done by May. We are going to do a remote buy in the dorms at the harbor hall café. This was previously done at the dining hall with minimal success. It may also be tried at the outside of the library. Sales for the Fall were decent, however have been noticing a decrease in sales for the past five years or so.
D. Tasha: International edition books are not taken back correct?
1) Lisa: Yes they are illegal to be sold in the US, so we do not.
2) Bob: We make less than a nickel on a dollar on a textbook.
E. Jake: Will clubs be able to sell their merchandise in the bookstore?
1) Bob: I’m not sure yet, but we probably will at some point do that, yes. There is a market for it, so why not. As for underarmor is it worth investing in?
a) Jake: Yes it is
b) Aditi: It is very popular
F. Paula: I was wondering if the bookstore as any other security solution because it makes students uncomfortable?
1) Bob: Yes I agree, I dislike it, but however the budgeted shoplifting is 2%. But 2% of 2 million for instance is a lot of money
2) Lisa: There has been shoplifting rings of people at college campuses that got away with thousands of dollars of merchandise.
3) Bob: It is difficult to make a ruling on a student whether they are not shoplifting by looking into the camera. The slip on books that creates a beeping noise is an unreliable system and would not be effective enough. Security guards are unreliable as well.
4) Paula: I just don’t want guests to the university who are coming to the bookstore to feel distrusted every time they enter the bookstore. What about moving book sales downstairs as an option?
5) Bob: I understand but moving the book purchases downstairs would decrease from bookstore sales and cause an increase in prices overall. In the end there is a lot of issues and we are working on figuring out on how to resolve it. We are first here to serve the students, but we are also a business trying to even out at the end of the day. It is not easy with the system we have but we are working on it. I hate creating such an environment but we are trying. I am though currently looking into better security system options. So please at any time contact me anytime because I want to hear your opinions as if students see window of improvement there is no way for us to know unless they tell us.
V. New Business
A. SL12-0809- Establishment of the UMBC SGA Legislative Committee
1) Brian: this legislation if passed will establish the committee. I spoke with Towson’s legislative committee and it has been a huge success and hopefully ours will become a huge success in SGA.
2) Gabe: Friendly amendment to remove subject to confirmation by the SGA Senate at the end of the fourth paragraph to read “Let it be resolved that the UMBC SGA establish the SGA Legislative Committee, comprised of three UMBC SGA Senators, appointed by the Speaker of the Senate; and three UMBC SGA Executive Members and three First Year Ambassadors, appointed by the President of the SGA.”
3) Naina: Are we requiring the First Year Ambassadors to be on it?
a) Brian: This leaves the door open for them to join but does not force them to.
4) Aditi: I think we should change it to comprised of but not limited to.
a) Brian: It does not necessarily mean that no one can attend, but those mentioned that are on the committee are those held accountable.
5) Chidi: does everyone have a fair chance when it comes to selection.
a) Brian: yes, this year is to work out the kinks only
6) Steve: This is not the way it’s going into the bylaws, it can be changed then. This is just for this year.
7) Motion to approve SL12-0809 by Amber Spry
a) Seconded by Whitney Torchia
b) VOTE: 7 for, 2 opposed, 2 abstaining, 0 absent
B. JL04-0809- General Ledger Expenditure for the Retriever Rewards Program
1) Jake: Basically this is an SGA initiative set up around student orgs and events. This year we are looking at this program to get more people to attend events by creating a campus card reward program and a lot of people are excited about it. All you do is basically swipe the red card at events and you receive one point. The more events they attend, the more points they get and the more chances they have to win better prizes. We are going to start with the big events for now to test run it and hopefully soon we will be able to have it at many of the smaller events as well.
2) Jen: Is there a way to track your points?
a) Jake: Yes there is a website that tracks the amount of points you have and if you win a prize students will be notified by mail about it. Also at some time the points will reset.
3) Naina: So will each organization will get a card machine?
a) Jake: No, card services is going to subsidize the cost for the first year, they will provide the machines and allow for full digital security and hence allow only for one swipe per person and they will provide a spreadsheet to orgs with the info. This will not be institutionalized yet.
4) Matt: Does the cost outweigh the reward of this program?
a) Jake: Absolutely what we are putting in ($5000 from SGA) we are getting a lot out of it as the entire student body is eligible for the program.
b) Matt: Has this idea been done before?
5) Jake: There was a program that was done by orgs to track how many people came to the event; however there was no way to track how many people came or security in the data as it was all by hand.
6) Brian: You said this was for a year, is this going to be a continuous thing to budget?
a) Jake: As for now this is the cost of it, however with making prizes from the bookstore and food services, it may change. But yes I think SGA will have to give money again at some point.
b) Brian: Do you think that this is fiscally responsible?
c) David Indek: Yes because we still have a budget surplus and this cost outweighs its benefits.
d) Jake: Also Cardservices and OSL are both jumping thru hoops to get this job done and are excited about it. They are also providing monetary support for this initiative.
7) Aditi: Is there any documentation to verify how much they are going to give you? I would be more comforted to see how much they are going to give you.
a) Jake: No there is only word of mouth, but not funding this for that reason will only delay the project because if it is rejected here, it is going to take an extra week to wait before continuing talks with the other dept’s ad showing them there is full student support backing this initiative.
8) Tasha: Are smaller events going to be worth more points?
a) Jake: For now no, but as the software develops are we going to look into that.
9) Jen: How are you going to advertise to get the ball rolling in time?
a) Jake: We have all kinds of on the ground advertising in the dining hall, commons and all sorts of methods.
b) James M.: We are also doing the normal myUMBC and the free things as well. We are really trying to the word out there.
c) Jen: You should also advertise thru reslife as it reaches the students faster.
10) Amber: If the software gets more developed how would you absorb the cost?
a) Jake: We wouldn’t, that would be card services taking that on.
11) Paula: I feel there is a rift in campus culture such that SGA and SEB events are being highly advertised and this expenditure would only increase that if it is going to be at SEB and SGA events only for the first year.
a) James: The purpose of having it at the big events first is just to make sure it works and once it is tested we will give it to other campus events.
12) David Indek: There is no reason that we cant have it at smaller org events so as long as student orgs want them so as long as there is enough staff to support it then yes.
13) Matt: It seems that SGA is going to take on a big cost to the program, the more this becomes popular this will most likely cost more.
a) Jake: The more students come to event the more it will cost, yes. But if we reach the point where we have 2000 students are going to be at events then yes it is worth it.
14) David Hoffman: What commitments have other dept’s made to this program.
a) Jake: They will take care of the cost it takes to launch a successful program. OSL is subsidizing some of the marketing costs. This legislation is a marketing chip to offer other departments.
b) David H: So if athletics doesn’t participate monetarily then are you ready to say to them we will not count attendance at their event.
c) Jake: That is a decision the SGA will have to make that I will support.
d) David H: I think that if the student body were to back down and not vote for a fee increase, then in anticipation for that problem we must be ready to say no to expenditures that will be continuous.
e) Jake: This is an investment that is going to be clear with what department is putting in what amount of money. We will have all the statistics before we begin spending.
f) James: It is something that we do not expect have to spend on forever and it may transition to other departments at some point.
g) Jake: Investing in this project for one year is a waste of money, so it is something worth investing enough time and money in order to make it successful and worthwhile.
15) Rahilla: If this program becomes successful enough will it have its own overseers?
a) James: Yes there is no reason not to if it becomes popular enough.
16) Amber: have you looked at outside advertising?
a) David Indek: Yes we have but once the initiative becomes moving enough then we could do so, such as have advertisement from places like Sorrento’s and such.
17) Chidi: Sometimes when people hear about events having free things they go get the things and leave. What stops students from going to swipe and leaving?
a) David Indek: The main point of this program is to have students to go to events not to get points, so of course it will happen but if you are going only for the points then defeats the purpose of the program. So for instance if we would have swiping at the end of an event we wouldn’t want to have people waiting there just for that to occur so they can leave.
18) Naina: I think also that there should be some paper work showing support from athletics, osl and cardmember services before signing legislation.
19) Toby: Will the sga have to continue funding this?
a) James M.: If for instance the program is under 1000 dollars at some point we hope the SGA will help ensure its continuity.
b) Dave Indek: We have also looked into non-monetary prizes as well.
20) Yasmin: Is the committee who is going to decide what events the machine going to be on be sga members only?
a) Dave Indek: it is important to have senate voices to help decide something like this, yes.
21) Jen: I think that this is important as it is motivating students and it important that we put the money first as we are looking to dept’s for them to make the rest of the cost rather then they ask us for the rest of the cost.
22) Tasha: If the rest of the dept’s decide to not put money in will you come for money?
a) Indek: No, if only sga is willing to invest then we wont use the money.
23) Rahilla: I am seeing the only problem is that we don’t have a documented amount of what the other dept’s what they have. If we change the legislation to contingent on the other dept’s participation maybe it would be better.
24) Jen: I think that isn’t necessary as it is a fact that if the other dept’s are not on board the money will not be spent, also this allows no matter when the other dept’s agree then it can be spent and we wont postpone the process if the other dept’s decide in winter for instance.
25) Amber: We decide that this project is going to be a priority, so maybe we should focus on how we can decrease some of the costs, and if we aren’t going to pass it maybe we should focus on what we need to change before we pass it.
26) Steve: I think that this is a great idea, but if you are not going to decide on the legislation, it is better to table it rather than fail it as so it doesn’t set a precedent for GL expenditures. If this allows for increased attendance events then it is worth it. We are spending money on advertising that if we believe is not well spent then maybe we should refocus that expenditure on things like this for instance, the key is getting students to events.
27) Yasmin: we should go through this by line item and we can see what is financially ok, as we should be focusing our money on programs rather than events. I think that the t-shirts should be removed from the legislation.
28) Paula: I think the idea behind this program is going to be great, doing something like giving free tickets to umbc events or things that they need or use all the time and hence putting money back into the system instead of material prizes.
29) Jen: I agree but I also think it should be a mixture of both so that it appeals to broader audience. I also agree that T-shirts might not e the best option but if we remove it but I also think that they should be replaced with an alternative that is more effective.
30) Amber: so if we approve the legislation, they will not spending the money immediately
a) David: If senate specifies that they don’t want t-shirt’s, we won’t use it.
b) Yasmin: Steve and myself wont sign it if we don’t agree
31) Jen: I think we should vote
32) Matt: I think we should do a straw poll
a) Aditi: can someone propose it?
b) Gabe: you can motion it
33) Motion for a straw poll by Aditi Srivastav
a) Seconded by Whitney Torchia
b) 10 willing to approve this piece of legislation
34) Jen: I’d like to amend it to other prizes not including t-shirts.
35) Gabe: Okay, I’ll add a friendly amendment to reword the budget to change $2500 for Retriever T-shirts to “other prizes not including t shirts.”
36) Motion to approve JL04-0809 by Aditi Srivastav
a) Seconded by Amber Spry
b) VOTE: 10 for, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining, 0 absent
VI. Executive/ Ex-officio Reports
A. Brian: USMSC- textbook affordability summit, Monday 8:30-2:30. New budget cuts and we may see a mid semester tuition increase. Also they are looking into differential tuition. College park is looking into adding to their discriminating clause based on gender identity.
B. Amber: If anyone has anything to ask about the IT committee let me know.
C. Naina: New RSA rep Michael. He will also be bringing in a freshman student to help them learn about the SGA and prove to be an RSA rep in the future. Town hall meetings Dec 2nd in harbor multipurpose room 8-10p where there will be Q and A and an unveiling about where the new building will be built and such.
D. Whitney: Wed. is the dining services committee meeting so if you have anything you would like to include let me know.
E. Toby: First year council met- we came up with our structure and we are looking for ideas to work on.
F. Jen: Elani and the ProveIt committee are looking for feedback on the Prove it system and how it can be improved. Email me and let me know if you have any.
G. Steve: Brian Frazee is the Student regent nominee from UMBC for next yr, and I met with the presidents council which it was said that spring break will be extended an extra day in 2010 and reslife will have to pay extra for students that live far away to stay.
H. Whitney: Fresh Fusions is grilled cheese and soups email any more suggestions to me.
I. Mike: Election night extravaganza video is up
VII. Guest Review/ Planning
VIII. Announcements
A. Gabe: Everyone make sure to use oracle and schedule a time with me to meet for one on ones.
IX. Roll Call
A. Present:
1) Speaker Gabe Rettaliata
2) Assistant Speaker Jen Kent
3) Sunaina Khandelwal
4) Whitney Torchia
5) Neketa Kakar
6) Brian Frazee
7) Amber Spry
8) Tasha Ebhomielen
9) Rahilla Tarfa
10) FYA Toby Le
11) FYA Matthew McNey
12) FYA Simmi Singh
B. Absent:
1) Aditi Srivastav
2) Chiddy Ukonne
X. Adjournment 8:05 pm