final sgi fall newsletter

This year, more dining options have been added for the students on campus. Students can now en-joy frozen yogurt at Red Mango or enjoy classic diner food at the Red Storm Diner. Red Mango is located on the first floor of St. Augustine’s Hall next to the Library Cafe. An assortment of flavors is offered that are changed every week, but the Original Tart flavor is always served. Different toppings ranging from baked ones to fruits are acces-sible for self-serve. Red Mango is open from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 7:30AM to 3:00PM on Friday.

Sophomore Christine Chung said, “Last semester, I heard that Red Mango moved into Stony Brook University, and I was so jealous! But, when I heard that Red Man-go was coming to St. John’s, I was thrilled. Red Mango’s frozen yogurt is one of my favorite treats of all time whether it’s sunny or snowy, and it’s awesome that it’s right on campus. Now, I can go grab some awesome frozen yogurt whenever I want!” The other new dining option, the Red Storm Diner, is located at the SGI Courtyard.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NEW DINING OPTIONS COME TO QUEENS CAMPUS BY CATHERINE MIN KIM

STUDENTfocusStudent Government, Inc.Fall 2013

Students embrace Johnny Thunderbird outside of Carnesecca Arena during the

2013 Dribble for the Cure event.

IN THIS ISSUE

CONNECT WITH USGUA @STJOHNSSGI

As part of an initiative to preserve the environment and our cell phone batteries, SGI has put in place electronic charging and refillable water bottle stations around campus. This technology station, found in the D’Angelo Center, supplies students with chargers for devices from iPhones to Androids. Benjamin Anvarrete, a junior found using the chargers at DAC said “They’re very convenient because I lost my charger yesterday, and I went to the bookstore to buy one, but they didn’t have the type of charger I needed.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

TECHNOLOGIES SAVE EARTH

AND IMPROVESTUDENT LIFE

BY WANDY ORTIZ

Dining Options.........................1, 2Technologies Save.....................1, 3Committee Spotlight....................2Relay For Life................................3Committee Spotlight....................4Around St. John’s...........5, 8, 12, 13Rep/Committee Roster.............6, 7Letter to the Community.............9Operating Budget...................10,11Organizations Budget...........12, 13

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FROM PAGE 1, “NEW DINING”

This 50’s style diner offers classic food such as burgers, milkshakes, and breakfast food. Students can eat inside the diner to enjoy their meals or take it to go. Meals are offered for dinner meal exchange from Monday through Friday. Although there is an extensive array of food to choose from on the menu, there are only a few options actually offered for meal exchange. The Red Storm Diner is open from 5:00PM to 2:00AM on Mondays through Thursdays, 5:00PM to 3:00AM on Friday, 8:00PM to 3:00AM on Saturday, and 8:00PM to 2:00AM on Sunday. The Red Storm Diner is the late night dinner option that students can choose, and students can go to Red Mango to enjoy a nice snack with friends. Sophomore Judy Wu said, “Red Storm Diner’s great after a late lab class!”

COMMITTEESPOTLIGHT

Eight questions with Caitlin Lopes, the Chairperson of the Student Affairs Committee.

Q: Which committee are you a part of? A: Student Affairs Committee

Q: What is involved in order to join your committee? A: Simply come to a meeting; the committee is open and there is no deadline in order to join.

Q: When does your committee meet as a general body? A: Meeting times for the Student Affairs Committee are Wednesdays at 4:30pm.

Q: What are your goals this year as a committee? A: Our goals as a committee for this year are to provide the student body of St. John’s University with bigger and better events, including both Winter Carnival and Relay For Life.

Q: What has your committee successfully accomplished recently? A: Our most current accomplishment is promoting Relay For Life and starting the awareness of Relay For Life earlier. Q: What’s new and exciting that is happening this year? A: This year we are excited to bring new events to campus. Events like Winter Wonderland with snow and fundraising even more for Relay For Life with our theme of Candy Land.

Q: What makes this year’s iteration of the committee different com-pared to years past? A: The variety of events and the quality of events. We are looking to make the classic events better and give students something to talk about all year long.

Q: What makes this committee an important asset to St. John’s? A: We are always looking to make the student body happy. We want their input to how the events are going and what they want to see so it can truly be student events.

Learn more about all of SGI’s Standing Committees at http://bit.ly/sjucommittees

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But it’s good for people like me who don’t have a charger. One thing I don’t like about them is that they rely a lot on human nature. Like do you really expect people to leave their phone and trust that no one would take it? If I walked away from here for 30 minutes, there’s no guaran-tee that my phone would still be here. But overall, they’re very useful”. (Keep in mind that at the charging station, there is a clearly written advisory to please keep track of devices at all time). The image on the right is an exam-ple of the refillable water stations that can be found in residence halls and other locations. One interest-fing feature the new systems boast is an electronic count of how many plastic water bottles havebeen saved by refilling reusable

ones, it helps keep Johnnies aware of the impact they are making on our ecosystem. Hopefully, it will continue motivating students to keep using all those free water bottles they’ve gotten this semester! Gabrielle Mineo, a freshman here at SJU says about the water bottle stations in residence halls and in campus buildings, “I definitely see myself recycling more and reusing my water bottles more often than I usually do. Not only do these stations provide water to drink, but they also promote the reuse of water bottles & saving the environment.” If you haven’t gotten a chance to use either of these brand new facilities, make sure you get the chance to check them out and see what you think!

RELAY FOR LIFE IS COMING SOON!

April 4, 2014BIT.LY/SJURELAYFORLIFE

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FROM PAGE 1, “TECHNOLOGIES SAVE” “The location is nice because it’s where people hang out the most. But at the same time, there are a lot of outlets all over campus that people could use, so I feel like it wastes money.

COMMITTEESPOTLIGHT

Eight questions with Jasiel Martin-Odoom, the Chairperson of the Research and Development Committee.Q: Which committee are you a part of? A: My Committee is Research and Development.

Q: What is involved in order to join your committee? A: It is open to new members indefinitely. We are always looking forward to increase our membership. Come join the family!!

Q: When does your committee meet as a general body? A: We meet every Thursday from 7pm to 8pm in DAC 210.

Q: What are your goals this year as a committee? A: For this year, our goals are to provide research into various major areas of campus that students have concerns with, i.e. Residence Life, Facilities, Public Safety, Student Life and others. We intend to use the research we gather, with the help of the Student Services Committee, to make a solid case for change on our campus as well as provide policy suggestions to certain issues that will arise especially as a result of the unique position we are in with regards to our rebranding process.

Q: What has your committee successfully accomplished recently? A: Currently, we have completed extensive research into the possibilities of taking our school’s year book from print version to an online edition. We have polled information from different sources and have come up with a specified group of alternatives that we have submitted to the Executive Board of Student Government Inc. and the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Kathryn Hutchinson. We also have made this information available to the senior committee in case they need it in their preparations for senior week and graduation-related activities. Q: What’s new and exciting that is happening this year? A: I am excited for the immense change we are going to be spearheading on this campus due to the very unique position of our committee’s functions in relation to the needs of the school.

Q: What makes this year’s iteration of the committee different compared to years past? A: This committee is different from last year in that everyone from the co-chairs to the committee members are very dedicated to the committee and to our goals.

Q: How is this committee’s tasks delegated? A: The committee is sub-divided into three sub-committees with each one under the purview of one of my three co-chairs: Jialun Mike Wang, Arcangelo Petretta, and Laura Dease.

Learn more about all of SGI’s Standing Committees at http://bit.ly/sjucommittees

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Around St. John’s

5

9

To the St. John’s University Community, Student Government, Inc. (SGI) is the official representative of the undergraduate student population and the parent organization of all the undergraduate student organizations on the Queens campus. The SGI Floor is comprised of the Executive Board, the 10 Standing Committees, and the body of Representatives working to promote the mission of St. John’s University. In an effort to continuously promote transparency, SGI is releasing its 2013-‐2014 Financial Report to inform the St. John’s Community about the reasoning and work that produced this year’s allocations. Revenue Each year SGI is tasked with producing a budget effective for the fiscal year beginning July 1st and ending on June 30th. The annual fiscal budget is carefully constructed to foster collaboration and ensure efficient productivity amongst the student body and student organizations. SGI’s budget is derived from the following sources: a portion of the student activity fee, CO-‐OP revenue, SGI totes and ties revenue, and any previous fiscal year surplus. Budget Breakdown The 2013-‐2014 SGI Budget is divided into five sections: Student Organizations, Organizational Support Services, Operating, Government, and Committees.

• The Organizations’ budget encompasses the allocations to the undergraduate student organizations based on their self-‐prepared budget proposals, along with the amounts allocated to the Greek Councils and the SGI Budget Committee Special Allocations. All of the organizations are classified under 1 of 10 categories: Academic, Cultural, Greek Life, Honor Societies, Political, Religious, Social Justice, Special Interest, Programming Boards, and the Vincentian Yearbook;

• The Organizational Support Services budget encompasses the allocations for services SGI provides for student organization’s use including but not limited to OrgSync software, Facilities, and Public Safety expenses for programming by recognized organizations;

• The Government budget is comprised of the allocations for SGI administrative expenses and initiatives along with class senator and committee allocations;

• The Committee budget includes the individual budgets for each of the 10 standing SGI committees. SGI wants it to be understood that funds for student organizations are allocated based on several factors including the organization’s budget proposal, their earned income account balance, fulfillment of requirements as an organization, service hours, and the quality and value of prior programming. Additionally, the 3 programming boards – Resident Student Association, Student Programming Board, and HARAYA: The Pan-‐African Students’ Coalition – receive funding for collaborative programming that is open to all students to attend, and thus are allocated budgets that are in proportion to their events planned in a fiscal year. This fiscal year’s budget reflects SGI’s commitment to serve its peer student constituents. The SGI Floor has voted on and approved this budget, having kept in mind the opinions and needs of students, student leaders, student organizations, and others that comprise the St. John’s University Community as a whole.

In conjunction with the University’s Vincentian Mission and Core Values: Truth, Love, Respect, Opportunity, Service, and Excellence

Sincerely,

The 2013-‐2014 Executive Board & Floor

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Revenue Source

Activities Fee

CO-OP (Student Printing & Distribution Center)

Vineyard Vines Totes & Ties TOTAL REVENUE

Organization Budgets

SGI: Special Allocations

IGC: Special Allocations

Organizations Allocations

ALFSA

IFC

Panhellenic Council

Tri CouncilORGANIZATION BUDGET TOTAL

Organizations Support Services Budget

Facilities Cost for Student Organization Events

Security/Cadets

Concerts

Co-Op/Xerox (Student Printing & Distribution Center)

OrgSyncASCAP/BMI/SESAC

Direct TVSUPPORT SERVICES BUDGET TOTAL

Operating Budget

Support Staff SalariesAuditing FeesLegal Fees

Equipment

NY Times Readership Initiative

SuppliesPostage

ContingencyPrinting

QuickBooks

Department CoSponsorshipsOPERATING BUDGET TOTAL

286,845.00$

All allocated funding that is used by three member council of the Tri-Council for programming and activities.

The total funds that all SGI organizations received this fiscal year.

Allocated funds that are from the ALFSA Greek organizations.

Allocated funds that are used by members of Inter-Fraternity Council for programming and activities.

Allocated funds that are used by members of the Panhellenic Council Greek organizations for programming and activites.

9,500.00$

5,500.00$

11,000.00$

494,845.00$

SGI provides DirectTV Services for the D'Angelo Center televisions.

Funds used to supplement a portion of the total cost to plan and execute an annual music event for the general student population.

Funds used by the Greek Budget Committee for educational and leadership training activities and events.

52,000.00$

The funds to support academic and leadership training programs that reflect the University's Vincentian values for the student community. Requests are open to all SGI recognized organizations, recommended by the SGI Budget

Committee, and are approved by the SGI Floor.100,000.00$

Student Government Inc. receives a portion of the Student Activity Fee as their annual budget.

The CO-OP generates periodic revenue and provides services to student organizations as well as the general student population.

Vineyard Vines Totes & Ties containing the new St. John's University Crest will once again be sold by SGI.

Anticipated Revenue

Allocation of Funds

Notes

Allocated Budget 2013-2014 Notes

$ 222,800.00

Funds are used for the salaries of the office support for the entire fiscal year.

Allocated Budget 2013-2014 Notes

Unexpected expenditures that arise, that are not generally categorized under another area.

$ 6,000.00

$ 400.00 $ 8,000.00

$ 50,000.00

Usage of all annual auditing fees.Fees for contract review throughout the year.

Used to repair, replace, or modify any SGI equipment, including the Co-Op.

$ 15,000.00 $ 10,000.00

SGI funds NY Times delivery to increase readership amongst the student population.

Funds are used for office supplies from Staples and Proftech.

Supply for all printing purposes.

Mailing supplies and services.

$ 8,000.00

Student Government, Inc. Allocated Operating Budget 2013-2014

1,160,000.00$ 5,000.00$

25,000.00$

1,130,000.00$

Anticipated 2013-2014

$ 42,000.00

$ 4,000.00 $ 8,000.00

$ 800.00

$ 15,000.00

Allocated Budget 2013-2014

Annual budget for Quickbooks, an accounting system to track expenditures.

SGI's collaboration funds with various departments for the fiscal year.

$ 152,400.00

$ 2,500.00

$ 4,500.00

$ 6,000.00

Notes

$ 55,000.00 Encompasses the payment of all security needed for all events executed by SGI recognized organizations to maintain

campus civility.

Funds to maintain the Co-Op and restock inventory. The Co-Op provides services to student organizations as well as the general student population.

Encompasses the payment of facility bills from all events executed by SGI recognized organizations.

OrgSync is a Campus Engagement Network that connects students to organizations, programs, and departments on campus in a private online community.

Music copyrighting fees, etc.

$ 90,000.00

$ 50,000.00

30,000.00$

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Government Budget

Gift for Incoming Freshmen Class

SGI Awards Night/InaugurationSGI Meetings/ Conferences

SGI Administrative Expenses

Senior Gift - Senior Scholarship FundDonations

Senators

SecretaryGOVERNMENT BUDGET TOTAL

Committee Budget

Academic Affairs Committee

Budget Committee

Elections Committee

Events Review Committee

Organizations Committee

Public Relations Committee

Research & Development Committee

School Spirit Committee

Student Affairs Committee - Traditional Events

Student Services CommitteeCOMMITTEE BUDGET TOTAL

TOTAL ALLOCATED BUDGET 2013-2014 $ 1,155,000.00

$ 500.00 $ 143,250.00

Works with the Research and Development committee to identify student concerns, conduct appropriate research on the subject, and work with SGI to propose solutions to the Administration. This committee will also coordinate the

SGI Monthly Focus program.

Along with the funds raised from various fundraising initiatives, SGI also donates 5,000 to the Senior Gift, the Senior Scholarship.

Encompasses all charitable donations on behalf of SGI.Funding for year long programs by the Senior Senator, Junior Senator, and Sophomore Senator.

Organizes and facilitates all elections of Student Government, Inc. including Freshman Representative Elections in the Fall, as well as Executive Board and College Representative Elections in the Spring.

$ 45,000.00

$ 65,000.00

With the assistance of SGI members, this committee attends and evaluates the quality of programs funded by SGI. Their analysis is essential in assisting with making future recommendations as to the direction of SGI funding for

student organizations & University-wide events.

Responsible for regulating established organizations’ activities on campus; handles the formation of new organizations by making recommendations of applications for the Power to Organize, permanent recognition of

organizations, and reactivation of lapsed organizations.

Primary body for the dissemination of information concerning Student Government, Inc. Responsibilities include the Spring Activities Fair, SGI recruitment, suggestion boxes, approval of organizational publicity, and allocation of

advertising space in the Torch to SGI and all organizations.

Produces and compiles several surveys through St. John’s Central and other means to gauge student opinions and morale. The data gathered plays an integral role in enabling proposals to be made to the Administration and

Executive Board, to guide change and improvements on behalf of the student body.

Funds allocated for Academic Forums, the Who’s Who Among College Students selection process, Meeting of the Minds Dinner, and the Professor of the Year selection process, representing SGI in selecting speakers for the

Academic Lecture Series and facilitates academic focus groups within the student body.

Handles organizations’ special allocation funding requests, and after thorough review, recommends all allocations to the elected representatives of SGI for approval.

Allocated funds that are spent by the SGI Floor for educational and leadership traning programs that reflect the University's Vincentian values.

Funds used to carry out initiatives with the Freshmen Committee.

Funding that covers all SGI Meetings/Conferences.

Promotes St. John's pride by providing students with merchandise and the RedZone Student Section, helps with the coordination of activities, and plan away trips to out-of-town games. The committee is responsible for the promotion

of season tickets as well as organizing game day giveaways, as well as pre-game and post-game social activities.

Responsible for the coordination and execution of all marquee events of SGI. These events include the Winter Carnival, Relay for Life , and various other charitable projects and activities. Works with the other members of SGI to

help with events such as Family Grad Dinner, Awards Nights, and all other SGI events.

$ 7,500.00

The gift for the freshman class this year was a class shirt. We hope to make this a lasting tradition to promote Red Storm and class pride with St. John's newest family members.

Funds used for the Annual SGI Awards Night and Inauguration Ceremony of the incoming members for the upcoming academic year. $ 3,750.00

$ 350.00


$ 5,000.00

$ 1,500.00

$ 400.00

$ 5,000.00

$ 500.00

$ 20,000.00

$ 141,705.00

$ 81,000.00

$ 1,500.00 $ 5,000.00

$ 40,955.00

$ 500.00


$ 1,500.00

Notes

Notes

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Organization Category

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Academic Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Cultural Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Greek Life Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Honor Society Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Political Allocation

Advertising Club, American Chemical Society, American College of Healthcare Executives, American Pharmacists Association, Biology Students Organization, Criminal Justice

Assocation, Economics & Finance Society, Entrepreneurial Society, Homeland & Corporate Security Club, Lambda Kappa Sigma (Pharmacy), Legal Society, Management Society,

Marketing Club, Math Club, NABA (National Association of Black Accountants), Physicians Assistant Association, Society of Physics Students, Society of Professional Journalists,

Speech & Hearing Association, Sports Management Club, Student Psychological Association, Tau Omega Chi (Toxicology)

1,025.00$ N/A

Notes

300.00$

Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology), Alpha Kappa Psi (Business), Alpha Psi Omega (Theatre), Beta Alpha Psi (Accounting), Gamma Iota Sigma (Risk Management), Gamma Kappa Alpha

(Italian), Phi Alpha Theta (History) Phi Eta Sigma (Freshman), Phi Lambda Sigma (Pharmacy Leadership), Psi Chi (Psychology), Rho Chi (Pharmacy), Roger Bacon Scientific,

Sigma Delta Pi (Spanish), Watson Pre-Health


800.00$

5,000.00$ 250.00$

14,350.00$

700.00$

14250.00$

400.00$ 1,400.00$

33,800.00$

750.00$

1,600.00$

College Democrats, College Republicans, NAACP

3500.00$ 550.00$ 550.00$

African Students Association, Caribbean Students Association, Chinese Cultural Association, Chinese Students & Scholars Association, Gaelic Society, Haitian Society, Italian Cultural Society, Jewish Students Association, Latin American Student Organization, PARE, Polish Culture Club, RAAZ, Taiwanese Students Organization, Vietnamese Cultural Organization

Alpha Kappa Alpha, alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Phi Delta, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Sigma Theta, Gamma Phi Beta, Iota Nu Delta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Kappa Phi Lambda, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Phi, Lambda Phi Epsilon, Lambda Pi Chi,

Lambda Pi Upsilon, Lambda Theta Alpha, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, Omega Phi Beta, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Phi Delta Chi, Phi Iota Alpha, Pi Delta Psi, Phi Sigma Sigma, Pi Kappa Phi, Pi Lambda Phi, Sigma Beta Rho, Sigma Chi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Sigma Iota Alpha,

Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Phi Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta 800.00$ 994.12$

14

34

525.00$ 487.50$

6,825.00$ N/A

533.33$ 550.00$

4,100.00$

621.36$ 400.00$

22

13,670.00$ 400.00$

2013-2014 Organization Budget Allocations

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AROUND ST. JOHNS

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Religious Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Social Justice Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Special Interest Allocation

Number of Active OrganizationsMinimumMaximumMedianMeanModeTotal Programming Board Allocation

Total Vincentian Yearbook Allocation

Catholic Student Community, Coptic Society, Grace Fellowship, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Korean Campus Crusade for Christ, Muslim Students Association, Sinai's

Radiant Liturgical Praise Dance Team, St. Vincent de Paul Society

One Campaign, STAND, Students for Global Justice

Earth Club, Fashion Club, Habitat for Humanity, Los Unidos, Otaku Brigade, Sequoya, Step Ya Game Up, Team RV, The Animal Rights Awareness Club

Haraya: Pan-African Students' Coalition, Residents Student Association, Student Programming Board

The Vincentian Yearbook is subsidized for every graduating senior.30,000.00$

Overall Organization Budget Allocation 2013-2014

172,000.00$

8350.00$

250.00$

5,200.00$ 550.00$

1,156.25$ N/A

9,250.00$

800.00$

266.66$

505.55$

750.00$

N/A

500.00$

300.00$

286,845.00$

3250.00$ 300.00$ 250.00$

9

78,000.00$ 50,000.00$

44,000.00$

N/A4,550.00$

3

57,333.33$

final sgi fall newsletter

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