SGA officers discuss Mocs card program, visit Samford

Officers in the Student Government Association announced the upcoming visit of guest speaker Amy Roloff during their Tuesday meeting.The meeting started off with Tyler Forrest, vice president of SGA and a junior from Athens, Tenn., introducing Michelle Morales, manager of the Mocs card office.

"Manage MyID is a new program in which students will be able to manage a number of different resources from their Mocs card online," Morales said.

"The new features we have planned will allow you to check your history of how money is being spent, allows you to check the balances on your card, and allow for students to mark their card as lost," Morales said.

These features will be available after students sign up for the service through the UTC Mocs card Web site.

"Using this online service will allow students to look at the different money buckets that are on their cards," Morales said.

"These include the meal plan, book points, and the printing tender that is refreshed every semester," she said.

"Make sure that you take advantage of this, because you either use it or lose it," Morales said.

Forrest and Scott Stuart, president of the SGA and a senior from Maryville, Tenn., went to Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., to see how other schools were operating their student government associations.

"This visit gave us many ideas, and we should be able to shake things up here," Stuart said.

Afterwards Stuart said: "We plan on having an elections committee soon. People who are interested and cannot make regular meetings should fill out an application.

"We also plan on having students help with business ideas for the MLK community in an attempt to develop the area," Stuart said.

Forrest said, "During the event we also showed a video which highlights the achievements of UTC for the other schools."

In the promotional film shown, the achievements of different departments such as nursing, engineering, and business were shown. The video stressed the school's motto, "We shall achieve."

Dr. Dee Dee Anderson, assistant vice chancellor and associate dean of students, said, "We are entering into the implementation phase for the new Banner system which will combine registration and other student services."

Anderson also said the university would be appointing a new Greek advisor in the near future.

Jertoryia Epps, chairperson for entertainment and a senior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., said "We got a contract for the upcoming concert series which will occur over the next two semesters.

"We plan on having belly dancers and bands called The Mummy and Boombox. The concert will take place on Oct. 2 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. There should be enough room for up to 500 students," Epps said.

Christian Thomas, chairperson for campus operations and a Chattanooga sophomore, said, "The SGA plans on partnering with the department for students with disabilities to identify problems that are facing students with disabilities on the campus."

Brittany Justice, chairperson for social issues and sophomore from Gallatin, Tenn., said, "We also plan on working with the department to bring in a guest speaker by the name of Amy Roloff."

Daniel Hunley, treasurer for the SGA and a junior from Jacksonville, Tenn., said: "We need to get the word out for the spirit awards. One of the rewards that we are discussing is a giant grill."

Thomas said, "The allocation of funds for busses to the upcoming UTC and Furman football game is a good opportunity to bring students to support the team."

Francis Cuddihee, a junior from Jackson, Tenn., member of student body projects, said, "We are working with the College Democrats and College Republicans to plan an upcoming event.

"This event will be doing a great service by helping students express their voice in the country by encouraging them to vote." Cuddihee said.

Thomas said, "The Theater and Performance Society (TAPS) is a student organization which will be a good asset to the community."

This student organization applied to be recognized as an official club. The club will host theater projects and work with communications majors.

Anderson said, "Make sure you prepare for class, and be diligent for midterms.