Despite the efforts of Internal Vice President Shonda White, who was directing the meeting in President Ryan Bouray’s absence, the Student Government Association didn’t achieve much last Sunday. The committee members had to face several difficulties during the session, including absences, illness, technical difficulties and ambient noise.

A large portion of the SGA was absent from the meeting, with Bouray and Treasurer Jamal Hollins phoning in and participating through a teleconference interface. They only barely met the minimum number of participants necessary to hold the meeting.

Of the members who attended, two were visibly ill, including White, making her efforts to direct the session even more difficult.

To make matters worse, technical difficulties with the digital copies of the resolutions scheduled forced them to table one resolution and limited the discussion of others.

All the while, the SGA members had to maintain a straight face and business-like manner while a live show held in the Sangamon Auditorium next door blasted music loudly enough to be heard through the concrete walls. The band, Rain, in their “Experience the Beatles” show played several of the rock group’s most popular songs leading no small amount of toe-tapping and head bobbing from the association members.

Yet despite these challenges, the SGA did manage to deal with at least one item of business and seriously discuss another.

They first decided on a logo for the SGA website. There were two different designs up for debates, and White felt that, “They are both really good images.”

Bouray went on to add that he thought, “It’s great that we were able to use an on-campus service for this.”

However, they eventually chose the first of the two, since as Bouray mentions, “the second one was a little too wordy.”

Both images can be found on the SGA website.

They next went on to address a resolution on the parking situation at UIS. Hollins introduced the legislation as having two key components. First he stated that the purpose of the resolution lies in, “Supporting the making of parking meters on campus more efficient.”  He pointed out that most meters only charge on an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. basis, but that there are a few that charge 24 hours a day.

The second component of the resolution sought to free up parking areas for student parking during off hours. If passed it would allow students to use usually restricted parking spaces after normal business hours and on the weekends.

Most of the association supported both aspects of the resolution.

Transfer Senator Dane Vincent said, “The University should adopt a universal stance on parking meters.” However, he went on to express his desire to split the resolution into two separate pieces of legislation, as it would allow them to add to the second aspect more easily. The SGA agreed to this idea and the resolution will be discussed at the next meeting.