While the ASUO Student Senate has faced requests from various student groups to transfer stipends into work study accounts during each meeting this year, Wednesday night brought a slight twist.
This time, the requests were made by two of their own.
Groups have come to Senate all year, asking to move the stipend pay certain student employees would normally receive into a work study account so they can benefit from the federal program.
Because precedence was set when other requests this year passed, the student senators’ requests also passed, but met with some resistance. With six senators in favor and five senators opposed, sentiments were mixed.
“I think we’re walking a thin line when we do this for Senate,” Sen. Jennifer Greenough said, pointing out that the stipend is meant as a cover for incidental costs — not as pay for work done.
Other senators saw no difference between the transfers they had been doing and the senators’ requests.
“Senate is just like any other program,” Sen. Serene Khader said.
The requests transferred $560 each from leadership to work study, and both were set for 24 weeks at $7.50 per hour.
The two requests did differ, however, in the amount of the 3 percent kickback — an assessment groups that employ work study students must pay at the end of the year — and in the number of hours per week. The first required a $37 kickback and will work 10 hours a week. The other’s kickback will be $43 and the senator can work 11 hours a week.
Both kickbacks are to come from the Senate’s leadership account.
Approving the Multicultural Center’s request of a work study transfer, Senate transferred $1,125 from the group’s leadership to its work study account. The $45 to cover the 3 percent kickback will come from the group’s reference line-item.
Senate also approved MCC’s request of $999 from surplus for a conference.
The Chinese Students and Scholars Association was granted its first request, which transferred $278 from its programming account into a newly-created food holding account. The money is for the group’s Spring Festival party, which will take place in January.
The group was not so lucky with its second request.
An error that failed to remove $400 from CSSA’s account last year left members believing the group had more money than it did. As a result, CSSA came to Senate asking for that $400 from surplus.
The issue was complicated, however, by the fact that last year’s CSSA officers spent the $400 on gift certificates for some group members.
Technically, groups are not supposed to purchase things such as alcohol or food with student fee money, ASUO Student Senate President Peter Watts said. When gift certificates are bought, those restrictions cannot be enforced.
“By voting no, we’ll really be telling groups that this is inappropriate,” Watts said.
But other senators felt it was unfair to hold this year’s CSSA members responsible for the mistakes of last year’s officers.
“I think that the group members have been here long enough to understand this is an unacceptable practice,” Khader said.
Several senators told the CSSA to attempt fundraising before the event and then come back to Senate after all other options have been exhausted.