The SUUSA Senate met for their regular Senate meeting Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Sterling R. Church Auditorium.
The meeting began with the Executive Board’s reports. SUUSA President Hayden Carroll began with Higher Education Day, a previously discussed report. Several members of Senate will travel to the Utah Capitol building this weekend to take part in legislation for higher education.
Then began new business with the Tobacco-Free Campus Initiative. The Tobacco-Free Campus committee presented their case promoting a new policy to ban tobacco or smoke on campus.
The committee reported 83 percent of surveyed students said they are in favor of a smoke or tobacco-free campus and that 54 percent of surveyed students have avoided parts of campus due to tobacco smoke.
The initiative is organized by a group of students and faculty led by the Health and Wellness Center to implement this policy with the aid of the Senate.
The biggest concerns discussed by the Senate were the specifics of the policy, whether it would be tobacco-free or smoke-free, and the concerns of international students who believe it is “limiting the rights of those who do smoke,” as stated by International Representative Jessica Mancuso.
The Senate created an ad hoc committee to further discuss the issue. The committee chair will be Upper Division Senator Jeremy Osborne.
Next, Senate reviewed the new funding request by the Range Club, which originally failed last week during Senate. The finance committee recommended the Range Club receive $1,020 to travel to Sparks, Nevada, to participate in a conference. The club argued many students hoped to walk away with internships or full-time jobs.
Although discussed during the previous meeting, the Senate continued the discussion on how they should award funds may be a change to their policy. The finance committee has already changed its policy and began giving a maximum amount along with a recommended amount.
A vote failed to give the Range Club the maximum amount possible, $1,200. A second vote unanimously passed to fund the club $1,020.
Following, the Alpha Phi requested funding for a leadership conference in California. The finance committee recommended $867. Alpha Phi argued the conference would teach leadership skills, which the eight members attending could disseminate the information to the rest of the sorority, which would then pass it on to the rest of the clubs and organizations Alpha Phi members are a part of.
The Senate funded the recommended $867 for the conference.
The Senate then discussed the funding request from the Table Tennis club to attend a competition. The finance committee recommended $412, however, the club representative said he made a mistake on the paperwork and said that each student needed $150 to enter into the competition in addition to a hotel room for the night and transportation, but the entire team needs $150 to enter the competition.
The Senate then discussed how unfair it may seem if they reward the Table Tennis club their requested $240 because the finance committee had not been able to come up with new recommendations and that several other clubs, who requested over $1,000, did not receive all they asked for.
This argument came after the finance committee recommended to fund the Table Tennis club over $150 more than they asked for and the Senate prepared to grant it.
The Senate made a motion to table the funding request in order for the finance committee to create new recommendations, but the vote failed in light that the competition was happening this upcoming weekend.
Members of the finance committee then came up with a new recommendation after a long debate on how the recommendation would shift drastically.
Based on the information given in the Senate, the committee recommended $238.60, which the Senate funded to the club. (The Table Tennis club will fundraise within the organization to raise the $1.40 the Senate could not fund.)
The meeting then adjourned after the vote.
The next meeting will be held in the Sterling R. Church Auditorium on Feb. 1 at 11:30 a.m. The meeting is open to students to attend.
Story By
Andrew Leavitt
life@suunews.com
