During the Student Government Association meeting on Tuesday, Aramark resident district manager Steve Hoyng addressed the student senate about concerns regarding the new restaurants.

Both restaurants have been briefly postponed while they were “at mercy of the weather,” though they should be opening by the end of the month, Hoyng said.

Two new SGA senators were appointed and sworn in: La Grange freshman Kara Lowry and Horse Cave senior Kaycee Gibson.

“I wanted to be in SGA because I think it’s one of the best places to make change on campus, and it’s a great way to get involved in our school,” Lowry said.

During his report, SGA President Jay Todd Richey said he would like to see more student involvement in the selection process of WKU’s next president. Richey said he recommends a student or senator to draft a resolution calling for what they would like to see in WKU’s next president.

“What I want to have is as much student involvement as possible,” Richey said. “Any time that we can have more students come, as many students as possible, we should make that possible.”

Richey also said he would like the senate to write a resolution on the recent budget cuts imposed by Gov. Matt Bevin. Richey said student retainment should be focused on by students, faculty and staff. Students are a great source of revenue and money, Richey said, but it is also important to help students learn and graduate.

“I could make a lot of suggestions, but the student body, for example, could recommend a modest tuition increase. I’m not recommending a 10 percent increase by any means or any suggestions, but it is something to discuss,” Richey said in reaction to the topic of budget cuts.

In addition to drafting a resolution regarding the proposed budget, Richey said he hopes senators will engage in lobbying efforts in Frankfort. Executive Vice President Nolan Miles said a date will be determined in the near future for lobbying.

Last semester, there was talk of a resolution regarding the implementation of policies for students who are also parents. Chief of Staff James Line is continuing with these efforts and hopes to have a resolution up for first read next week.

“I think it is a really critical issue. We don’t have any policy in the books right now regarding student mothers,” Line said.

Bill 1-16-S, Funding for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of WKU SGA, was approved with no debate. It allocates $1,000 from the SGA for the 50th anniversary celebration of WKU SGA, which will take place on April 30 in the Augenstein Alumni Center.

“This year is the 50th anniversary of SGA on WKU’s campus. We have been here since 1966, so since this only comes around once, we thought it would be appropriate to have some sort of a celebration,” senator and Campus Improvements Committee member Nathan Cherry said.

Bill 2-16-S, Funding for posters to advertise a co-sponsored movie showing of “Bamboozled” and the forum of “Dear White People/Dear Black People, Life and Race on the Hill,” was also approved with no debate. This allocates $64.30 in funding from senate discretionary funds for the posters.

Stated in the bill, MyCampusToo will host the showing of “Bamboozled” in Cherry Hall room 227 on Feb. 17. The forum will take place in the SGA chambers on Feb. 24.

Bill 3-16-S, Funding for the Identification Vouchers Program, was approved with no debate. The funding for the Identification Vouchers Program will allocate $300 to partially fund ID vouchers for students. The usual price of a new WKU ID is $20, though this program will help partially pay for a certain amount of new cards.

Bill 4-16-S, Funding for the Preston Membership Voucher Program, was approved with no debate. This bill allocated $350 from legislative discretionary funding for Preston Center vouchers. This will allow 20 part-time students to obtain a voucher that would pay for half of their semester membership fee to the center.

Next Tuesday, Feb. 16, Bill 5-16-S, Funding from Organizational Aid Appropriations for Model Arab League, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Financial Management Association, will be up for a vote. If approved, this bill will allocate $1,450 for the organizations listed. This price will allow the Model Arab League to attend a conference on Feb. 18 in Oxford, Ohio. It will allow Zeta Phi Sorority to pay for a keynote speaker, T-shirts, roses, a book and a duffel bag for their events during the chapter’s Women Empowerment Week. The Financial Management Association will be able to help pay for their registration fees for the conference they will attend in Dayton, Ohio.