USG Update

Money Matters:
• Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship was allocated $1,000 from the reserve fund for a new sound board for their meetings and events. They get around 60 to 70 people at the events so an out-of-date sound board isn’t working, and the new one will replace their old one.
• The Sitcom Club requested $1,250 for a new camera. The one available is to be shared with Sound and Lighting Services and available for use to various organizations. Sitcom Club was looking for a new camera so that it would be available to them all the time. After much discussion, no motion was made towards Sitcom Club’s request at this time.
• There was a budget revision to allow Full Throttle Motorcycle Club of Michigan Technological University to allow them to use their allocation for advertisement and recruitment costs. They were reimbursed $76.11 for the costs.
• The Ridge Roamers were reimbursed $500 for equipment. The Society of African American Men were reimbursed $75 for flyer and poster costs as well.

News for Students:
• The Outdoor Adventure Club had acquired more bikes for their rental program. They are making them road-worthy right now and they should be available for rent soon.
• The Bigfoot Snowshoe Event is looking for a logo! If you’re interested in designing a logo, check out the Student Activities Web page!
• There are 10 round-trip tickets available for the Escape Express bus service downstate.
• There is an issue with the amount of parking for commuters. There are less spots available than spots for commuters to park in. USG is currently working on ways to resolve this student issue.
• The guide to using Zimbra for room reservation is going to be posted on the USG Web site this week.
• According to IRHC: The Inter Residents Hall Council is going to be organizing the Michigan Organization of Residence Hall Association Business Meeting on Dec 5 through Dec 7 at Saginaw State University. They will be discussing legislative as well as residence life issues.
• (IRHC) There were only five teams kicked out of participating in broomball this year, which is a significant drop from previous years. The broomball committee is also down to three possibilities for the site of the future broomball rinks. There will be 75 referees being trained this week.
• (IRHC) There was a fire in the Franklin Square Inn Elevator which raised an issue with their fire alarm because students closest to the fire didn’t know about it immediately.
• There was an issue with Alpha Phi Omega being denied funding because they are not considered an open organization. It is USG’s policy that it can’t fund any organization which is not open to all students, and/or the event being requested is not open to the entire student body as well.

USG Changes:
• Motion to change the bylaws was invalid because there was no prior notice, there needed to be one day. Section 6. However, since the issue was tabled last week there is now prior notice. The motion was passed to delete section 6 parts B and C of the bylaws. This only removes a section of them which is redundant.

‘Oot and A-boot’ Houghton eh?:
• There is a large project to redo the sidewalks around Houghton, including fancy bricks for the crosswalks. They will be changing the traffic lights to match. The construction is set for April or May.
• The city has also recently developed a disaster/terrorist plan in the event that the bridge is shut down.
• The reward being offered for the graffiti hasn’t brought anything to light. However, the offer still stands with a $50 reward for information related to the crimes.
• The Houghton highway reconstruction is going to begin in April or May (depending on the weather) and finish near the end of August.