Marquette Student Government unanimously approved the appointment of the newest member of its executive board, Tyler Tucky, at its meeting Thursday night.
Tucky, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, will succeed Matt McGonegle as MUSG’s Programs Vice President. As the new PVP, Tucky will be the head of MUSG’s Program Board, overseeing its eight event commissions. He served as the senator representing Straz Tower until he took office as PVP Feb. 1.
He said his new job will likely be time-consuming but rewarding as well.
“It’s a pretty big responsibility, sitting on the Executive Board of MUSG; it’s by far the organization that has the most student contact,” Tucky said. “But being able to have events where you’re bringing together freshmen through possible fifth-year seniors is going to be the coolest part of it.”
Specifically, Tucky said he hopes to improve student turnout at MUSG events across the board and make the weekly movies at the Varsity Theatre more appealing.
“Those movies are selected so far in advance that it’s hard to see if there is interest from students,” he said. “So maybe a little better selection for the upcoming couple semesters, as well as maybe encouraging a couple different student organizations to come and sell popcorn to bring more than just MUSG to the movie night.”
Additionally, the Senate approved four Student Organization Funding allocations, totaling nearly $21,000, an amendment to MUSG’s constitution.
Communications Vice President Alex Lahr, a senior in the College of Communication, said the amendment passed Thursday will require him to appoint a social media coordinator and allow him to appoint more than one photography assistant. Lahr, who was the sole author of the legislation, said this amendment simply formalized practices that have already been going on in MUSG.
“This year, we’ve actually had a dedicated position whose only duty is to do social media,” Lahr said. “Since that position isn’t official, I thought it would be best to solidify that position as something that is integral to MUSG going forward, for outreach and (for communication) with students.”
Lahr said he hired two photography assistants for this semester, and he wanted the constitution to account for multiple photography assistants going forward.
Additionally, there were four student organization funding allocations approved by the Senate. The Student Organization Funding Committee, which is chaired by Executive Vice President Joe Daufenbach, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, is responsible for going through all of the monetary requests student organizations make and for allocating funds from the pool of students’ activity fees. When the SOF Committee decides to give more than $2,500 to one group, the MUSG Senate must approve the allocation.
The Senate approved the SOF Committee’s decision to give $2,500 to Students for an Environmentally Active Campus and the Cycling Club for a pedal-powered movie, $3,039 to the Sigma Chi Fraternity for its Alcohol Awareness Week, $4,600 to Marquette Radio for its spring concert and $10,743.88 to Mardi Gras for its spring break service trip to New Orleans.
Daufenbach said all four SOF applications were filled out well, with clear breakdowns of expenses and valid justifications for the requests. He added that the application deadline for funding requests for events that fall between March 15 and May 4 is Feb. 22.
