On Monday, March 30, Slippery Rock University’s Student Government Association (SRSGA) met for a formal meeting at Smith Student Center. They discussed the upcoming SRSGA election, commission reports, open forum relating to parking change and remaining account balances and funding.
SRSGA Election and Commission Reports
On April 8, the SRSGA elections open on CORE. Officers are up for reelection, and new senators can apply and run. Additionally, SRSGA is meeting to update and clarify their constitution and bylaws.
On March 11, representatives from the Committee for Racial and Ethnic Diversity met to discuss upcoming events and initiatives. Flyers and “know your rights” cards are being created through the teacher’s office using the commission’s budget. The commission also emphasized engaging faculty and staffing with conversations about racial and ethnic diversity. Potential ideas discussed were a booklet or speaker event. The Committee for Racial and Ethnic Diversity has at least two more social justice round table discussions.
Representatives spoke on their meeting with the President’s Commission on Sustainability. Their discussions focused on how the commission could be more involved with students, and talking about next year merging the commission with the Green Fund to maximize resources and funds. This should provide more opportunities to put plans into action. Next, they discussed the Macoskey Center and its Earth Month calendar, and how they can better get SRSGA and the Honors College involved. Next year, they plan to implement more classes and courses focused on sustainability and integrating it into appropriate majors.
Open Forum
During open forum, head senator for the College of Liberal Arts, Nolan Holtz, spoke on the recent change in parking permit pricing.
“We all appreciate the effort to improve parking on campus, because anyone on campus who drives knows how hard it can be to find parking. However, I want to share why many students are cornered about the increase in the parking permit fee from $25 to $100 per year,” Holtz said. “While the university says this is less than $8.35 per month, the reality is a more-than-300% increase in one year. For many students, especially commuters, that is a big jump. Students are already dealing with raising costs, tuition, rent and other expenses. Even a small monthly cost can amount when students are already trying to manage a high budget.”
Senator Connor Grasser spoke on his meeting with Dr. Dils during open forum. Dils, the dean of the Department of Education, detailed a new master’s degree in refereeing and officiating. This would provide an opportunity for future educators who are interested in officiating in their future. Grasser also commented on the retiring and replacements within the department. Currently there are two to three professors retiring from the department, and they are fielding replacements.
Dr. Wilmes, Vice President of Student Affairs, responded to the parking comments and provided details on the change.
“We certainly understand a fee increase is never going to be welcome, but there are going to be some changes to parking as well,” Wilmes said. “I know the email was long and could be confusing, but what I can tell you is that we currently have 1,200 residential spaces, and we sold 1,800 residential permits. That means 600 residents are parking in open parking, which is ultimately shared between commuter, residents, et cetera. This will be limited next year, which will open more spaces for commuters…so the hope is to limit residential a little bit, and at the same time, increase residential spots with an off-campus lot.”
Finance and Budget
Four new initiatives were presented to SRSGA, all four coming from athletic teams. Women’s club soccer asked for $276 to even out their negative balance after a previous transaction. This request was awarded.
Men’s club volleyball asked for $11,223.75 to support the team’s travel to NCVF Nationals Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. These funds will cover travel and lodging. They were able to raise some money themselves, and the rest was awarded by SRSGA.
Club golf requested $2,720.00 to cover the entry fees for 16 players at the upcoming tournament in Lindenwood, Pa. Club golf was awarded funds.
Finally, men’s rugby requested $4,822 to cover their travel and housing expenses to attend the 2026 Collegiate Rugby Championship in Germantown, Md. SRSGA awarded the funds to the club for their travel.
