This SGA meeting took place on February 21st, 2024
President Danny Nguyen began the meeting with a ceremonial gavel bang, only to find that the new room in Dicke Hall is much more echoey than the old one. Following that statement, President Nguyen noted that the exit door was indeed an exit door and shook his head at any late members of SGA who tried to enter through the exit door.
End of Semester Report:
Once things got rolling, Vice President Caterina Mora, Head Treasurer Conrad Jarvis and Assistant Treasurer Avery Lim presented the latest End of Semester Report. They felt that it was important for SGA to review the state of its finances ahead of the immediate proposal hearings. The presentation opened with data on the Student Activity Fee, which is currently $324 per student. 88.9% of the fees are then available for SGA to use in order to fund different university-sponsored organizations (USOs) and registered student organizations (RSOs).
Over the course of last semester, 56 RSOs were funded through 73 requests, with 77% of proposals fully funded and 19% partially funded. This culminated in SGA spending $256,752.89 in fall 2023, a sum which included larger initiatives like Project H.O.M.E., the new wellness initiative and Tigers Night Out. USOs make their budget proposals in the spring and were not included in this data.
Vice President Mora pointed out that SGA had spent more money on RSO proposals last fall than it did a year ago, as fall 2022 only saw $62,530.23 given to clubs. The reason behind such a large increase in expenditure was due to new initiatives and effective outreach. Additionally, an increased number of in-person proposal meetings provided RSOs with more opportunities to seek funding in the first place.
The End of Semester report ended with a reminder of just how much money SGA had left to spend this spring — a hefty sum of $354,459.94. Advisor Bernadette Buchanan issued a reminder that the fund is meant to be spent, so members of SGA shouldn’t be worried about USOs coming for the remaining balance. Ultimately, SGA intends for the End of Semester Report to be publicized at some point in the near future so that members of the student body can see how their contributions to the Student Activity Fund are being used.
Funding Proposals:
Trinity Review – Fully funded $2,816.40
Sandra Gurrola presented on behalf of the Trinity Review, Trinity’s student-led literary arts magazine, seeking funding for printing costs. Junior Senator Allison Waters asked where the magazine was getting funding from previously. Gurrola disclosed that the English and art departments had provided some funding in the past, but due to an expected increase in popularity in both submissions and readers, demand for print editions is at an all-time high.
After some brief questions from senators as to the nature of the organization, cost-efficiency, number of submissions and promotion, sophomore Senator Odi Aneji moved to fully fund the proposal, which Senator Charbonnet seconded. The vote passed unanimously.
Trinity Powerlifting – Fully funded $5,540
Next up in funding proposals was Trinity Powerlifting, with Sierra Vargas and Enver Ogmen presenting for an upcoming trip to Collegiate Nationals, a nationally sanctioned meet for full-time college students. Trinity Powerlifting aims to send eight of its members, and the group’s budget proposal included plane tickets, registration fees, an Airbnb rental and transport expenses. Junior Senator Bocar Diagana appreciated the budget outline, saying that everything was more than reasonable and that nationals was a good opportunity for students to participate in. Senator Diagana moved to fully fund the proposal, with Senator Waters seconding. The vote passed unanimously.
Muslim Student Association – Fully funded $5,050
Melika Mohammed, representative for Trinity’s Muslim Student Association, requested funding for events and meals set to take place during Ramadan. Mohammed emphasized that SGA funding would aid in fostering a high sense of community for practicing Muslim students on campus. The proposal covered the costs of meals eaten directly before and after periods of fasting end, as well as collaborative events with the South Asian Student Association and the Vietnamese Student Association.
Junior Senator Harrison Tinker asked if MSA had reached out to Chartwells at all for more structural support during Ramadan, rather than having to rely on SGA for outside funding. Mohammed replied that while MSA hadn’t reached out to Chartwells, past efforts to coordinate Ramadan dining times with Aramark were not successful. Senator Diagana stressed that Ramadan should definitely be more supported by the Trinity community. Senator Charbonnet agreed, saying that everyone knew someone observing Ramadan, and then proceeded to look over at sophomore Senator Omar Ratrut and laugh. Senator Charbonnet motioned to fully fund, with Senator Diagana seconding.
Men’s Club Volleyball – Fully funded $12,164.42
Edgar Miranda and Aaron Chang presented on behalf of the Men’s Club Volleyball team to request funding for their trip to the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) Championships in Kansas City. The funds would cover three hotel rooms for four nights, provisions and transportation of 12 people, coming out to roughly $300 per student. The team also sought reimbursement for uniforms, as they invested more money into this due to criticism in the past for non-matching uniforms.
After some debate (largely centered around the cost of shorts and choice of brand), Senator Waters said that funding club sports is always beneficial for both the students participating and the school they represent. Senator Diagana admitted that when it comes to competitions, there isn’t as much room to cut costs. Senior Senator Lucy Orosco motioned to fully fund the proposal, with Senator Ratrut seconding. Though there was some dispute during voting, the proposal ultimately passed.
Tigers Night Out Part 2 – Fully funded $4,000
Following up the previous event from earlier this semester, President Nguyen presented to SGA to seek funding for a second Tiger’s Night Out Event: a San Antonio FC match against Monterey Bay FC on March 30. He proposed a similar rollout of tickets to the previous Tigers Night Out events, with the first 150 tickets being free and coming with a free T-shirt, followed by discounted tickets for latecomers. President Nguyen said the ticket giveaway would be on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 5 p.m., and could hopefully offer relief from midterms and student stress.
Senator Diagana asked if transport would be offered, and President Nguyen responded that transport was not in the plan but that Toyota Field has free parking for a smaller number of students so there should be minimal transportation concerns. Much to the chagrin of this reporter and the amusement of everyone else, Senator Harrison Tinker motioned to partially fund Tigers Night Out for $3,999. This motion did not pass, and Senator Charbonnet threatened an act of political violence before motioning to fully fund the event. The latter motion passed.
Climate Check:
Senator Tinker gave an update on the Chartwells collaboration for Ramadan. He said that Chartwells needed to make connections and give them a chance and that SGA needed to measure reliability. At this point in the meeting, someone cried out for it to end, to which President Nguyen said that it would end as scheduled — at 8 p.m.
Officer Report:
President Nguyen closed out the meeting with some reminders on upcoming SGA obligations, namely a double staff chat at next week’s meeting with Trinity Dining and ResLife, and impending SGA elections.
