Boxed-meal option enacted, umbrella program considered

United Student Government representatives were urged to take action against Port Authority route cuts by Dean of Student Affairs Keith Paylo at this week's meeting.

Paylo encouraged students to contact Gov. Tom Corbett directly through www.keepPGHmoving.orgto speak out against possible cuts to 50 percent of Port Authority's routes to downtown Pittsburgh in early September.

"Your voice is a powerful one. Use it if you think it's necessary," Paylo said.

Student concerns about meal exchanges on Sundays were also addressed. Students will now be able to make reservations with Aramark to use one of their meal exchanges for a boxed-meal after 6 p.m. on Sundays in the Lawrence Hall Dining Room.

Additional student concerns were addressed by the Student Concerns Committee earlier in the week including a program that would provide communal umbrellas for students to use when changing classes on rainy days.

A Service Night hosted by USG will take place Feb. 27 in the Lawrence Hall Dining Room where members will cook and serve food while listening to students' concerns.

Concerns about planning and events were brought up by USG President Anthony Costulas. He expressed a wish to simplify the process of planning student events so that clubs do not feel like they are "getting the run around" being sent back-and-forth between Conference and Events Services and Student Activities.

"A lot of the rules of these two offices are shared, but each side only has a limited amount of the answers," Costulas said in a phone interview after the meeting.

Treasurer Jonathan Robert Bucci proposed an internal budget for the executive cabinet which included funds for a debate night, office supplies and Pioneer Community Day.

The budget was approved by the legislative body.

The total USG operational budget will be approved by Feb. 6 by Student Affairs after a census is taken into consideration. The budget will fund the executive cabinet budget, clubs, supplemental funds and bus pass subsidies.

Appointments during Monday's meeting included three at-large representative positions: Sarah Davis, freshman secondary education English major, Johnie Freiwald, freshman broadcast major, and Christina Demore, a graduate student.

Demore is the second graduate student to ever be a member of USG. She said she feels it is important for graduate students to be engaged with undergraduate students.

Additional appointments included Zachary Grant, a sophomore liberal studies major, to School Spirit Committee Chair and Jonathan Morgan, senior sport, arts and entertainment management major, to president pro-tempore.

It was also announced that the official date for Pioneer Community Day is set for April 14.