The Government of the Student Body has one meeting left this semester and while some members say they have achieved their goals for the semester, others still have a list of things to accomplish.

Jacob Wilson, vice speaker of the senate and sophomore in political science, said passing the Sloss House bill to allocate $29,886.99 for new furniture and flooring was one of his goals for the semester. The bill passed Wednesday and was matched by the provost’s office.

GSB passed a resolution earlier this semester that supported leaving some religious symbols in the Memorial Union Chapel, which Wilson said was another of his goals.

Although Wilson said it didn’t go as well as he would have liked, he said GSB took the necessary first steps to open up an informative and positive dialogue from which those on both sides of the issue learned.

Jacob Johnston, off-campus senator and senior in management, also mentioned the Memorial Union Chapel issue as one of his goals for this semester.

“At first I didn’t take a side,” Johnston said, “so I wrote a bill that had a blank in it, which I wanted the constituents to fill in for me.”

Johnston said it wasn’t the results he was most proud of, but that GSB had more student feedback on this issue than they have had in the last two years combined.

Wilson also mentioned a serious way in which LGBT groups are being affected by budget cuts.

Many LGBT groups meet in the Student Services Building, which is too small to hold everyone, Wilson said. Sometimes there are people sitting in hallways.

Wilson expressed dissatisfaction with some university staff members who are saying they support a diverse student population.

“I was told by a staff member that the LGBT groups are a political nightmare for the budget,” Wilson said.

Wilson said there is a lack of reference materials in the Multicultural Center for students involved in LGBT groups.

Wilson is also working with the United Residents of Off Campus Committee to create a city landlord and tenant liaison position.

“There are too many landlords who take advantage of students, and students end up being dollar signs, not customers,” Wilson said.

Johnston, who is leaving GSB at the end of this semester, said he saw a lot during his time on GSB. Johnston was the first chairman of the Student Debt Committee.

Forming a new committee is different than taking one over, Johnston said, and there was a lot of legislation that had to be passed to get it started. However, he said, it is such a big issue it deserves more attention.

Johnston also said he would like to see more cooperation between ISU ambassadors and GSB.

“The ISU ambassadors are not being ambitious enough. They are trying to keep a tuition increase as low as possible, but the goal should be to get student debt and tuition to decrease,” Johnston said.

The Student Debt Committee has been focusing on individual debt issues.

Some students are using financial aid money to buy motorcycles and for other non-school-related expenses, but not enough students are doing that to have a large impact, Johnston said.

Johnston also said that while Iowa is cutting funding to higher education, other states, like Missouri, are increasing funding to education in order to create competitive jobs and boost economic recovery.

Chelsea Zigtema, chairwoman of the PR Committee, Pan-Hellenic Council senator, and junior in sociology, was also able to check a few goals off her list.

The GSB tailgate is always a big deal and was done successfully this year, Zigtema said.

The PR Committee is in the process of creating a display case that will go outside the West Student Office Space in the Memorial Union. The case will feature pictures of GSB members and upcoming GSB events.

Next semester the PR Committee will focus on GSB elections.

Zigtema said she hopes elections will show students what GSB does and will help students take them more seriously.

Tom Danielson, finance director and senior in civil engineering, said he is pleased with the progress of the International Student Council, which is now officially set up.

Major goals of this semester for Danielson were to bring more organization to the Finance Committee and to make sure everyone is aware of GSB’s financial rules.

Danielson is attempting to set up monthly or bimonthly meetings to meet with treasurers of all organizations being funded by GSB groups to make sure everyone is creating proper budgets.

Anthony Maly, member of the Finance Committee, LAS senator and junior in political science, said he would like to see changes that make it easier for student organizations to request funding next semester.

Danielson is also trying to find someone to take over finance director position after he leaves next semester.

Luke Roling, chairman of the University Affairs Committee, engineering senator, and senior in chemical engineering, has been working on several issues this semester.

Roling said his biggest project this semester was working with the Finance Committee on the finance bill, allowing groups that receive money from a college to apply for GSB money from the newly formed events account.

Roling said the University Affairs Committee is making progress on sustainability issues.

“The committee is trying to see where we can fill in the gaps where other groups are lagging, and to promote unity between the groups,” Roling said.

Another project the committee has been working on is refurbishing the Friley Windows area. The committee received blueprints for that project last week.

Students should expect to see some changes with registering bikes on campus when the weather gets warmer, which the University Affairs Committee has been working on as well.