The Smoking Initiative aims to actively communicate smoking rules on campus, as well as designate more areas to smoke.
United Student Government (USG) Senator Daniel Murphy is spearheading the initiative.
“The Smoking Initiative comes directly from constituents,” Murphy said. “I asked around, ‘What do you want to see on campus? What are your concerns?’ One of the biggest concerns was smoking on campus.”
Students expressed their concerns that smoking was “unsightly” and that rules were not clearly expressed.
In the Student Handbook, smoking anywhere other than the authorized smoking sight behind West Penn and/or smoking e-cigarettes and vapes can result in a fine up to $100.
“I thought that we could do better to treat our students who do smoke better, but at the same time making our campus a healthier and more presentable place,” Murphy said.
Murphy also brought up admission season, which bring prospective students to campus for visits.
“We want to make a great first impression,” said Senator Amedea Baldoni, who also works in the Office of Admissions. “We are all about making people see how beautiful Point Park is and instead of seeing the downside.”
Though the Smoking Initiative is in its early stages, Murphy stressed how important it is, and promised to continue looking into what he can do to better Point Park for smokers and nonsmokers alike.
USG also recognized The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). President Rebecca Devereaux and Vice President Dominique Hildebrand, who are both photo editors for The Globe, stood before the legislative body asking to be reinstated as an organization after a two-year hiatus.
NPPA’s mission is to build a community of photojournalists in and outside of Point Park as a nationally recognized chapter.
For the second week in a row, the Knitting & Crochet Craft Club (KCC) requested an appeal of their initial budget of $30 by $150 to create a total of $180 for club merchandise and T-shirts, down from last meeting where they requested $360 and were denied.
Tammy Sutton, president of KCC, spoke up during the meeting.
“We were going to put up half the money in order to get these shirts, so you guys would only be funding half of these shirts,” Sutton said.
Prior to this meeting, Sutton and the treasurer of KCC met with USG President Blaine King to discuss optimizing their appeal to meet USG standards.
USG will not allocate the full amount for t-shirts, but has traditionally allocated about half of the cost if the club will raise funds for the remainder, according to Press Secretary Emily Yount.
“We think it would be a great funding opportunity for our club. We did cut the money in half, does that change your opinion at all?” Sutton said.
After clarification from King, who cannot vote, that USG has funded other club’s merchandise as well as clarifying KCC’s budget falls under USG guidelines, the legislative body voted in favor of the appeal.
USG Treasurer Amber Mole announced that after the first of two funding periods this semester, $17,775 has been distributed to clubs and organizations. Mole also disclosed that Point Park has given USG $50,000 for the semester. The next budget allocation meeting for the next funding period will be held Monday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m.
