By Baylee Pulliam

The academic year is coming to an end and so is the reign of the current Student Government Association officers. Sana Abhari, SGA president, believes the administration has been productive

“I tried early on to try to set specific goals and take it step by step, so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed,” said Abhari, a senior political science major. “Looking back, I’d say I did pretty well.”

Some of the major SGA focal points of the 2010-2011 academic year are the mandatory meal plan, the A-plus initiative, and increased communication between students and their elected SGA officials.

MEAL PLAN REFORM

The mandatory student meal plan has been a hot-button issue at the University of Louisville since its implementation in 2008.

According to David Martin, director of purchasing for U of L, there will likely be increases to the amount students pay for their meal plans.

The commuter student meal plan will remain the same. However, students living in on-campus housing with kitchens may see an increase from their current rate of $745 per semester to $930 – a roughly 25 percent increase. The rate for students living in dorms without kitchens may increase around 26 percent, from $1,165 to $1,465 per semester.

John Weber is the current SGA services vice president, a food advisory board member, and a junior political science and philosophy double major. According to Weber, these changes are finalized and will take effect in the fall of 2011. Weber said that SGA could do very little to stop the increases.

“These were in U of L’s original contract with Sodexo,” said Weber. “Last year’s [SGA] administration got them postponed so they wouldn’t take effect until fall 2011, but we can’t stop it. It’s a done deal.”

However, Abhari said that her administration has been able to change other aspects of the meal plan, in order to increase student control.

“We got the [Westside] meal swipes switched to a block system so they’re per semester instead of per week,” said Abhari.

Additionally, Abhari and Weber said that students can now use meal swipes at the Global Market in the Student Activities Center and to buy meals for friends.

A-PLUS INITIATIVE

The A-plus initiative, which sought to add weight to the grade point average value of an A-plus grade, has not yet been passed. The initiative, if enacted, would increase the value of an A-plus course grade to 4.3 instead of 4.0.

According to Kurtis Frizzell, the current academic vice president and a junior political science and liberal studies double major, the initiative was passed by the Faculty Senate and the Undergraduate Advising Directors, and was supported by several department deans and U of L faculty. However, the initiative did not get approved by the College of Arts and Sciences or the SGA Undergraduate Council.

“This does not mean that it will not happen, but just means more revision and drafting must occur,” said Frizzell. “Most initiatives like this take up to three years to complete. And we have made large progress.”

Frizzell said that Provost Shirley Willihnganz is supporting the initiative and that efforts to weight the A-plus will continue when he takes over as president in the fall of 2011.

IMPROVING

COMMUNICATION

According to Abhari, a key focus of the 2010-2011 academic year was improving communication with students.

“Our job is to represent the students,” said Abhari. “If there isn’t any communication between us, it’s harder to do that.”

The Executive Report, weekly SGA listserv e-mails and CardCast are meant to increase communication through a number of mediums.

According to Bill Henderson, the SGA new media specialist and a senior communication major, The Executive Report and CardCast programs have been successful.

“I’m happy with what we were able to accomplish this year,” said Henderson. “Our biggest goal was to establish consistency and set the bar for future years. And we’ve done that. I’m really excited for the future of the CardCast.”

According to Henderson, the CardCast program will continue under Frizzell in fall 2011.