At Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, several senators, including Senate director Thomas Hailey, cast a cloud of disappointment over Senate’s recent progress this semester, while forecasting change.
“Over the last few weeks, Senate has been a rollercoaster ride,” Hailey said, referring to the ill-received first research and redevelopment committee briefings headed by Sen. Reid Varner two weeks ago and squabbles between senators over Senate funding requests.
“It’s happened. It’s over. And we’ll move on,” Hailey said. “Now, I challenge some of you. Eight more weeks: What are you going to do with it”?
Student Body President Liz Healy and Hailey returned to Senate this week after attending a leadership conference at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Finance Chair Lauren Smith echoed Hailey’s words, voicing her frustration with Senate’s recent disregard for her committee’s work.For every financial request, the finance committee drafts a recommendation and presents it before Senate.
Last week, the committee’s recommendation for a bill to fund the Wakeboarding Club was not presented.
“If this is not helpful, it doesn’t need to be done,” Smith said, adding that finance committee spends a couple hours per week on its recommendations.
Out of the chartered organizations fund, Senate passed a bill to fund Delta Sigma Pi $678 to send seven executives to a conference in Austin.
Next week, Senate will vote on a $3,000 bill to fund Rugby Club for playoff games , a $3,000 bill to fund BBA Energy for a trip to Denver, a $2,000 bill to fund Program Council for its remaining programs and a $4,800 bill to fund SPARC for a national conference trip.
Following Smith’s committee report, Senate passed two bills in agreement with the finance committee’s recommendations.
It passed a $1,600 bill to fund the Wakeboarding Club for three life jackets, two wakeboards and two sets of bindings, and a $2,774 bill to fund the Bhakti Yoga Club in full for a lecture featuring Richard Thompson.
Senate tabled Bhakti Yoga Club’s second funding request until next Tuesday. The organization is asking for $1,544 to host a fortnightly vegetarian cooking class in Umphrey Lee cafeteria. Senators decided to table the bill becasue of insufficient information.
Next week, senators will revisit Bhakti Yoga Club’s bill and a $8,830 bill to fund SMU Mock Trial for its national tournament in Florida.
To kick off the meeting, Dana Gibson, vice president of business and finance, gave a brief presentation about campus energy use and preliminary changes to SMU’s budget.
Two inaugurations, one resignation
After Senate appointed Julia Tucker-Huth, a former Rice University student body president, as a new Dedman I senator, Healy inaugurated Tucker-Huth and Dedman II appointment Ben Wells.
Diversity Chair Rachel Ball resigned from her position for personal reasons. According to Healy, Ball, who was not present at the meeting, will help actively recruit a new diversity chair to smooth over the transition process.
