The Undergraduate Senate appropriated a total of $18,500 to the Student Government executives yesterday in two bills, one providing $8,500 for the Founder's Day Ball and the other providing $10,000 for additional "Be" campaign expenses.
The funds will be taken out of an account called AUTO Restricted, which has about $30,000 reserved for purchasing a new AUTO van if it's needed. Comptroller Zach Ulrich said AUTO Commissioner Mohammad Khan and Student Activities Director Karen Gerlach all agree that AUTO does not need a new van, so the funds are available for other SG expenses.
"There's no reason to buy another van," Ulrich said. "We're good to go."
The sponsors of the bills, Joshua Cahan, at-large senator, and Max Rubin, class of 2009 senator, consulted with Ulrich to write the legislation. Ulrich said the AUTO fund needs to retain about $5,000 in case any of the vans need repairs in the future.
SG Vice President Leah Kreimer said the spring dance will cost an estimated $33,000 but the Founder's Day Ball account currently stands at only $23,800. Kreimer requested the extra funding in order to secure a downtown venue for the ball. She also hopes to use the funds to reduce the cost of student tickets.
SG President Kyle Taylor reminded the Senate that programming in D.C. is much more expensive than events held in the suburbs.
"We are in a city and that has to be taken into consideration," Taylor said.
The other $10,000 was given to the executives to allow them to continue funding their massive "Be" campaign on campus. SG Secretary Joe Vidulich said that more than 100 different clubs and organizations on campus have ordered over 10,000 "Be" T-shirts so far. The SG has been supplementing the costs of the T-shirts to keep the price down for student groups.
This bill, which was passed unanimously by the Senate, states that the "Be" campaign has been an "amazing success" and has built a "far-reaching visual identity on campus." The new funds will be used for the continuation of the campaign in the spring semester.
This Senate bill also stipulated that a portion of the funds will be used to purchase "Be" T-shirts for all of the senators. A separate bill was passed after extensive parliamentary procedure, including an amendment to the original language adding the word "navy" in front of "blue," to direct Secretary Vidulich to order 33 t-shirts with the slogan "Be S(enatorial)"
