The Student Government Association (SGA) addressed concerns regarding transparency in Board of Regents meetings and overcharging at the campus Starbucks at their last meeting of the year.
Ellie McGowan, the president of SGA, attends Board of Regents meetings as a student representative. She will be in attendance at the upcoming board meeting on Dec. 8. Due to the meeting’s date, she said she had concerns about students staying informed on the decisions made.
“I know a large majority of you will be home by then or busy with finals,” McGowan said at the SGA meeting on Nov. 15.
She expressed similar concerns with student inclusion in meetings occurring during the school year, saying the 8-hour long meetings made it difficult for students to attend or keep informed of updates.
“One thing I’m going to try to do in the spring semester is create a summary of important facts from those meetings so that you can see what the board does,” McGowan said. “Hopefully that will help send that information out.”
McGowan announced she will send out her first Board of Regents meeting summary over the upcoming winter break.
Wednesday’s SGA meeting also saw the addressing of recent double-charging incidents at the campus Starbucks. Gabe Maynard, the executive vice president of SGA, said several students had come to SGA to report concerns.
“We had one student that had two $61 orders, and it got charged three times, and they did not realize it,” Maynard said. “So make sure you guys are checking your flex because we don’t know if you don’t know.”
Maynard encourages students who realize they have been double-charged to report the issue to dining services and bring it to SGA’s attention. He says SGA will continue to investigate the issue.
As the year’s last SGA meeting wrapped, McGowan said she was grateful for all of the involvement and support SGA received over the 2023 year.
“Thank you to you all,” McGowan said. “It feels like this has been the busiest semester I’ve ever had at Murray State, and I imagine it’s been the same for so many of you. So thank
you all for committing to SGA and helping with events throughout the years. We are so appreciative of that.”
In other business:
- Jaylon Taggart, the Residential College Association (RCA) president announced plans for the upcoming Hanging of the Green celebration, which will be held on Dec. 2 in the back gym of the Wellness Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Taggart says he looks forward to continuing an event that has been a strong Murray State tradition for the past 30
years.
- 41 applicants attended the recent mandatory meeting for the annual Ms. MSU pageant. This year sees the first regional applicant with a representative from Murray State’s Paducah regional campus.
- SGA voted to appoint Piper McClain as the new Associate Chief Justice of the MSU judicial senate. McClain was recommended by the executive board and has been a part of SGA, serving as part of the judicial board for a year. The vote to approve McClain’s appointment was unanimous.
- SGA currently has one senator vacancy. While students are welcome to apply over winter break, vacancy interviews will be postponed until next semester. McGowan said she would love to hit the ground running in the spring with a full senate as soon as possible.
SGA meetings will resume next semester at 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday in the Barkley room. Check SGA’s Instagram account, @murraystatesga, to receive updates over the holiday break.
