Money flowed from the Student Senate last Wednesday as senators nearly depleted their “club money” budget for the fall semester.
The Senate’s organization budget for the 2002-2003 school year is $20,000, the largest ever. According to its bylaws, the Senate can spend only 60 percent, or $12,000, in the fall.
However, the Senate has given away more than $10,500 to student clubs and organizations, leaving only $1,348 for the second half of the fall semester.
The Senate has yet to deny funding to a club or organization this semester.
Senators voted Wednesday to give $1,554 to Spectrum Alliance to attend the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force “Creating Change Conference” in Portland, Ore., from Nov. 6 to 10.
Some senators were hesitant to approve the finance bill, saying Spectrum has requested Senate funding several times in the past few years and has not aggressively fought for outside fund raising.
Other senators said Spectrum went through all the proper paperwork and procedures to receive funding, and the Senate should not deny them.
“Some of these [sexuality] issues have been a hot topic on campus,” said George Juge, one of Spectrum’s co-chairs. “We very much need to go and bring valuable information back.”
The Senate also voted to give:
*$1,348 to the Block and Bridle Club to assist with the all-student rodeo in the Parker Coliseum from Nov. 7 to 9.
*$823 to the Honors College Advocates to attend the National Collegiate Honors Council Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.
*$400 to the Collegiate FFA to attend the national Agriculture Education Conference and Alpha Tau Alpha Conclave in Louisville, Ken., from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.
Despite the figures, Sen. Jason Wesley, finance committee chair, said more clubs request money in the fall because more major events occur then.
“This is of no concern to me,” he said, adding that usually near the end of the spring semester, the Senate still has not exhausted its entire organizational budget.
In other business, the Senate approved a resolution that urges the administration to post University instructors’ and courses’ grade distributions on the Internet.
Sen. Melody Wells, the resolution’s co-author, said students have a right to know what to expect when scheduling classes. By posting grade distributions on the LSU Web site, students can know how many A’s or F’s professors give for classes.