Last Thursday night’s Student Government Association regular meeting was filled with freshmen for swearing into Freshman Council. Of 81 applicants, 27 freshmen were selected to serve on the council. Chief Justice Beau Pemberton facilitated the swearing-in ceremony. After roll call, Sen. Will Bird submitted his resignation to the assembly. His vacant seat in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences will be filled by SGA President Dusty Dean. Martin Mayor Randy Brundige addressed the assembly to update the Senate on projects that the city is undertaking. Besides project reports on the Brian Brown Greenway and road construction on University Street, Brundige announced that MTD, a manufacturer of lawnmowers and Troybilt products, is planning on constructing a distribution center in Martin in the next three years. “They say about 160 new jobs will be coming to Martin,” Brundige said. “This will be a big advantage for the university. They are really good about hiring UTM students and work around class schedules.” The mayor also said that the center will mean more traffic for the city, about 150 trucks a day. In the executive report, Dean expressed dissatisfaction with UTM and UT system administrators for not informing the SGA about the increase in the campus parking fines. This year, parking fines were increased from $10 to $15. “This came as a surprise to most of our students. I was looking through the several- years-old Public Safety Traffic Office brochure, and I noticed that the amount of the fines were marked through and $15 was penciled above it,” Dean said. Dean said the fee increase was proposed in April 2003 in a little-known UTM committee, the Traffic and Parking Authority Committee. At the time of the committee’s April 2003 meeting, students served as ex-officio members of the committee. Pamela Bartholomew, John Rippy, Candace Tate and SGA Vice President Nikki Draper served as student representatives. The committee, at the urging of Capt. Rick Hatler, director of Public Safety, approved the $5 increase. From there, it was passed to a liaison committee. Former SGA President Jennifer Ogg was the student representative on the liaison committee. After the fee increase proposal passed the liaison committee, it was sent to Knoxville for review by the UT Board of Trustees, who approved the increase. The state attorney general finally approved the increase. “When you hold committees in late April and May, you have to question the timing. It’s during the transition right after the SGA elections. In May, school was already out so nobody could know about it,” Dean said.

“It’s like they slipped this one by us.”

Dean had two recommendations for school administrators.

First, he proposed that any increase in student fees or fines should be brought before an SGA standing committee.

Second, Dean proposed that if the trustees vote for a fee increase, that they should disseminate public notices.