By Steph Yiu

The Daily Northwestern

Associated Student Government leaders worked on several initiatives over the past few months. Some of the results: a new student workstation at Norris University Center; progress toward a new Evanston Business Guide; and the ability to exchange another school’s T-shirt for Northwestern gear.

Student group resource center

Part of the ASG office in Norris University Center was converted into a workstation for student groups this summer.

ASG Executive Vice President Matt Bogusz said the room is equipped with two new computers, a color printer and Adobe Creative Suite 3, which has programs groups can use to create posters and flyers. Bogusz, a Weinberg junior, said color printing in the new resource center will be cheaper than other options, such as FedEx and Quartet Copies.

“One of the biggest successes of the summer was redoing the outer office,” said ASG President Jon Webber, a Weinberg senior. “With the installation of the new color printer and rearranging it to make the workspace more conducive to collaborating, I think it’s a huge improvement.”

Munch Money

Student Services Vice President Nate West said he and his committee hope to make Munch Money more universal this year. Munch Money, a prepaid debit program that allows students to load money onto a WildCARD, can currently only be used on campus. West said he hopes students will be able to use the card in Evanston businesses such as Chipotle or Whole Foods Market.

West said he also wants to create an Evanston Business Guide this year. It will be similar to the ASG Restaurant Guide, with a ratings and comments system, but will encompass salons, stores and other businesses.

T-shirt exchange

Along with planning the annual Activities Fair, ASG hosted its second T-shirt exchange during New Student Week. At the exchange, students swapped shirts with other schools’ logos for NU shirts.

“One of my biggest pet peeves is that you walk around our campus and see Harvard shirts or different Ivy League shirts,” said West, a Weinberg junior. “We hope to promote school spirit and get students to wear purple.”

Approximately 250 students exchanged shirts at Friday’s event. More exchanges will be held in residence halls next week.

ASG Online

Policies for placing events on NULink, an ASG-sponsored online student portal, were solidified over the summer. Registered student groups are allowed to post directly to the site, but unregistered groups must go through ASG Public Relations Chair Ren Hargens, a Communication junior.

There are also plans to update the ASG Web site, said Academic Vice President Anna Xu. The McCormick senior said she is working to increase ASG’s transparency by creating a Web site to track her committee’s projects. Xu said the system could later be extended to the rest of ASG.

Funding updates

Bogusz said he hopes to finalize the funding system for B-status groups, which were funded for the first time last year through ASG’s executive board. Unlike A-status funding, which is distributed through the Student Activities Finance Board and the Senate, B-status funding does not yet have a structured “road map,” Bogusz said.

“Last year we ran into kinks in the system,” Bogusz said. “Just like any process, we’ll change it until we make it better. We still have a long way to go to get the process to where it needs to be.”

Another funding change planned for this year is the creation of an online form for student groups to petition for funding. A-status student groups will use this form to request funding. Once ready, the form will make future petitions uniform and help make the application process more efficient, said Financial Vice President Aneesa Arshad, a SESP senior.

Reach Steph Yiu at [email protected].