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TechNews | Tuesday NovemberZZn 2016

SGA Judicial Board operates as organization arbitrator

Ethan Castxo
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER

Thus far, coverage of the Illinois
institute of Technology Student Government
Association (SGA) has focused on the four
main committees of the Senate , Academic
Affairs, Communications, Events, and Student
Life As prior articles have exemplihed, these
four cOmmltteesserve the needs Ofthe student
body by creating proJects and assigning
senators tO carrythem out However, the Senate
is only one third of the Student Government
Association body Somewhat less visible than
the individual senators, SGAs Finance Board
and Judicial Board are both still equally
vital parts of the associations operations
Specifically, Judicial Board stands as an
Intermediary for any potential Issues that may
arise both between student organizations and
Finance Board in terms of funding allocations
andbetweenthegeneralstudentbodyandSGA
as a whole In addition, the last SGA Senate
hearing this past Wednesday affirmed a new
amendment to the SGA constitution that Will
allow Judicial Board, with proper permission,
tO act as an arbitrator passing final Judgment
on conflicts within an individual organization

Working with Finance Board is
a vital aspect of any student organizations
operations However, all student organizations
have the full right to dispute the allocation
decisions madeby Finance Board, and Judicial
Board functions as a facilitator for these
disputes According to SGA chief Justice
San Dinh, processmg appeals of this nature

constitutes “90 percent of Our Job After a
Student Activity Fund allocation, student
organizations have one week tO submit their
appeals to Judicial Board if they are not
satisfied with Finance Boards decision” From
here, Judicial Board scrutinizes the source of
the student organizations appeal and makes

a final decision based on the allocations
compliance with Finance Board guidelines It
should be noted that, as is defined in the SGA
constitution and bylaws, Finance Board must
comply with whatever decision Judicial Board
passes, including completely reversing a given

allocation or lack thereof

In a similar manner, Judicial Board
also processes appeals made by the general
studentbodyagainst the actions OfSGA Chief
Justice Dinh explains the process as “when the
student body disagrees with a decision made
by SGA, they can simply submit a petition tO

     
   
 

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Photo: muttexyofSGA

Judicial Board” Once again, Judicial Board
will weigh the students’ concern with the
existing SGA constitution and bylaws and
then dispense a final ruling Whether itbe the
approval of a new student organization Or the
nature ofa certain event, all SGA proceedings

are liable for petitions to Judicial Board, lf
plausible reason can be shown for concern

Finally, the newest amendment to
the SGA constitution strengthens the position
of Judicial Board by allowing it to serve as an
Intermediary fOr Issues that may arise Within
the internal affairs of a singular student
organization One Important caveat of this
newfound power is that it applies “if, and only
if, both sides Of the conflicted Organization
agree to let Judicial Board make the final
Order” as was clearly stated by Chief Justice
Dinh By no means Is SGA seeking to Impede
upon the autonomy of student organizations
Instead, SGA is merely looking to serve as a
neutral and civil option in resolving any issues
that may arise Within a student organization
By no means are Internal student affairs
required to go through SGA in the process of
their resolution, but the option Is now there fOr
those who Wish to utilize it

Student Government Association
looks to improve the quality of campus life
for all students of the university However,
the very nature of this grand endeavor means
that conflicts may emerge Thus, Judicial
Board exists as a nonpartisan entity meant to
neutrally and peacefully resolve these issues,
whenever they should emerge All students
have a right to make themselves heard and
to make their concerns rightfully addressed
To facilitate this standard, students should be
aware that appeals to Judicial Board can made
through Hawklink In addition tO being sent
Over email tO sganoard@IIt edu

Students find answers at SCiA-hosted Financial Aid and Student Accounting Town Hall

Erin Nelson
TECHNEWS WRITER

At the first Town Hall meeting ofthe
semester, students approached Financial Aid
and Student Accounting With questions that
they had about loans, billing scholarships, and
more

The Department of Financial Aid
was asked about multiple topics including
the status of the MAP Grant and What the
department is doing about it The Director of
Financial Aid, Elizabeth Wahlstrom Helgren,
Informed the community that they are staying
updated on what is happening in Springfield
and In student organizations through Or
outside of Illinois Tech There has not been
a budget meeting this month yet, however,
hopes are high for positive results

The present staff were also asked
“if I do not complete the FAFSA paperwork
this year, will it affect future years of receiving
financial aid?” The AssistantDlrectOr, Melissa
Hayne LOrettO, answered that all aid through
Illinois Tech would be unaffected, and that the
only loss of financial aid would be federal and
state awards ofmoney (and it would not have
an impact on future years, either) The financial
aid department also addressed the fact that
FAFSA was sent out earlier this year and
explained that it Is so that prospective students
can make a more informed decision about
their college cost The new FAFSA also does
not require the new years tax Information, it
calculates finances with tax information from
the previous year This Is an action that was
put into place under president Obama and is
carried out all Over the United States

Following this, students asked
why student loans increase and how that
is determined The response was that the
Department of Education has rules that the
school follows about when and how they
increase These rules affect Perkins and
Stafford loans Helgren mentioned that the
calculated cost of attendance equals tuition,
board, room, transportation, fees, and books
minus the Expected Family Contribution
(EFC), which is the number given to the
school from FAFSA based on a student‘s
family‘s household income The school then
determines the amount of needrbased aid
that can be given through loans, federal work
study, or scholarships The Department of
Financial Aid is continuously researching
tO Increase the amount of money that they
can give to students and has a spreadsheet of
outside scholarships that can be applied for
after being in school Illinois Tech does not
reevaluate merit scholarships after the first
year, therefore, any additional scholarships
must be from the outside, the Leadership
Academy, or receiving a Resident Advisor
Job However, there is a special circumstance
application, if needed, that students may fill
Out for additional consideration of financial
support if a student does receive outside
scholarships, the information should be gven
to financial aid assoon as possible so that their
merit scholarship amount can be calculated
faster This will help the department be more
proactive in making sure Illinois Tech students
receive information about their finances faster
The department has also increased publicity
about the FAFSA so that Illinois Tech students
get the money that they need in addition, the
department Is processing loans that they do

Advance in

receive faster so that the billing statements that
students receive are more accurate

Some additional Initiatives that
the department Of financial aid has taken are
expanded counseling hours (testing morning
hours), an increase in website communication
so additional scholarship help can be offered
and student understanding can be Improved,
making sure a staff member Is at the One Stop
two days a week, hiring a professional to work
the front desk Of the Office so that students
have a better resource when they come to the
office, faster email turnaround, and helping
students better understand their debt

Similarly, Student Accounting was
asked questions about what the activity and
service fees on the bill are Jackle Anderson,
Director ofStudent Accounting, answered that
they are fe es thatsupport stude nt organizations,
the library, OTS, and the athletics department
It is split up through the thce ofthe Provost
and discussions With the VPs Of those services,
however, for the most part it is a fairlystandard
amount that the university receives from year
to year Further confusion about charges can
be answered through the One Stop or checking
the bill on a student‘s portal Tamara Posley,
Assistant Director, also clarified that Student
Accounting Is located at Tech Central on the
fourth floor

Dalvlna Lane, the Other Assistant
Director, then answered a question about
payment plans and announced that they
become available on November 30 (and that
signing up can prevent late fees) Adding or
dropping classes automatically recalculates a
student‘s payment plan Another question was
asked about how an employer can paysome of
astudent‘stuitionbillIfthatstudentworkspart

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time The employer would need to supply a
letter and thatwould defer the students tuition
payment until they could supply grades to the
employer, and a refund would be given to that
student if the employer payed after the student
had made a payment This refund and any
other refunds would be given through a direct
deposit setup, or a cash refund can be given if
a form is filled out on the Student Accounting
Website

Another question “How cani set up
my account so my parents can pay for my bill P“
The answer is to make parents an authorized
user on the myiiT portal so that they receive
the bill and make payments FERPA isseparate
from this, so making sure that the student
understands the distinction Is Important
Student Accounting Is Working on making
sure that billing statements are moving faster
so that payments are better understood They
are Working also on proactive outreach so that
academics are not affected by the financial
stressors in the middle of the term

What many took away from this
Town Hall meeting Is that administration
Working With students Is the only Way tO get
proper change and communication effectively
at Illinois Tech Career Services and Financial
Aid are Working together tO get students help
with understanding their finances, especially
in the final six months of college This means
understanding how a student‘s income can be
balanced with all their necessary charges, and
formulating a plan of how payment of loans
should work Currently the Department of
Financial Aid can help answer these questions,
but the goal Is tO be proactive and getstudents
information about how to control their futures
better financially