The WKU Student Government Association held its 16th meeting of the 23rd senate Tuesday, Feb. 13, where they presented an Uber voucher program.

Student Body President Sam Kurtz and Chief of Staff Donte Reed announced this program will consist of 450 Uber vouchers valued at $10, each being given out to select students to provide them with a safe means of transportation and to connect the student body to SGA.

These students will be selected by giveaways through social media, SGA meetings and SGA events.

There will be one social media giveaway each week. Students who follow @wkusga on Instagram, “like” their upcoming “Weekly Recap” posts and “tag” another WKU student in the comment section will be eligible for a chance to win.

There will be 10 SGA meeting giveaways during each upcoming weekly senate meeting. Each student who attends a meeting for its entirety will receive a voucher. If more than 10 students attend a meeting, one winner will be selected by a drawing. 

Senate meetings are every Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the SGA chambers on the second floor of DSU.

Students will also have the opportunity for the chance to receive one of 55 vouchers by attending an SGA-sponsored event.

Uber vouchers will additionally be given out through need-based scholarship opportunities. Each student who receives a scholarship will be given four vouchers. 20 students will have the chance to be awarded.

“One of our main things we’ve wanted to do is directly benefit the student body,” Kurtz said. “This will help connect the students to their Student Government Association, so it helps us fulfill our mission even more.”

After the presentation, legislation was passed during the meeting.

Resolution 18-23-S: Resolution to Support Lowering Parking Fees Incurred by Students would allow SGA to support the lowering of student parking fees to a maximum of $50.

Written by Speaker of the Senate Sydney Denney and Reed, Denney spoke on the prices of yearly parking passes and how parking violation fees are often hundreds of dollars, ranging from $10 to $600.

Denney said that in addition to worrying about tuition and housing costs, students should not have to be concerned with paying these fees.

Bill 19-23-S: Funding to Pay for Student Parking Fees, was then presented by Denney and Reed, which would allocate spending of $700 from the legislative discretionary budget to assist “financially vulnerable” students in paying parking fees.

This money will be split between the “most deserving applicants” to pay for their citations. 

Students who received a violation for parking in disability parking, safety zones or fire lanes would not be eligible for this grant.

“Providing funding to students who have financial need not only improves the student experience, but it also sets students up for future academic success,” Denney said.

Bill 23-23-S: Funding for vouchers for the WKU Dental Hygiene Center and ID Center was also presented, which would allow $1,045 from the legislative voucher program budget to be spent for vouchers for the Dental Hygiene Center and ID Center for the student body to use for the spring semester.

The bill was written by Reed and Junior Senator Anne-Marie Wright.

All legislation passed unanimously in the senate.

Assistant News Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at [email protected]