The Student Senate passed more than 20 pieces of legislation Monday night during the semester’s final meeting, including a major money allocation.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill to give $10,000 from the Student Senate budget to fund the University’s Speech and Debate Team.
The bill, written by College of Arts and Sciences Sen. Chris Cummings, sought to provide money to the poorly funded program. Part of the University’s Department of Communication Studies, the Mixon Lyceum Speech and Debate Team is granted only $6,000 per year by the University.
“They’ve been around for 100 years,” said Finance Committee Chairman David Iseral. “This is the athletics of academics, and the University’s let them down.”
Cummings said similar bills would not appear before the Senate in the future. He said with these funds, the Speech and Debate Team can attend major tournaments and should gain either corporate sponsorship or further University funding.
This past Wednesday, the bill faced opposition from the Student Government executive staff. The bill originally sought to draw money from the SG Initiatives Account. SG Vice President Josh King said this was an inappropriate use of Initiatives Account funds, earmarked for campus-wide programs, and said SG President Cassie Alsfeld would veto the bill if the Senate passed it.
The bill was amended Monday to instead use money from the Senate Contingency Account, and executive opposition died.
The Senate also passed a group of bills to help fund a student trip to the Iowa caucuses. The trip, organized by professors Robert Mann and Wayne Parent, will allow a group of 19 political science and political communication students to participate in the caucuses and blog about the experience.
The bills faced opposition from senators who said the trip was not adequately advertised. Others said funding the trip was not an appropriate allocation of Senate money and feared it could set a dangerous precedent.
The bills passed with a healthy majority, allocating $2,400 among 15 of the traveling students. The remaining four students did not apply in time to receive funds.
The Senate also passed numerous resolutions. One thanked Gov. Kathleen Blanco for her service while another welcomed Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal.
Two athletic-related resolutions also passed, one requesting the return of the traditional touchdown song and the other requesting more priority point opportunities.
The Senate additionally passed a resolution to continue the Campus Bus Route Task Force, a group of students and faculty who supervise the efficiency of campus bus transportation.
—-Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]