Unanimously and quickly, the ASUO Student Senate confirmed Shantell Rice as the next ASUO elections coordinator Wednesday night.
Rice, a journalism major, is a former student senator who also served as the ASUO Programs Finance Committee chairwoman last year.
“I have a lot of experience in the ASUO, so I know a lot about student government,” Rice said. “And this is the job I want.”
The elections coordinator position was left unfilled for some time last term, which is one of the duties freshman business major Jarrett White and junior sociology major Chris Fosnight accused ASUO President Jay Breslow of neglecting to complete.
But as of Wednesday, the upcoming elections are in new hands.
“She’s a very diligent worker … and a stickler for rules,” Student Senate President Peter Watts said, adding that although Rice will be facing a “steep learning curve” taking the position now, he is sure she can do it.
In special requests, the senate granted $7,500 out of the general surplus to the University Theatre for an upcoming conference.
Almost a dozen students attended the senate meeting to ask for the funds, which will help send several of them to the American College Theatre Festival and Northwest Drama Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, later this year.
Nine out of 10 years, the conference is held in a nearby city, the group said. In those years, the cost to travel isn’t too high.
But this year it will be.
“Our fine arts programs are so under-funded here at the University,” Watts said, voicing his support of the request.
Another large request was granted to Land, Air, Water Wednesday night: $2,800 to fly a keynote speaker from Madagascar for its annual environmental conference.
LAW approached the senate last term and asked if it would consider giving the group $7,000, the original estimate for a plane ticket. However, LAW members found an even better deal that would be held for them only for 48 hours.

Sen. C.J. Gabbe said that because of the importance of the conference, the request was something the senate should support.
“I don’t think every organization has a conference that is the largest of its kind here at the University,” he said.
Sen. Jennifer Greenough, however, spoke against the request, saying she felt uncomfortable with giving LAW money when a lot of its funds were being transferred to another group, the Friends of LAW.
Watts explained that the Friends of LAW help LAW put on the conference each year. The money transfers were simply LAW’s paying the group back.
In other business, Breslow asked the senate to allow a transfer between the ASUO Executive’s accounts to help pay for the increased costs of an officer of administration, a position that is now filled by one of the ASUO’s current staff members.
The Executive needed to move $13, 523 from one Executive account and $2,338 from another — for a total of $15,861 — into an account that would pay for the staff member’s additional responsibilities.
Other transfers included $250 for the Asian Pacific American Student Union and $10 for the Future Lawyer Association.