The following covers the meeting on Sept. 10.
FUNDING REQUESTS
The Banned Books Club requested $254.07 for their first monthly meeting. As it’s their inaugural meeting, they intended to cater Chick-fil-A and other snacks for their new members. While senators initially debated whether catering Chick-fil-A was the best choice since cheaper catering options exist, senators ultimately decided that, as a brand new club, the more expensive option could be justified to attract members and get the club off the ground. Senators fully funded the request, with senior Senator Sabrina Cinque abstaining.
Gamma Chi Delta requested $1,508.21 for their first and second round of rush. Junior Senator Cameron Sperling presented the request. The funding request included money for arts and crafts, a soda bar, a “Dubai chocolate” strawberry bar for their first round of rush and tickets to a trampoline park for the second round. Senators had no objections to the contents of the budget, however the request was $8 over the limit for Greek life rush, which is $1,500. Senators decided to cut Sprite from the budget to get it to exactly $1,499.99.
Senator Cinque and junior Senator Camryn Sperling, who are both members of Gamma Chi Delta, abstained from the vote, while sophomore Senators Sydney Barner and Nellie Clark voted against the proposal. They commented that the vote was motioned far too quickly, and they wanted more time to discuss which budget item to cut to get it under $1,500.
Spurs requested $1,152.50 for their first round of rush. Costs included decorations, a mechanical bull, money to rent the Omega Phi house and food from Taco Cabana. During deliberations, SGA advisor Ben Williams told senators that SGA could not fund the Spurs to rent the Omega Phi house since the money now belongs to the university. Funding could pose legal problems if that money went to renting an off-campus space. The item was cut from the budget. Senators did not fully fund the mechanical bull, as the Spurs had already paid for half of it. SGA will no longer reimburse clubs for expenses they’ve already paid for, according to their bylaws this year. Senators voted to partially fund the Spurs’ request for $777.50, with sophomore Senator and Spurs member Eva Smith abstaining.
Chi Delta Tau requested $1,459.59 for their first and second rounds. The first round will be an event on the Intramural Field with snacks, grilling and Gatorade. The second round will be golfing at First Tee and getting Pizza Classics. Senators briefly discussed the amount budgeted for Pizza Classics, but ultimately unanimously fully funded Chi Delta Tau’s request.
Chi Beta Epsilon requested $420 for their first round, which will include volleyball, a drink bar and fruit skewers. Senators deliberated whether they would fund Beta’s request for water bottles and jugs. Previous precedent had been to avoid funding water bottles, since the plastic is unsustainable and water was accessible around campus. After the debate, senators voted to fund the Beta’s request for both water bottles and jugs. The event was fully funded, with Senator Clark abstaining, saying that she hadn’t fully made up her mind on whether to support the funding of plastic water containers.
Omega Phi requested $625.28 for their first round. They would cater Chick-fil-A while playing sports with potential new members. SGA fully funded the request without debate, with sophomore Senator and Omega Phi member William Reagan abstaining from the vote.
Phi Sigma Chi requested $361.43 for a first round cookout at their house. Funding was for the ingredients, utensils and items like foldable tables and ping pong balls. The senators questioned why they needed to fund the tables and ping pong balls, but without Phi Sig present during deliberations, the senators decided to fund it anyway. The request was funded by a unanimous vote.
The South Asian Student Association (SASA) and Chinese Culture and Language Association requested $1,550.92 for their collaborative “Bombay to Beijing” event. The funding request was for food, boba, a paper lantern activity and flyers. Senators generally agreed that the event has been a hit every year. SGA discussed advertising costs caps, which was agreed to be $30. The request was fully funded, with junior Senator and SASA member Krishna Patel abstaining.
Kappa Kappa Delta requested $661.69 to cater Raising Canes for their first round. Senators briefly discussed the tax exempt status of Student Activity Fund money and fully funded the request, with junior Senator and Kappa Kappa Delta member Alex Brown abstaining.
Epsilon Chi Rho (EXP) requested $1,139.87 for their first and second round. The cost was to cater from a few restaurants, those being Cabo Bobs, Little Jamaica and L&L Hawaiian Barbeque. However, junior Vice President Madelyn Stovall said that clubs must submit their budget at least 24 hours before the presentation, and EXP had missed that deadline by an hour. Senators discussed allowing the presentation since the club started this semester, but ultimately decided to decline their funding by unanimous vote. SGA made clear that EXP has time to resubmit their budget with their first round on Sept. 22, and SGA encouraged them to do so.
Latinas Unidas requested $286 for their inaugural general meeting. They plan on getting gorditas from Gorditas Mi Torreón, as well as a $20 Starbucks gift card as a competition prize. SGA adviser Jessica Edonick noted that university funds being used to buy a gift card would require the winner to fill out a tax form, which was accepted by Latinas Unidas. Senators discussed whether it was fair to use the Student Activity Fund, which all students pay into, to reward one person. While they explored alternatives to gift cards, it was decided that they would fund the gift card. The request was fully funded unanimously.
Sigma Theta Tau requested $319.75 for their first round for food, decorations and an activity. The round would be on the Verna McLean Hall rooftop. Senators unanimously voted to fully fund the request.
OFFICER REPORTS
Senior President Omar Ratrut brought up the senior senator vacancy, imploring senators to encourage their friends to run. First-year elections are coming up as well, and SGA is working on filling in their Assistant Treasurer position.
