Bill SR 22/23-01 passed on Feb. 28, which allows five students to receive $1,100 each academic year. Garrett Partain, a junior political science major from Lepanto, Arkansas, was the founder and writer of this bill. 

Partain wanted to create a new scholarship opportunity to combat the housing insecurity in Jonesboro and on Campus. 

“I know that people having access to housing is really important. When I moved in on campus my entire life changed for the better. It was good to be independent,” Partain said. 

Financial Aid and the SGA will create an application by the end of the 2023 fall semester. The bill states that to be eligible for the scholarship a student must: be a full time student, enrolled in the university, in good academic standing and signed up for the upcoming academic year. Students who have all on-campus housing fees covered by other means are ineligible for the scholarship. 

Applicants will submit their applications to the Chair of Financial Aid and Scholarships shared governance committee for their application to be reviewed. The bill also states “Preference will be given to an applicant who demonstrates (a) financial need, (b) academic achievement in the face of adversity and (c) a want to participate in and improve the campus community.” 

The second bill to pass, bill SR 22/23 -04, would require running candidates to provide receipts to SGA. This would ensure that candidates are not spending more money than the allotted $500, so candidates do not have a financial advantage. 

Maddyson Lamb, a senior exercise science major from Imboden, Arkansas, is the vice president of SGA. She is the main sponsor of the bill. 

“In recent years I’ve seen that the campaign is unfair and I wanted it to have a baseline that way anyone that is eligible to run doesn’t have to worry about spending a lot of money, especially if they don’t have it,” Lamb said. 

Bill SR 22/23 -04 will be available for the student body to vote in the upcoming election. 

The PDF of SR 22/23-01 is available below:

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