The Undergraduate Senate passed two new bills Sunday, one establishing a bike-lending program and another approving the transfer of restricted funds for spring programming.
The restricted Student Government account holds over $17,000, which was split up between the Kennedy Political Union ($13,500), the Student Union Board ($1,000), the Kogod Undergraduate Business Association ($500) and the Class of 2009 ($1,000). The leftover $1,000 will be used later this semester.
Currently, the Class of 2009 is in the red about $325 because of poor T-shirt sales and the extra funds would help it get in the black and plan for spring events, said Andrew Gardner, president of the Class of 2009 and a staff writer.
KPU plans to use the funds for a yet-to-be-announced end of the year speaker, while the other organizations are still planning for spring activities and need more resources in order to begin planning.
The bike-lending bill established a program where five bikes and five accessory packs, which will include helmets and tool kits, will be available for student use.
The bill was created with the support of Eco-Sense, Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and members of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program.
Class of 2010 Senator Seth Cutter said there is an overwhelmingly positive response to this plan. Approximately 90 letters have been sent out to bike companies in order to obtain bikes for use in this program, Cutter said.
In other SG news, the Undergraduate Senate approved the nominations of Mike Pasko and Tamara Alfred to the Class of 2008 Council.
Pasko, a junior in SPA, was approved as the secretary of the Class Council and said one of his biggest plans is to "utilize e-mail and Facebook to get people to get out to events," as many students in the Class of 2008 live off campus.
Alfred, also a junior in SPA, was approved as the treasurer of the Class Council.
The next Undergraduate Senate meeting, open to the public, is scheduled next Sunday in Kogod 118.
