Student Senate focuses attention on club budgets

By Hayley Leitzinger

STUDENT Senate on Monday voted to increase the food budget for clubs, raising it to $350.

This was the only significant vote among those taken at its weekly meeting, which drew more than 100 people to DeMeester recital hall, located in the main entrance of Wolf Hall.

Members from a cross section of York College clubs also were in attendance to get their new budgets for the semester approved.

After roll call, the first order of business was addressed. The new food budget was proposed because all of the clubs exceeded the previous budget of $250 last semester. In order to change the food budget, senate needed to amend its constitution.

Student Senate held its weekly meeting late Monday afternoon. (Photo on YCP website)

In addition to approving a new food budget, new club budgets for the semester were discussed. Senate members went through each club in alphabetical order and voted on the proposed amounts. Almost every budget met approval, and the treasurer said he would send out an email to clubs shortly about their new budget amounts.

Upon approval of the food budget, the treasurer said it could be subject to change under the as yet unnamed new president, who will replace Dr. Pamela Gunter-Smith this summer. A human services major, Gabby Irizzary, thought the new budget was a reasonable amount but wasn’t sure if it would change. “It’s all dependant on the president,” said Irizzary.

She is also heavily involved in the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship club, and commented on their new budget. “I think that ($300) is a good budget for IV,” Irizzary said. “As for the food budget, we don’t tap into that too much, so for us it’s definitely adequate.”

A sophomore familiar with the chemistry society and a dual-enrolled student commented that the new budget sounded like a lot of money. Both agreed that food is definitely an incentive for people to join clubs, so the increase could be a good thing if it gets students involved in more academics on campus. Still, both shared the same idea that if our tuition is paying for the food budget, they’d rather have that money put toward more academic pursuits.

Hayley Leitzinger is a freshman who has not yet declared a major