Members of both the Minnesota Student Association and the Graduate and Professional Student Association approved the slate of candidates for the fees committee during a joint meeting Tuesday.

The 23 members who will serve on the Student Services Fees Committee have to be approved by both groups. Representatives from GAPSA and MSA read applications and interviewed candidates before presenting the slate at the meeting.

The SSFC is responsible for reviewing the fees applications of all registered student groups applying for student service fees. Even larger units, like Boynton Health Service and Student Unions and Activities, all go through this process in order to gain funding.

Last year, confusion over proper procedure pushed the approval until late November. Rules for governing the meeting were not established prior to the discussion and representatives were forced to consult each respective governmentâÄôs by-laws. Some members argued GAPSA couldnâÄôt remove individuals from the slate unless MSA also approved.

To prevent confusion this year, a rules meeting was held last Wednesday to make sure both groups had a clear understanding of how the meeting would be conducted according to the guidelines of the SSFC. The meeting clarified that both GAPSA and MSA can remove two members of the slate and the other group has no say.

âÄúIt was really helpful to talk to leadership,âÄù Terrance Paape said.

Three students who have previously served on the committee will return this year âÄî Katie Saphner, Kyle Kroll and Rebecca Doepke.

Nine of the 23 members will work with the student groups side of the process while another six will handle applications from administrative units. Each committee has designated alternates in the event that someone resigns or cannot fulfill the commitment.

Jesus Estrada, vice president of programming for GAPSA, asked the recommended members about their knowledge of the issues regarding space allocation on the second floor of Coffman Union.

While there was a mix of responses, Sara Shonrock stood out to Estrada after she said she had âÄúno ideaâÄù about the second floor space issue. Estrada moved to remove Shonrock from the slate.

âÄúShe doesnâÄôt seem to know anything about this very important topic,âÄù Estrada said âÄúYou need to know something about the University.âÄù

However, the majority of the voting members did not agree. Shonrock, along with all other members of the slate, were approved.

Training for the new committee will begin in November. Applications for student services fees are typically due in January with presentations scheduled for February. The semester-long process usually concludes in April or May.