Words by Ai Lin & Wei Yng
A full tutorial room, again (second time this year!). Much thanks to the on-going MUSA elections. Meeting was called to order by the President at 6.17pm.
The meeting kick-started with the unsettled case of the missing receipt from the previous council meeting. Vice Presidents have confirmed that the Johor Clinical School has agreed to accept the reimbursement with an e-receipt (partial reimbursement), if there is no other way.
The banning of playing cricket will not happen despite the petition raised. MUSA will not take away students’ rights to play. The President has been trying to attend to the report of an injury due to cricket sent in few weeks ago. He tried contacting the person in-charge (morning, noon and night) but to no avail.
However, C&S has come up with a solution for the cricket club. Transportation will be provided for them to travel to an appropriate cricket practice area.
There will be no plans for Monash to tar the bumpy and holey road in the extended car park (it’s like riding a horse when you’re driving there!). This is because there are plans for MUM to extend the campus.
So yes, we will probably be experiencing parking spaces issue again! But the current council can only help you voice out your concern! The action will be completely up to your next council, so vote wisely Monash nerds!
//this Friday will be your last day to vote for your next MUSA council at room 2103//
On to the parking issue again- SMR parking facilities for the lucky 50 students will end this November due to the expansion of SMR.
Tutorial room 6309 has been opened for students, until 1am, from the 19th September to the 24th of October. There have been complaints that the room is warm, due to poor air-conditioning. The Facilities Management Department (FMD) said that this was due to the thermostat switch. The FMD offered providing a stand fan as a solution but the President rejected it until they provide a better solution.
The President has been pushing for computer labs to open until 12am, for the benefit of the students, especially our engineering brethren (and numbered sisters!) as they require specific software to complete their assignments and it is very expensive to acquire the software for their personal use.
Regarding laptops and tablets, the President has informed the council that permission has been granted to purchase 38 desktops to be placed at the Library Level 1, 40 additional laptops and 2 charging racks. This entire process will take 2 months. This will most probably benefit students from October intake and students who are enrolled in the summer semester.
The Vice Presidents informed that the a restock of Monash Hoodies for 700 pieces, in which 130 to 150 pieces will be allocated to Johor Medical School, has been made via pre-order. The hoodie production started 2 weeks ago and they are expected to arrive around week 10.
So far, there has been four completed Student Initiative events, which are the MUM Flea market, Damai Fundraising, Monash Run and I Hope it Doesn’t Rain.
There has been a great response from students attending the events and those who did not due to assignments and they requested for a round 2 in week 11. However, this is not possible, hence the VPs recommended that the future MUSA should consider organizing this event once more.
Currently there are two more Student Initiative events: the donation drive, in which the box apparently went missing and they are in the midst of finding it, as well as the Monash Chill & Grill, a BBQ mingle event, held on 24th September as well as on the 8th of October (Wednesday).
There will be a charity bazaar on the 7th of October and MuMeds Ball on the 14th of November.
This was where the meeting dragged on – MUISS requested for an increase of budget for Sem 2 as they are lacking funds for two items – Monash Cultural Carnival and MIMA. They allocated RM 28,000 from their current budget to this event and they require RM 22,000 more for lighting, sound and game equipment. After much debate regarding their gifts and the lighting, sound and game equipment, MUISS said that they will limit the number of gifts and change it to cultural gifts, to scrimp on that area. However, the sound, stage and lighting quotation was more than the budget value hence they still needed the money. It was decided in the end that the VP department will transfer RM 25,000 from their budget to MUISS in order to carry out the expenses of Monash Cultural Carnival. Any excess funds have to be transferred back to the VP department.
Then, the issue of MIMA came up. The MUISS President said that there are many (many, many) leftover copies of MIMA for three semesters and he said it would be better if they printed less to avoid wastage. However, the allocated budget of RM5,000 was not enough as the quotations required RM6,000. It was decided that the MUSA Editors will assist the MUISS Editors in obtaining cheaper quotations and if it is not possible, the Welfare Department agreed to fund the remaining printing expenses that is not covered by MUISS’ budget (upto RM2,000).
The meeting ended with Grammar Nazis dictating the contents of the meeting minutes and motions which took nearly thirty minutes. Everyone (with voting rights, we just sat there twiddling thumbs) raised their hands in happiness and we raced back home with joy.
One more MSC Meeting to go, guys!
musamonga.com 