The Student Government Association has approved its goals for the 2017-2018 school year, and will change penalties for student clubs that do not send representatives to attend monthly meetings. SGA

President Johnathan O’Dea announced plans to create a series of gradually increasing penalties—like warnings and probationary periods—for student organizations that do not send a representative to monthly Advisory Council meetings. The Student Advisory Council is a group of student organization leaders.

At the council meetings, club presidents or their representatives hear announcements and vote on club issues such as budgets for student clubs or approvals of new student organizations. Advisory Council meetings are mandatory, but O’Dea said fewer than half of active student organizations attended the Nov. 6 meeting.

Club secretary and second-year web design student Daniel Nickerson said the ESports Club has not sent a representative to the meetings recently.

“It doesn’t seem like [there’s] much for us to do [at the meetings],” Nickerson said. “A lot of it feels like it’s not really involved with us. … It’s stuff that affects other clubs and just general school things.”

O’Dea said the SGA’s constitution allows it to withhold funding from organizations that do not attend Advisory Council meetings.

“[But] that’s a big step,” O’Dea said. “That’s not where we want to go first.”