The ASUO Student Senate transferred more than $5,000 in funds to two student groups Wednesday night and briefly discussed senate rules in a session several members called “the shortest senate meeting ever.”
MEChA packed more than a dozen members into the EMU Board Room as the senate considered the organization’s request for $4,805 for a state conference at the University this term.
MEChA, which helps build a stronger local community for Chicano/as, is hoping to draw up to 150 college students and 400 high school students from Oregon to its conference, which was held at Portland State University last year. The three-day event will cost $21,000 to host, although some of the cost will be offset by $15 tickets sold to non-University students.
MEChA member and Ganas Coordinator Gerardo Ochoa said the group was relying on earmarked funds from other events such as Cinco de Mayo to help raise enough money.
“We know that we can’t fundraise this much — we’ll still have all these events but they won’t be this big,” Ochoa said.
Student senate members made eight separate motions to transfer the necessary funds, all which passed with only one to two dissenting votes. The senate used $1,805 of MEChA’s funds allocated for other events and moved $3,000 of its own $9,718 budget surplus to MEChA’s account as well.
The senate also transferred $220 to the Chinese Taiwanese Student Association. The group will use the money to help fund their Chinese New Year’s celebration in April.
After the two groups received their money, the senate discussed procedural matters for a few minutes before nominating Sen. Alex Dietrich to the senate’s rules committee. Dietrich, whose nomination was subsequently approved by the majority of the senate, will take the new post once Sen. Jeremy “Tex” Arnold officially resigns. Arnold is resigning because the Wednesday night meetings conflict with exams he needs to take to get into medical school.

–Brook Reinhard