SGA passes finance bills

Carolyn Walser / contributing photographer The Student Government Association and the Brass Band Club both received money after finance bills were passed.

The Student Government Association passed several finance bills this week, as it was its first meeting in several weeks due to snow.

The Senate referred two bills to finance, and passed two bills that came out of finance which gave money to both the SGA and the Brass Band Club.

One of the passed bills asked the SGA to spend money in its reserve account in order to purchase several software programs for the new SGA computers it bought this year.

The bill originally asked for six programs — three different programs for each of the two computers — but the finance committee decided that the SGA did not need programs for each of the computers. Adobe Acrobat was cut from the bill, and one of each of the other two programs, which include Adobe Sweep Premium and Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Professional.

"As the SGA, we set an example for other organizations," junior Matt Gray said, finance committee chair. "We apply the same standards we would apply to any other group. We are getting what we need — the bare minimum. The programs are needed for the director of technology and the communications director to do their jobs."

Another finance bill passed was for the Brass Band Club to receive $3,958 from the SGA for two new tenor horns in order to attend the North American Brass Band Association Competition in March.

The group received the money from the SGA and plans on purchasing a third instrument through money it fund raised.

The Senate also passed a resolution about the university administration changing the class withdrawal policy.

Junior Clark Nesselrodt, SGA director of communications, was unavailable for comment on this policy Wednesday.

The SGA also recognized the January Student of the Month, junior Leah Goodman.

Goodman is on the JMU Council for Exceptional Children; she was a FReshman Orientation Guide and an Alternative Spring Break trip leader.