By: Nick Bergeman ~Staff Writer~

The Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution on Oct. 5 to allocate $20,000 to the Student Activities Council (SAC) to sponsor the XavierFest headliner, but SGA and SAC negotiated the terms of the agreement until Oct. 28, when the agreement was finalized.

After SGA voted to approve the sponsorship, SAC then had to vote either for or against each proposed term, but SAC did not meet until Oct. 21, at which point it discussed concerns and voted to propose changes back to SGA. The original agreement called for a committee comprised of 60 percent SGA members and 40 percent SAC members to approve the headlining act for XavierFest, but SAC requested for that number to be changed to 50-50 representation.

Additionally, SAC requested two changes of language in the document. The first clarified that once the agreement was passed, neither group could withdraw, negating SGA’s proposal that it could withdraw the funds if it chose to do so. The second clarified a statement that SAC must utilize its own funds before using SGA’s $20,000, which SAC then proposed would be $5,000, since the amount was not originally stated.

Following the amendments, the ball was hit back into SGA’s court to be discussed and revised. SGA agreed to the first two points, but proposed that SAC should put forth $9,000, which they did last year, instead of $5,000, and that any desired funding beyond $29,000 will be provided by SAC funds.

SAC voted to approve the SGA revisions to the agreement on Oct. 28, which will lock in the agreement to create a “bigger and better” XavierFest for the student body. No parts of the agreement, or the amount of money provided by SGA, will change now that the agreement is finalized.

Though the process proved lengthy and contentious, SGA and SAC leadership both said that the conversation means good things for the future of their relations. The negotiation shows that their conflicts are in the past and is a step forward for SGA-SAC relations, SGA President Andrew Redd said.