The SUUSA Senate hosted their regular Thursday meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the Charles Hunter Room in the Hunter R. Conference Center.
The meeting began with Senate reports, notably Upper Division Senator Jeremy Osborne reported the ad hoc committee (a committee put together for a singular purpose) in conjunction with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion should be reporting at next week’s meeting.
As well, College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) Senator Abby Nakken reported she met with the CPVA Dean Shauna Mendini to discuss a few major five-year purchases the college is planning, including three major trips.
With no old business, the Senate moved into new business.
Tyler Anderson, Assistant Director of Student Involvement, announced the new SUUSA Director, Evan Miller. Miller will lead the election, saying, “I want to be as approachable as possible to all candidates.”
A unanimous vote ratified Miller’s position.
Next, Iron County Care and Share alerted the Senate of an upcoming charity dodgeball tournament on Feb. 3 at Canyon View High School. Specific times, sign-ups and costs are available at their website. Prizes, including tuition and a new car, are available through the tournament at other charities.
Lower Division Senator Vanessa Kirkby then took some time to take an informal vote on her push with the Health and Wellness Center for a tobacco or smoke-free campus. Next week, the entire committee will present their case for the Tobacco-Free Campus initiative and will ask for a formal vote on a policy change.
Kirkby hoped for a rough count of votes to take back to the committee and prepare them for the following week’s presentation.
After some deliberation, the Senate tabled the issue due to a lack of information.
The next item of business was a deliberation to place a referendum on the end-of-year Senate election polling students whether the current party system should remain in place. The referendum would not have any definitive say in a policy change but would ensure that a greater amount of feedback on the issue would reach the Senate.
At a Senate meeting last semester, the Senate voted to change the policy to allow parties during the elections with the condition that party names would be removed from the ballot. This new feedback from the ballots would not take place until next year if put into place.
The Senate then began hearing funding requests.
First, the Construction Management Club requested funds to attend a February conference in Denver. The finance committee recommended $1,512.16 be given to the club. The funds were given in full.
Next, the United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT) requested funding for 10 people to fly to a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, conference. $1,500.00 was recommended and given to the group.
Following, the Range Club requested money to attend a conference in Sparks, Nevada. However, the Senate members voiced concerns about spending too much of their budget in one day to give to clubs.
Vice President of Finance D’Mia Lamar explained to the Senate the way in which a recommended amount is given, based on various criteria including distance traveled, cost of entrance to the conference, hotel costs, etc. but that the Senate could vote to change any of these amounts in any way.
The Senate then stopped the funding procedures and discussed the way in which money should be distributed for the remainder of the meeting.
Osborne suggested clubs needed to request funding quickly in a first-come-first-serve arrangement, and that the Senate was “shooting next year’s Senate in the foot” if they set a precedent of trickling the money throughout the year.
Others suggested each amount be analyzed by the Senate and how the school as a whole would benefit from each fund given.
The Range Club request failed given that no vote took place, and the Senate tabled all further items of new business and adjourned.
Story By
Dewey Leavitt
life@suunews.com
