New Presidents (and Change) With two new RSOs forming and two SGA Presidential candidates debating before Saturday’s elections, this week is in the fall spirit with great change.
STUTE THE
The Stute The official campus newspaper of Stevens Institute of Technology since 1904, and creator of the Stevens mascot, Atilla the Duck.
We write Stevens history.
Volume CXIII • Issue 10
Friday, November 6, 2015
TheStute.com
/TheStute
@TheStute
Established 1904
Presidential candidates Matthew Hunt, Vincent Raimondi debate before elections close
SITTV
by RAMI KAMMOURH Staff Writer
On Wednesday evening, Stevens students gathered in EAS 222 for the Student Government Association Presidential Debate, the first debate between opposing SGA presidential tickets since the fall semester of 2012. In the audience were over 60 students, all hoping to learn how each ticket
plans to represent the interests of the student body if elected. At a table in the front of the room sat the two presidential candidates, both accompanied by their running mates. On one side of the table were Matthew Hunt, the current SGA President, and Jessica Smith, the current SGA Secretary. On the other side sat Vincent Raimondi, the current SGA Vice President, and Charles Shotmeyer, former SGA Secretary.
Shane Arlington, President of Gear and Triangle Honor Society, served as the moderator. After opening the debate, Arlington allowed the candidates a chance to introduce themselves and make their opening remarks. Hunt and Smith introduced themselves and gave an overview of their platform. Hunt thanked the audience for taking their time to come to the debate and said that there has
been much improvement in the SGA during his presidency, specifically the restructuring of the Senate in order to focus more on campus matters, and that him and Smith would continue to encourage positive change. Raimondi began his opening remarks by saying that it is the voice of the students that matters most, and that he would work towards reversing some of the negative changes that
have come about in the past year, mentioning the removal of free co-op classes and the lowering of the student activity fee. After opening remarks, the candidates answered a number of questions posed by the moderator. One of the first questions asked was what the candidates believed to be the ideal role of the SGA. Raimon-
see DEBATE • Page 6
SGA imposes updated budgeting policy and guidelines by OLIVIA SCHREIBER Outreach Chair
The leaders of the many Stevens RSOs (recognized student organizations) on campus are preparing to submit their budget requests for following spring semester. Rather than following old protocol, those responsible for preparing budgets are going to be following new procedure outlined in the SGA’s most updated version of the “Budget Policy and Guidelines for Student Government Association Allotments” document, which went into effect beginning on November 1. The newest version of the budgeting procedures document be-
gins with a preface from the current Budget Committee: “Through these new guidelines, the SGA aims to promote: collaboration among RSOs, RSO sustainability, financial stewardship, assistance in achieving organization goals, and fair allocation of SGA resources.” According to the updated procedures, the budgeting process works in a three-step fashion over a period of three weeks. This coming Sunday will mark the end of week one with all budgets submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday via DuckSync. Chairperson of the Committee on Student Interests Emily Noonan and Treasurer Pat MacLane will be making cuts based on budgeting guidelines throughout next week,
and the SGA Senate will be making cuts with input from the RSOs at the November 15 SGA meeting. RSO leaders will have their budgets returned with both cuts on Monday, November 16. For the first time, RSOs will be given the time to review and dispute the cuts made by both the Senate and the Budget Committee prior to the final voting meeting. RSOs have the opportunity to work with their SGA committee head, a non-senator, and their representative. MacLane hopes that the “final meeting will be significantly shorter than it was in the past as the Budget Committee will have hashed out most concerns prior to the meeting.”
Why all the changes? According to MacLane, the process has been very inefficient, with last year’s fall budgeting meeting spanning a length so great that a recess was called. “It was very clear that RSOs whose budgets were reviewed later in the meeting were being more heavily scrutinized,” said MacLane. “In part, this was likely due to the general fatigue of the senate and the pressing need to get our budget into the black.” The updated procedures document also requires that RSOs keep track of their expenditures using the Checkbook feature in DuckSync. “This will enable the SGA to have a clear understanding of how much money is in the [Student Activity
Fee] at all times to better estimate rollover and determine if RSOs are practicing good budgeting habits,” said MacLane. The Senate understands that each RSO is unique and presents different needs based on its size and function. The Budget Committee has worked hard to alleviate the great deal of frustration for student organizations. “I am very proud of the progress we’ve made this semester with the development of the new Budget Committee and a onestop shop document for budgeting expectations,” said MacLane. “Both [the SGA and RSOs] needed to be given clear expectations and [develop] a mutual trust and understanding.”
Roving Reporter When is the appropriate time for Christmas decorations?
Two new RSOs form
Two letters to the editor
Empire 8 Championships held at Stevens
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: The leaves of change Job hunting woes Google Smart Reply Review: Honeygrow
Polling Pierce Would you attend a town hallstyle SGA meeting?
OPINION 2-3
PULSE 4-5
Power outage costs WCPR equipment
In defense of girly-girls Fall fashion essentials
Field Hockey places three on all-conference
SITTV’s door sign stolen
WCPR’s ReWrite
Tobin, Horner, DeHaven earn Empire 8 honors
NEWS 6-7
OPINION CONT’D 8-9
SPORTS 10-11