The Student Government Association unanimously approved an act to expedite the process that student organizations undergo to redistribute pools of funding that comprise their budgets on Monday.
SGA Sen. Jonesy Strell (CCAS-U), who sponsored the act, said student organizations are not allowed to move the funding the SGA allocated them for specific line-item requests in their budget freely and instead must make a request to the executive treasurer for approval of a “category transfer,” a process that can take up to 10 business days, according to the SGA bylaws. Strell said the Category Transfer Efficiency Act will reduce the allotted days the executive treasurer has to approve the category transfer to four days to make the process more efficient for student organizations.
“Category transfers have been taking weeks to complete, including some that were submitted last Monday that have yet to receive a decision,” Strell said. “This has caused significant delays that hinder student organizations from effectively reallocating funds and distributing their operations and organizing their operations and event planning.”
Student organizations are eligible to apply for category transfers at any time, which the SGA Finance Committee and executive treasurer then review at weekly meetings, according to the SGA finance website.
Strell said the act will require that the treasurer record the date they made their decision about each request on the SGA’s live tracker, which records all category transfers to keep a “clear record” of how long each request is taking. It also requires the treasurer to list the reason for any decision postponement beyond the four-day limit. He said these efforts will increase the body’s financial transparency by allowing students to keep track of their funding requests.
The SGA Senate also unanimously approved Ava Pisani, a junior majoring in business, to the position of executive secretary of facilities. Pisani said her previous experience as deputy treasurer of the SGA taught her how to work within the governing body and she hopes to work on initiatives like reducing paper waste on campus and reforming the FixIt system — an online facilities repair report system — in her new role within the executive branch.
“I believe that improving GW facilities can enhance the student experience tremendously, and I hope to play a role in maximizing its potential,” Pisani said.
SGA Senate Pro Tempore Liz Stoddard said the SGA Committee on Governance and Nominations passed the Survivor’s Bill of Rights, but tabled full senate voting and discussion on the resolution until the next senate meeting to allow for public comment at an in-person meeting.
Nearby schools like American University have implemented similar legislation that provides a list of rights and resources granted to sexual assault survivor’s on campus that the University must recognize and support. Aly McCormick, a vice presidential candidate in the 2024 SGA election, included the implementation of a Survivor’s Bill on Rights in her campaign platform. SGA Vice President Ethan Lynne included passing the survivor’s bill of rights in his inaugural address to GW last May.
The next full SGA Senate meeting will occur on Nov. 4 in the University Student Center Grand Ballroom.
