Despite low attendance at the weekly student senate meeting yesterday, senators did not miss a beat, hearing the appropriations task force presentation to amend the current process, new legislation and passing four bills.
Early in the meeting, senator and task force chair Adam Hill presented amendments to the current appropriations process, which he and nine senators have been drafting since September 2004.
“We really believe the amendments will simplify and create a more efficient process in student senate,” Hill said.
The proposed amendments included a few major changes, which Hill said will shorten the current financial process, thus leaving more time for senators to debate significant issues during the weekly senate meetings. One difference included conjoining the current appropriations and finance committees to form one committee, the finance committee. According to the proposal, this means any time chartered organizations request money, they will present before one committee as oppose to the current three. And non-chartered groups will request funding directly from student senate. There were no changes to the budgeting process.
Following Hill’s presentation, Student Issues Chair Andrea Gulley reminded senators of the approaching deadline for “Pound the Pavement,” a student survey senators are required to have students fill out, which helps senators become aware of the issues students find important. Senators are required to input survey results onto a computer database, but some senators complained about the tedious process. Vice president Liz Healy found the senators’ laziness to be “unreal,” reminding them of their required office hours as an opportunity to input the data.
The finance committee approved funding of $146 for the environmental committee’s cellular phone drop box. The drop box will be located on the main floor of Hughes-Trigg for students to deposit their old cell phones. It will also serve as a source of revenue for the committee.
In closing, senators passed two old bills and one after suspending the rules. After a ten minute heated debate, senators approved funding of $1230 in a 14 to 8 vote for a new computer in the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs. The computer will be used for personal use, open to 16 organizations within the department. Senate then passed a bill to fund the RTNDA $1375 for its attendance to the national convention April 18 – 20 in Las Vegas. Senators passed a final bill to fund $3546 for the RISE Symposium, which will be attended by Cox MBA students in Dayton, Ohio from March 30 – April 1. The symposium will provide students the opportunity to rub elbows with corporate executives and learn more about the industry.
However, the last piece of new legislation, presented by the Medieval Club, was not so lucky. Since the meeting ran past the usual three hour mark, there were an even lower number of senators in attendance to hear its bill. The club was not eligible for a suspension of the rules, according to the senate by laws, which states two-thirds of senators must be present to suspend the rules. The organization’s bill to fund $640 for food and entertainers at its 4th Annual Medieval Faire next Friday, the last of the new legislation presented before senators, was left in a tight spot. Now, the club will now be “cutting it close” next Tuesday as it anxiously waits for the bill to pass, to confirm that the organization can pay its scheduled entertainers for the event.
New business to be voted on next week includes the following: Medieval Faire; resolution to amendments; resolution to encourage the university to establish a more effective reporting process for discrimination and hate-based incidents; a bill to reallocate $8000 from rolling appropriations to the special projects account and a bill to fund Brothers Under Christ $1780 for its island party on April 9.
