The Student Government Association judicial council decided that officers can now serve office hours away from the office.

SGA Chief Justice Stuart Kenderes said the council decided to count meetings, SGA forums and other SGA-related activities as office hours.

He said time spent out of the office can now count for required office hours as long as a week’s notice and a written description is provided for the out-of-office activity.

Whether they contain comments or doodles, complaints or praise, some faculty members are questioning the reliability and validity of student evaluations of instructors.

The University Senate will further look at the effectiveness of the Student Input to Teaching Evaluation questionnaires at the senate meeting this Thursday.

Student Government Association officials hope stricter guidelines will crack down on poor student senate attendance.

SGA justices announced Tuesday that they clarified the organization’s attendance policy.

The old attendance policy gave vague attendance requirements, said Wade Pierce, speaker of the senate.

With the new policy, senators are allowed three excused absences with prior notice given to Pierce and one unexcused absence per semester.

At tonight’s Student Government Association meeting:

* Chief Justice Stuart Kenderes said the Judicial Council decided at today’s meeting to remove Senator Theodore Harden, a graduate student from Otisville, N.Y., from SGA for excessive unexcused absences.

Some students who want to bridge the gap between South Campus and main campus hope representation in the Student Government Association will help.
Bridging that gap is the goal of SGA President Kevin Smiley’s visits to South Campus every month.
Smiley talked with students Friday at SGA’s third South Campus forum, hoping to gain insight on their [...]

Student Government Association senators don’t plan to leave behind any leftovers this year.

Last year, SGA had leftover money in its budget for organizational aid — money SGA sets aside to help out student organizations.

But senators this year say they’re on target to spend every dollar of the group’s org aid budget.

At tonight’s Student Government Association meeting:

* President Gary Ransdell came to the meeting and answered senators’ questions.

He addressed the Board of Regents’ decision to postpone the vote on raises for Dean Kahler, associate vice president of Enrollment Management, and Athletics Director Wood Selig until the next board meeting in January.

This is the first time in 12 years the board didn’t approve a president’s recommendation, Ransdell said.

New degree programs will be at risk if Western fails to meet diversity guidelines.

Richard Miller, associate vice president of Academic Affairs, said Western won’t get to add new degree programs if the school doesn’t meet at least five of the eight objectives set by the Kentucky Plan for Equal Opportunities.

The Kentucky Plan for Equal Opportunities is a statewide agreement between the state’s Council on Post-Secondary Education and public secondary education institutions, he said.

Some students plan to don their do-it-yourself costumes this Halloween to keep from frightening their wallets.

Louisville junior Grace Delahanty said she prefers to make her own costumes because they’re more authentic and better quality than store-bought costumes.

She said this year she’ll dress as a character from the cartoon “Sailor Moon.”

At tonight’s Student Government Association meeting:

* SGA President Kevin Smiley announced that President Gary Ransdell will speak to senators and others in attendance at SGA’s meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2.