Senate passed two new pieces of legislation during its Tuesday meeting involving adding A-plus notations to students’ transcripts and changing the organization budgeting process from once-a-year to twice-a-year.
Senate also approved recommendations from the Membership Committee to add 12 new senators. In addition, Student Body President Jake Torres appointed Sen. Martha Pool (Cox) to replace Student Concerns Chair Mamadou Diallo, who stepped down from his position.
Senate passed the budget bill with a roll call vote of 25 to two with two abstentions.
Under the new bill, organizations would undergo a budgeting process once a semester during the academic year. Sen. Alex Ehmke (Dedman II), the bill’s author and a member of the Finance Committee, said the bill would provide more funds for organizations during the spring semester because any unused funds from the fall semester would be given back to Senate to redistribute during the spring.
In an annual budget process, Ehmke argued that many funds go unused and are returned at the end of the year. The problem is that the money goes back to SMU, not Senate, so money that could have been given to some other organization isn’t used.
The bill allows some organizations, such as Alternative Spring Breaks or Program Council, to use an annual budget process as necessary and at the discretion of the finance chair in consultation with the Senate advisor. These groups plan spring events but need to have the funds for that event in the fall.
“It allows for some flexibility so that every organization’s needs can be met,” Ehmke said.
A friendly amendment was added to the bill after some senators expressed concerns about who would have final approval to say which organizations would be eligible for the exemption. The amendment acknowledges that Student Senate would have final approval of any annual budgets as stated in the Senate bylaws.
Ehmke also accepted a friendly amendment from Chief of Staff Alex Mace who stipulated that an organization that had an annual budget couldn’t go through the spring semester budgeting process.
Several senators brought up concerns about the bill before the vote.
Torres said he didn’t like the idea of allowing some organizations to have an exemption to the semester budget process because it would negatively affect future Senates. He theorized that future organizations would be upset that some organizations would be getting special treatment.
“I think what we’re doing is treating some organziations” better than others, he said.
Torres promised to vote against the bill if the exemption clause remained. He voted no.
Student Body Vice President Austin Prentice received an email from a former Student Body President who expressed his concern for club sports. Club sports charge dues, Prentice said, and moving away from an annual budget process would make it harder for those organizations to figure out how much to charge.
Parliamentarian Joseph Esau was concerned by the bill’s vagueness, saying Senate was “going to invent this whole process as we go” along and that it would set “a dangerous precedent.”
Esau argued that the details of the new budget process should be written down on paper.
The A-plus bill passed unanimously.
Under the new bill, SMU would add A-plus notations to students’ transcripts to give them an edge on law school applications. This bill would not change GPA calculations.
The bill’s author, Ehmke, argued that adding A-plus notations would give SMU students an edge over students at schools who don’t add them.
Ehmke also noted that transcripts would note any changes, such as a new process where A-plus notations were included, at the bottom.
The A-plus bill is subject to SMU approval before it is implemented.
