Since it was a resolution, it only means that SGA supports this action, but not that any action was taken. It will have to go through the administration first.

However, some students questioned whether or not RAs should have priority scheduling and asked what about the rest of the student workers?

“I think the idea is really great but could it be expanded to students who need a certain number of hours of work?” said Cassie Werner, Mountaineer Maniacs director.

Werner said when she was an undergrad student she needed to work 20 hours a week as a lifeguard and would have greatly benefited by priority scheduling.

“The reason we only give it to RAs is because of the fact RAs give back to the University. They’re so critical,” Taylor Richmond, one of the resolution drafters, said.

I understand that the job of being an RA does require a lot of work, but I feel the resolution is benefiting only 180 students out of 29,000. Personally, as a commuter student, I’d love to have priority scheduling too. What do you think? Should RAs get priority scheduling or not?

However, Gov. Ron Cheng called Richmond out this week for organizing a non-SGA sanctioned speak-up event, in which Richmond set up the event without notifying the rest of the Board of Governors.

Richmond defended himself by saying he sent out an e-mail the day of the event urging all the governors to attend. In addition, he said his past efforts to make Resident Assistant Council issues a priority in SGA have always been shot down.

“It’s our responsibility to hold each other accountable and police each other on behaviors that are inappropriate. If (Gov. Cheng) thinks I did something wrong, that’s his job. I saw that something wasn’t getting done, and I took steps to address it,” Richmond said in The Daily Athenaeum.

Cheng called him out by saying Richmond was only trying to gain votes for the SGA elections. In addition, Cheng said he misrepresented SGA and mislead students by acted as the sole representative for SGA when there are 14 other governors.

“Taylor Richmond is not SGA. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but don’t lie to me because I will call you out. He was undermining this administration, and it’s absolutely despicable,” Cheng said.

With a messy situation like this, it’s hard to know what is going on. Where do you stand in this situation? What questions do you have that you would like answered by SGA? Is this really a problem or is it blown out of proportion? Let me know what you think!

SGA donated $100,000 to the organization, of which more than half the funds have been used in revitalization projects.

Revitalization projects have included cleaning up the sidewalks of overgrown bushes, re-painting dumpsters that have rusted through the years and covering up graffiti in the area.

“Mainly students live here, and we think that if we put effort into making Sunnyside look better, the city will want to help out,” said Jason Zuccari, SGA President, in The Daily Athenaeum.

The revitalization of the area has been an on-going process on campus for many months now and I think it’s nice that there is something to show for their hard work.

What do you think? Are you a student living in Sunnyside? Are you happy with the results or not? Is there something specific you’d like to see done? Let me know what you think!

“I’m announcing early so that students who want to run will know someone to seek out,” Richmond said in The Daily Athenaeum.

Richmond said he was announcing early because he wanted to avoid “back room” politics and give students who were interested in SGA and possibly running the chance to learn about the election process and know who is running.

However, not everyone agreed with Richmond’s announcement.

“Taylor said that formation of a ticket is held in back rooms and is secretive. That’s not how it goes – people generally know who’s going to run by the way they act or how they talk,” said SGA Attorney General James Bailey.

What do you as students represented by SGA think? Is it too early? Does it undermine the current Presidency? Does it generate enthusiasm in SGA? I want to know what you think.

SGA is sponsoring several events this year that cover a range of diverse topics and Diversity Week as a whole will display the many different facets that make up a culture.

Diversity Week gives a very visual presentation of how diverse we are. It’s really important from a student perspective to show (WVU’s) diversity off.
– Gov. Molly Castro, whose platform is diversity

But what happens after this week? I think Diversity Week is a great idea and does show the many different facets of our campus, but why don’t we see this all the time on our campus? Occasionally we do.  Every so often a diverse club sponsors an event and we see their culture displayed.

But I question how diverse we really are. If we are truly to become a diverse and multicultural campus, that means that we, the students of WVU, need to embrace each other and our difference, and REACH OUT to others who are DIFFERENT from us.

Maybe we are already a diverse campus and I just need to open my own eyes, I don’t know.  What I want to know though is what you think! Are we a diverse campus? Why or why not? What can we do as students to make the campus more diverse? What can WVU do as a university to make the campus more diverse? Let me know what you think!

For a full list of events, visit the Diversity Week website.

Dave Harshbarger, wellness manager at the HSC, spoke to the BOG about the smoking ban.  He said that regardless of whether the University as a whole constitutes a smoking ban, the WVU Hospitals will be going smoke free on November 19, the day of the Great American Smoke Out.

Harshbarger encourged the BOG to consider a smoking ban on the Health Sciences Campus.  He said that a ban on the HSC would eventually lead to a campus-wide ban of smoking at WVU.

“There is a precedent in having WVU Health Sciences step up and lead the rest of the University,” he said in The Daily Athenaeum

As a non-smoker, I am always annoyed when I’m walking by someone outside and they blow their smoke in my face; however, does the University have the right to tell students whether or not they can smoke outdoors?

The issue is tricky because the debate not only has to take into consideration the health of others, but also a person’s rights.

Let me know what you think about the issue.  Are you for it, or against it? Do you think this is a good idea, why or why not? Are you a smoker who is for the ban or a non-smoker against the ban?

My name is Samantha Cossick and I’m a junior at WVU where I am majoring in News-Editorial with a minor in International Studies-Europe.  I was originally a Nittiny Lion, but transferred from The Pennsylvania State University-University Park to West Virginia University after my first semester and I have to say, the Mountaineers have certainly won over my heart!  I am hoping to pursue a career in journalism and perhaps use my knowledge and interest in travel to become an international reporter.

I have a vast amount of interests, but I’ll mention a few here.

Traveling - I love to travel and through many study abroad options at WVU, I have had the opportunity to travel to Italy, England, Scotland and France.  The idea of not knowing where you are, how to get around, or even how to speak the language is exciting to me.  I love being completely immersed in another culture.

Reading - I enjoy reading when I have the time too and am not consumed by textbooks.  My favorite novelist is Jane Austen and I have thoroughly enjoyed many of her books; however, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams is by far my favorite book of all time.

Music - The Gaslight Anthem is my favorite band.  I had the opportunity to see them perform live in London with Bruce Springsteen this summer and it was absolutely amazing.  Going to shows is a hobby of mine and I have seen about 80 different bands perform live.

Well, I hope this helps you get to know me a little better.  I will be posting on here about the on-goings of SGA throughout the semester, so I hope you’ll check back and leave some comments!