Over the past few weeks and months, the SGA has repeatedly demanded to know why the university's budget is not available online. But over and over again we were met with resistance by the administration. At last week's budget town hall meeting, SGA members relentlessly pressed administrators on why the budget was not readily accessible. We decided to take it into our own hands: Today, SGA Legislator Kenton Stalder walked down to Hornbake Library and downloaded the budget himself.

But if we are going to demand openness transparency from the administration, we need to demand transparency from ourselves. In this light, the SGA will post both the university's budget and the budget of every student group, including the SGA, on its website. You have always been able to view the SGA's budget, along with the budget of every student group on campus, here.

 
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This is the flash drive SGA Legislator Kenton Stadler used to download the University's budget on Sept. 24.
 
 
In an effort to increase transparency and enhance communication between the Student Government Association and the university's 26,000 undergraduate students, the SGA  is proud to announce that it has officially launched its new e-mail mailing lists. The lists, which are opt-in, are divided into residential and college areas. More than 1,000 students have already signed up, with the numbers still increasing. Here is the e-mail announcing the program sent to every undergraduate student by Student Body President Steve Glickman explaining the program and details on how to sign up for this exciting new service:

"As many of you know, I am currently serving as your Student Body President for the 2009-2010 academic school year. I, along with all of your representatives in the Student Government Association, have made a commitment to representing student concerns and keeping you updated on events, programs, and opportunities to get involved in the university community.

This year, the SGA has created a campus wide listserv that we would like to invite you to join. The listservs are organized by residential and academic area and you can opt to receive updates from your representatives.

To subscribe, please go to www.oit.umd.edu/SGA.

Enter your username (University ID) and password and subscribe to the listservs that interest you.

This listserv will help you be informed about events that will be happening on campus.

If you have any questions about the listserv or have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at steveg@umd.edu or stop by the SGA office, 0209J Student Involvement Suite in the Stamp Student Union."
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This is the screen you will see once you login using your university directory ID and password.
 
 
By Alex Weissman

A lot of people have asked me why I am so concerned about the proposed development of the area known as the Wooded Hillock on campus.  We’ve all heard reports that something on the order of 3 to 7 million acres of forest are lost in the Amazon every year. So why such a big row over 9 measly acres of PG county forest? 

I could point out that although 9 acres of forest isn’t much on a global scale, in our small community where most of the land has already been paved, it forms a significant oasis of undisturbed natural habitat for a surprisingly diverse range of plant, bird, and fungal species.  Or, I could take the political perspective; decision-making among campus administrators is notoriously opaque to the rest of the community, and students and faculty were virtually left out of the decision to develop the Hillock.
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The real issue, however, is attitude – a problem with much farther-reaching implications than the development itself.  Since the dawn of agriculture, our species has treated the planet as nothing more than a resource to be exploited to drive our mission of pathological growth.  In the face of impending ecological disaster which threatens our own survival, we are starting to see the need for a more “sustainable” approach to growth and resource utilization.  People are starting to care about certain things, such as global warming and water quality. 


But yet, the problem of attitude still remains.  “Going green” is seen as a status symbol, and as with wearing designer clothes or driving a fancy car, people compete with each other to boost their egos by showing how “green” they can be.  The danger behind this kind of self-centered motivation is that sustainability is being reduced to a fashion, rather than a philosophy.  When the fashion inevitably dies out, as all fashions do, people are liable to resume their lives of reckless consumption. 


This type of attitude is certainly not limited to individuals; on the contrary, it is even more endemic among organizations.  For the University, too, sustainability is simply a fashion.  Many positive steps have been taken – recycling rates are up, dining halls and sporting arenas are composting, and energy conservation is being promoted.  But on a fundamental level, the primary purpose of these measures is marketing.  The University wants to tout itself as a progressive, forward-thinking, green institution.  Unfortunately, you can’t market something like “not cutting down a forest” unless, of course, there is enough opposition to it in the community that it no longer remains a silent issue.
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Tomorrow (Friday), the SGA and the Student Sustainability Committee and will be hosting a picnic on the Hillock at 5PM.  Students and faculty from a diverse range of backgrounds will come out to show their support for the largest remaining area of undisturbed forest on campus.  Perhaps this show of support will encourage administrators to not only rethink their marketing strategy, but their attitude and core values.  It’s not just that I want the University to preserve the Hillock; I want the University, and all of its members, to want to preserve the Hillock. 


Only when we begin to dispel the veil of self-promotion, acting with compassion towards each other and our environment, can we truly begin to progress.

For more information about the Hillock, please check out the photos below or click here.
 
 
By Joel Cohen and Erin Spiegel

Because of budget cuts from the state, Engaged University, a cooperative extension program through the University of Maryland, could lose its $300,000 of annual funding from the Agriculture School. The Student Government Association, along with other prominent campus groups, is fighting to keep this essential program alive. SGA representatives are uniting to show important decision makers, both here at the University and at the local and state level, that this program is essential to the mission of the university.

So what exactly is Engaged University? Sure, you could say that it has the region's only biodiesel fueling station. Or that it has a community garden that allows neighbors and students to work together toward a common goal. Or you could mention that it hosts a bike repair shop that allows university students and community school children to refurbish abandoned bicycles and then gives the finished products back to the community.
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We made the front page of ABC7's website.
But really, the only way to fully understand Engaged University is to visit the site. So...we did, and we invited the media along with us.

ABC7, NBC4, the Washington Post and The Diamondback participated in our tour. ABC7 and NBC4 ran segments on the Sunday Sept. 6 evening news, while the Washington Post may run a story about it soon. The Diamondback ran a story about it on Sept. 9. Engaged University Director Margaret Morgan-Hubbard, along with Student Body President Steve Glickman, SGA Director of Environmental Affairs Joanna Calabrese and SGA Agriculture School Legislator Jesse Yurow led the tour, which included a stop at the garden, a demonstration of the biodisel fueling station and a visit to the bike repair shop. SGA College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Legislator Shira Silver and SGA South Campus Commons Legislator Lisa Crisalli also attended and shared their unique perspectives with the reporters.

We know that this is just the beginning. We know that more work remains. The SGA will continue its fight to save the Engaged University. The SGA will continue working with leaders here on campus and in Annapolis to keep the Engaged University up and running. There are few programs that have such an influence on our community and the loss of this one would have an unfortunately large impact.
And it's not just the SGA representatives who support this program. In June, House Majority Leader and university alum Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., toured the campus of Engaged University.


He was extremely impressed with the strong community partnerships developed by Engaged University, saying “I was pleased to have the opportunity to tour this facility and learn more about this impressive initiative. Based on what I saw, the effort to bring the University of Maryland and the local community together under a united partnership to improve the surrounding neighborhoods is having a positive impact.”

We hope that this media attention and Hoyer's political support will ultimately lead to the protection of the program's funding.

Here is ABC7's Sept. 6 coverage of the Engaged University:

Here are some behind-the-scenes videos and pictures from the media tour:

 
First Post! 09/04/2009
 
By Joel Cohen
Welcome to the official SGA blog. Here, you will find the details behind the story. What went into what you read about the SGA in The Diamondback? What does the SGA actually do? This is the place to find of all of that plus more, including pictures, audio, video, and other exciting features. Look out for the first in-depth blog post early next week!