In what should have been their last meeting of the term, Student senators heatedly debated funding for the Student Recreation Center and the Programs Finance Committee. Insults flew and emotions ran so high that members of the PFC broke into tears.
Wednesday’s meeting began on a somber note as Senators observed a moment of silence for Brian Reams, the University student who died following a hit-and-run accident last Sunday, but senators faced a long agenda that included discussion of the rec center bill, several special requests and the final budget of the Programs Finance Committee.
Although the Senate does not normally schedule meetings during dead week, the Senate’s failure to come to a vote on the rec center bill led Senate President Sara Hamilton to schedule a meeting for next Wednesday at 7 p.m. to discuss the initiative and said attendance will be mandatory.
Surplus Requests
Before discussing either the Bill or the PFC budget, senators allocated $15,550 in funds from the Senate surplus account to various student groups.
The first request of the night came from ASUO President Jared Axelrod for $2,500 to bring an architect to design plans for expanding the ASUO office. If the plans go through, funds for the actual expansion will come from the Oregon University System out of a student building fee paid by students at every OUS institution, ASUO accountant Lynn Giordano said. Senators voted unanimously to allocate the money.
Axelrod also requested $5,000 for the executive office to pay review costs of an application for a tax credit from the Oregon Department of Energy. This request was also approved unanimously.
Axelrod said the tax credit is given to reward energy saving initiatives, and the Lane Transit District bus passes students receive through the incidental fee make the ASUO qualify for the credit.
The Department of Energy requires a fee of .75 percent of the cost of the energy-saving project to review the application for the tax credit, Axelrod said. Because the LTD budget is $732,000, the cost of reviewing the application is $5,492. Axelrod said the executive will pay the remaining $492.
The ASUO would receive the tax credit for five years. In the first year, the credit would pay for 10 percent of the total cost of the LTD budget and around 5 percent each of the next four years, Axelrod said.
“Thank you for thinking outside the box,” Sen. Jacqueline Justice said. “I’m really excited about this.” The next request came from the University forensics team, which came to request $6,000 to be used to fund a trip for four parliamentary debate teams to the National Tournament of Excellence, which will be held March 17-19 in Laramie, Wyo. Coach Paul Hood said the team found out that the teams had qualified on Feb. 22. He said this is a prestigious tournament that only takes about 6 percent of all the parliamentary debate teams in the nation each year.
“This is an amazing group,” Hood said. “They’re incredible.”
Senators commended the forensics team on its accomplishment and many said they thought the request should be treated like that of the Club Sports hockey team, which was given $5,944 on Feb. 14 to cover the cost of competing in a regional tournament. The hockey team also found out about its tournament on short notice.
“Given the tight timeline, I don’t know how much fundraising we’re going to expect them to have,” Justice said. “Recognize that they just found out two weeks ago that they had four teams qualify and the competition is in a week and a half.”
Senators voted unanimously to approve the funding.
The Senate also approved the following requests: $500 to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Alliance for its annual drag show, to be held March 10; $550 for Students For Choice to fund a speaker fee for an upcoming event; $400 to fund transportation fees for Dance Oregon to send members to the American College Dance Festival, held March 28-April 1 in Missoula, Mont.; and $600 to the American Institute of Architecture Students for a conference on April 12-14.
With the exception of the request from Students For Choice, the votes were unanimous on all the requests.
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Approved special requests at Wednesday’s meeting:
$2,500 to bring an architect to design an expansion of the ASUO office
$5,000 to pay the Department of Energy to review an application for a tax credit
$6,000 to fund a trip for four parliamentary debate teams to the National Tournament of Excellence
$500 to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Alliance for its annual drag show
$550 for Students For Choice to fund a speaker fee for an upcoming event
$400 to fund transportation fees for Dance Oregon to send members to the American College Dance Festival
$600 to the American Institute of Architecture Students for a conference in April