Student Government Senate voted Wednesday to allocate as much as $10,000 to the Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership to fund the creation of as many as five new service learning classes.Basic Sciences Senator Jared Bourgeois and Arts and Sciences Senator Aaron Caffarel authored the bill, and Bourgeois said he feels it’s good investment of the Senate’s money.CCELL currently offers 74 service learning classes and affects more than 3,000 students per year at the University, but not in every department.”We ensure you that this is a one-time expenditure,” Caffarel said. “We’re funding the establishment of five new classes, but they are self-sustaining.”Ashley Free, College of Art and Design senator, is an interior design major, and many of her studios are linked through service learning classes. One of her classes enabled her to go to the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans and assist schoolchildren in that area.”The service learning classes have meant more to me than any other class I’ve had,” Free said. “You can go to college and sit and look at textbooks for years, but when you go out and help people, that helps more than anything you learn in a book.”Jonathan Walker, SG Director of Academics, suggested the Senate should allot money only to new service learning classes that branch to departments that currently do not teach any.CCELL Director Jan Shoemaker thanked the Senate for its past support and expressed concern about the need for more courses.”You should be proud of the influence you’ve had,” Shoemaker said. “When you put your money where your mouth is, it really goes a long way.”Jake Landry, College of Agriculture senator, proposed legislation to allocate money to help fund the Komma and Allam Remembrance Garden, which will recognize all University students who have died while students.”I think it’s a very worthwhile expenditure for us to look into,” Landry said. “It’s a spot to remember students and beautify the campus.”Chloe Chetta, SG Director of Organizational Outreach, updated the Senate on the Coffee and Calls session. SG provided students with an information sheet to call their legislators and express concern about budget cuts.”Our goal was to have 50 phone calls made, and we did a lot more than that,” Chetta said.Chetta said the students called committee chairs, senators and representatives, and students from across Louisiana and other states participated. —-Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected].