FUNDING REQUESTS
The Trinity University Forensics Society requested $5,168.81 to attend the National Debate Tournament in Spokane, Wash. Trinity is one of the only schools of its size that attends the tournament. The funding request was to cover flights, hotels, registration fees and a rental van to take two competitors, two non-competing students and two faculty coaches. Senators agreed to fund all students but declined to fund the faculty coaches, citing a standing precedent of not providing funds to faculty members who don’t pay into the Student Activity Fee. The request was partially funded for $4,439.33 with six senators voting against: Senior Senator Jackson Delhagen, Sophomore Senator Camryn Sperling, First-year Senator Nellie Clark, Junior Senator Orlando Ventura, First-year Senator Pilar Mier, Sophomore Senator Madelyn Stovall and Senior Senator Blake Lin who disagreed with non-competing students attending the tournament.
The Altitude Ultimate Frisbee team requested $12,111.27 to attend the Ultimate Frisbee Regional Tournament in Fort Collins, Colorado. Altitude, a women’s and non-binary team, has attended tournaments in the past and recently placed second at a Mardi Gras tournament. The funding request included flights for 22 team members and two coaches, food, rental cars and hotel accommodations. All team members were funded, and senators denied the request to fund coaches’ transportation and accommodations. The request was partially funded for $11,297.17, with four senators voting against: Junior Senator Sabrina Cinque, Senator Delhagen, Senator Mier and Senator Clark.
The Muslim Student Association requested $2,968.00 to attend the Muslim Student Association Showdown at Rice University. The event celebrates the end of Ramadan while fostering community between Muslim students across Texas with tournaments, halaqas and networking. After sorting out a last-minute change in the budget, senators agreed that it was important to fund this event. SGA partially funded the request, cutting the miles reimbursed from 800 to 400. The request was partially funded for $2,700.00, with two senators against: Junior Senator Josh Mitra and Sophomore Senator Krishna Patel.
Lastly, the South Asian Student Association requested $2,598.27 for this year’s Holi festival on Prassel Lawn. Holi is a festival of colors that celebrates the arrival of spring every year. Funding requests included catering and T-shirts for students free of charge. Senators acknowledged that the event is popular but wanted to cut the funding for 250 T-shirts to 215 to avoid waste. The request was partially funded for $2,478.27, with three senators voting against: Junior Senator Rohit Shetty, Junior Senator Alexander Brown and Senator Delhagen.
CLIMATE CHECK
First-year Senator Sydney Barner stated Mabee Dining Hall would have a new chef starting on March 6. Senators also discussed ways to raise awareness on the Mabee feedback form, including putting QR codes on tables for students to leave feedback on their meals after they’ve eaten.
*SGA held an executive session during this meeting that was closed to the public and the Trinitonian.
