Climate Check:

Sophomore Senator Ani Siva gave an update on the library greenspace beautification project, stating that the project would move forward after they acquire one or two more green lights.

Senator Siva also reported that the Student Dining Advisory Committee (SDAC) had a meeting and confirmed that Chartwells will be bringing a rotating line-up of food trucks. Students will be able to use Bonus Bucks and meal swipes at the food trucks. Sophomore Senator Harrison Tinker announced that SDAC has a new email ([email protected]) where students can ask any dining-related questions. President Danny Nguyen stated that a website with answers to frequently asked questions about dining will be going live.

First-year Senator Molly Van Ackeren asked if it would be possible to start an Instagram account for posting social events after speaking with a student who felt that there should be a centralized location to post campus events. Advisor Jamie Thompson recommended reaching out to the department of strategic communication and marketing and Jeanna Goodrich Balreira, director for content strategy.

Sophomore Senator Ella Charbonnet announced that the ice cream machine is up and running. She also stated that this would be the last announcement she would ever make on the subject.

Sophomore Senator Allison Waters stated that she had emailed Bret Biance, director of residential life, and cc’d LRC Dario Leal, to inquire about the possibility of involving students in organizing the housing selection process. Senator Waters stated that Biance is willing to work with SGA senators over the summer.

USO Funding:

SGA has divided budget presentations from university-sponsored organizations (USOs) over three meetings. After the presentations, SGA will deliberate and vote on funding on April 19.

Recreational sports, outdoor recreation (OREC) and Bell Center operations

Kristen Harrison, associate athletic director for recreation and sports camp; Seth Asbury, associate athletic director for facilities and event management and Olivia Walshak and Merisa Amarino presented a budget request on behalf of recreational sports and OREC and Bell Center operations. The proposed budget included a $3,500 increase in the professional development line item, $5,000 for increased student wages and $5,000 for the addition of new recreational sports — for example, baseball and aikido. They also requested an increase of $500 each semester to accommodate OREC trips and a $50 increase for OREC equipment. There was no increase in the proposed budget for Bell Center operations.

Senator Siva explained that SGA has received many funding requests from club and intramural teams to cover expenses for out-of-town tournaments and asked whether recreational sports had any way to fund travel. Harrison explained that club sports are registered student organizations (RSOs), so recreational sports will cover any necessary memberships or fees that the club teams need to pay in order to compete or register to compete. Recreational sports will also provide professional officials and an athletic trainer for on-campus competitions. However, when it comes to travel expenses, recreational sports will only cover the cost of gas mileage for Trinity’s 11 passenger vans.

Advisor Thompson asked for clarification for the student wage line items, as the budget indicated that the Bell Center had only used $42,000 of the $71,000 they had budgeted for student wages in the 2022-23 academic year and recreational sports had only used $25,000 of the $45,000 budgeted for student wages this year. Asbury stated that he anticipated using the majority of the budget by the end of the school year. Harrison explained that there was an issue with how recreational sports student workers were coded into Workday, meaning that their wages had been pulled from the wrong account and the reported student wage number does not reflect reality. Kristen explained that she is working to recode the student workers and refund the account their wages were pulled from.

Trinity University Fraternity & Sorority Life (Greek Council)

Yonnell Esprit and Colin Adams presented a budget request on behalf of Greek Council. The budget proposal included increased funding for on-campus and off-campus collaborations, recruitment and unity events (e.g. Greek Olympics) and Greek Week — which includes sponsoring events like Nacho Hour and Milk & Cookies. Sophomore Senator Andrew Phillips pointed out that in the 2022-23 school year, Greek Council had overspent in some areas and compensated by underspending in others. Adams explained that the underspending on service was due to plans for city-wide service events falling through and stated that they already have the ball rolling on future service events. Adams also explained that an increase in attendance at Greek life events led to overspending.

Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC)

Mia Kholy and Lauren Stevens presented a budget request on behalf of TDC. TDC officers Jasmine Williams and Johnny Martinezio were also in attendance. The proposed budget included an increase in the budget for TDC’s annual Taste of Diversity event from $3,000 to $6,000. In order to compensate for this budgetary increase, TDC plans to dissolve their public relations manager position and reallocate the funds to the Taste of Diversity event. The organization also plans to dissolve the line item for Trinitonian advertising and reallocate the funds to their dialogues and collaborations committees, merge the line items for conference and training and merge the line items for postage/copies and supplies.

Trinity University Volunteer Action Community (TUVAC) and Tiger Breaks

Mia Kholy and Tim Mose presented a budget request on behalf of TUVAC and Tiger Breaks. In the 2023-2024 school year, TUVAC plans to absorb Tiger Breaks into their organization in response to Tiger Breaks losing their funding through the center for experiential learning and career success (CELCS). In order to accommodate the addition of Tiger Breaks, TUVAC made budget cuts in other areas and requested an increase of $9,150. This new budget will fund housing, transportation and supplies for four trips, as well as a compensated Tiger Breaks coordinator position.

Officer Reports:

President Nguyen reminded the senate about KRTU Fest on April 14, stating that there will be volunteer opportunities for interested senators and that Ron Nirenberg, mayor of San Antonio, may be in attendance.

President Nguyen also stated that he and Vice President-Elect Caterina Mora plan to finalize the 2023-24 cabinet by May 8. There will be an additional cabinet position called the collaborations chair which will work with the events committee chair. Cabinet applications will open April 16.